The Coffee Shop
Kaila stood outside, watching him from the window. She couldn’t help it. This was always her favorite coffee shop. Then it was theirs, and now it was his. After everything that happened between them, she found she didn’t miss him at all. She missed the coffee.
This coffee shop was in the perfect location for her. It sat right on a quiet street on her morning route to work. Its typical customer base visited in the later hours of the morning and early afternoon. Since their business was slower early in the morning, Kaila could be in and out with her coffee in under ten minutes.
They also made delicious coffee. They imported beans from all over the world and roasted them in their back kitchen. After trying their freshly roasted coffee for the first time, she couldn’t go back to the months-old coffee grinds of Starbucks.
Of course, there was also the building itself. It used to be an older Victorian-style house, but was renovated a few years back into the coffee shop that stood now. The owners kept the charm of the original house by maintaining the wrap-around porch, original hardwood floors, and crown molding. They even left the peeling pale blue paint on the exterior siding. The biggest change came on the lower level of the two-story home, where they ripped down most of the walls that previously divided bedrooms and sitting rooms. This created a large, open space for customer seating.
The problem was that this was also the workplace of her now ex-boyfriend, James. He was working the early shift, as usual, bustling about behind the counter making drinks. On this lazy Saturday morning at 10:00 am, there were plenty of customers to keep him busy. He didn’t notice her staring at him through the window.
She felt pathetic. At almost 30 years old, Kaila knew she should be done with this kind of thing. The pining. The heartache. She thought she would have found her person by now. Instead, she found herself standing outside, watching someone who’d broken her heart make coffee through a window.
The worst part was that she wasn’t even there to watch him.
She was there for a damn cup of coffee.
“Are you going in?” someone asked her.
Kaila turned to find a man standing next to her. He was dressed in dark jeans and a t-shirt that had been worn well past its prime. His blonde hair could stand to have a brush run through it, but he was attractive even with his slightly sloppy appearance. “Oh, sorry. Um… Not yet. You can go ahead.”
“Is there a reason I should wait?”
“No, no. I’m just debating.”
“On what?”
“A confrontation.”
“I think it’s a little too early in the morning for that.”
She smiled at him then. “Yeah, you’re right about that. It’s not that I’m hoping for one. It’s more that I think it will be unavoidable if I go in.”
“Is the coffee that bad?”
“No, it’s just….” She gestured to James, pointing her finger on the window. “That’s my ex-boyfriend.”
“Ah. This is starting to make sense now.”
“Yeah.”
He turned around, facing away from the glass, and leaned his back against the window. “You didn’t think a different coffee shop might be a better idea?”
“Well, the thing is, I’ve tried several different coffee shops. This is the best one around. They import the coffee beans from around the world, then roast the beans themselves in the back kitchen. Each of their coffees has a complex flavor profile I haven’t been able to find anywhere else. I’m not one for black coffee, but here I don’t mind it.”
“Is the fancy coffee worth the confrontation?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
He laughed then, pushing his hands in his pockets. “It sounds like you have a real dilemma here.”
“It was my place first. I’ve been coming here for years, and he only started working here a year ago. It’s not fair that I should have to give it up.”
“Then don’t. Go inside. Get your flavorful cup of freshly roasted coffee.”
She sighed, letting her forehead fall against the window. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.”
“Want me to hold your hand?”
The question caught her off-guard. She didn’t know how to react at first, but then she lifted her head and looked up at him and noticed the smirk on his face. He was either joking, flirting, or both. “What?” she asked, laughing as she spoke.
“For moral support, of course. Totally platonic.”
“Oh, of course.”
“I’m Ben,” he said. He pushed off the glass to stand up straight and took a hand out of his pocket, offering it to her. She eyed his hand for a moment, hesitating, before he laughed and added, “I promise I’ll let go.”
She slipped her hand in his, shook it, then dropped her hand by her side again. “I’m Kaila.”
“Well, Kaila, the way I see it, we’ve only got two options here. As usual, you can go in there and order your coffee, pretending you don’t know the guy. Or I can go in there and cause a big scene and get him fired for you so you can have your coffee shop back.”
“How are those the only two options?”
He put his hands up and shrugged. “Hey, I don’t make the rules.”
“You did. You made those two options.”
He shrugged again, and she turned back to the window. As she peered inside, her eyes caught James’ from behind the counter. He squinted as if he wasn’t sure at first who it was, and then his face changed. She watched the exact moment he went from being confused to being… she wasn’t sure what. Devastated? Annoyed?
“Shit.” She turned back around, ducking her head even though he could no longer see her face. “He saw me.”
“Which one is he again?”
“The tall one.”
“Oh. That guy.” Ben looked down at himself, then back up at her. “Wow, do I even stand a chance with you?”
That got her to laugh, but it was short-lived as she heard the door open next to them.
James held a hand on the doorknob, only setting one foot outside. “Kaila?”
She sighed and contemplated for a moment hiding behind Ben but took a step around him. “Yeah. Hi.”
“Were you watching me?”
“No, I…” She realized that even if she told him the truth, that all she wanted was a cup of coffee, he wouldn’t believe her. He never did.
“I brought her here,” Ben said, placing a hand on her shoulder before letting go. “Sorry, man, didn’t know her ex worked here.” He turned to Kaila and said, “We can go somewhere else, babe.”
James shook his head, grunting as he turned to go back inside. He muttered something under his breath that she couldn’t quite make out. She almost dared him to say it to her face, but decided it was better that she didn’t hear it.
“What a tool,” Ben said the second the door closed. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just figured he’d leave you alone faster if he thought you were with another guy.”
“No, it was great. Thank you. I have no idea what I would have said, so you kind of saved the day.”
He smiled at her, revealing dimples she hadn’t noticed before. “I am happy to be of service, Kaila.” He swept an arm down and bowed at her, making her laugh again.
“I still don’t know what I’m going to do about my coffee.”
“I’ll go in with you if you want. Or we can go somewhere else.”
“Oh, you don’t… I mean, you don’t have to come with me. You can still get coffee here.”
“Somehow, I think it may be a little awkward if I walk in and order from that guy without you now.”
She glanced back through the window and noticed James quickly turn his back to her, pretending to wipe down the counter.
“Yeah. I guess that’s true. Sorry, I messed up your morning coffee.”
“Not at all. It’s been fun. I saw another coffee shop a couple of streets over if you’d like to go with me.”
Kaila knew the coffee shop he was talking about. It was more modern, without the charm of this old Victorian house. Their coffee was mediocre at best, and after trying some of their roasts a few weeks ago, she’d decided not to go back there.
But Ben had been kind and funny and was easy on the eyes. Even if it wasn’t the best quality, getting coffee with him seemed like a much better way to spend her day than sulking.
“Sure,” she said, “I’d love to.”
He smiled at her. As they walked down the stairs of the porch, she found herself reaching out to hold his hand.
He didn’t let go.
