The Coffee Shop Chronicles No. 2

I was sorely tempted to stay home. We had been gone for the weekend and being away always makes me feel behind. Even though in reality there was nothing to do at home. The house was clean before we left, except for those cookie cutters on the counter. Emptied out of their container so the dog food for the dogs when at the dog sitter could go in it. The container not quite empty yet, the cookie cutters remained on the counter. Aside from that the house was still clean.

Looking out the window though, the rare blue skies and sunshine propelled me out the door. Even if my car temperature display did read a down right frigid 7 degrees.

I arrived at a quarter to nine. The coffee shop my sole destination for the day.

The Order Taker was in her normal place behind the register, as cheerful and helpful as ever, but there was an air of fluster about her. The Assistant was missing. Hopefully it was her day off or she was coming in for the lunch shift instead of breakfast. I knew the Order Taker was flustered when she asked if I wanted my Cherry Chocolate Chip Muffin heated and with butter, to which I answered yes. She handed me the muffin heated, but the sinful butter was missing. I probably should have taken that as a sign that I didn't need the butter, but instead I asked the Order Taker for it.

I seated myself at my "usual" table. After one week I had a regular spot already? I took note of the occupants of the tables around me. A completely new cast of characters, except for one.

The lone return character, who I didn't even make note of last week because he was seated behind me. A regular in every sense, the Order Taker knew him by name, and the delivery gal who brought out his coffee and bagel with cream cheese didn't need to holler out his name to the whole restaurant to find him.  He was seated to my left, at the table occupied by the college professor and pre-med student last week. I have a feeling that this is his "usual" table since he made a bee line for it. I also have a feeling that he has a "usual" chair. Since he quickly traded the wooden slat back one he was going to sit in with one from a nearby table. He sat in that chair and still was not happy, because next he traded it with an extra one that was lined up against the wall. That was the one, he was happy. The funny thing is that I totally understood what he was doing as I wiggled in my own rickety slat back chair, praying that it wouldn't break.

The table were the three ladies in their 60's sat last week was occupied this time by three business men dressed in casual business attire. They all seemed to be in the 50's age range. They reminded me of start-up business owners. Each from a different start-up, meeting and conferring together. One had a well worn brown leather bound notebook and a expensive looking shiny silver ballpoint pen. The Notetaker.

As I watched these gentlemen, the only ones in my direct line of sight at the moment. I noticed their shoes. I think you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. Especially in cold, wintery weather such as this. The Notetaker had on practical black business dress shoes. The gentleman with his back to me had on deck shoes. He struck me as somebody who spent a lot of time on his sailboat, and was probably getting ready to leave for Florida. The third gentleman had on the most interesting shoes. They were a cross between biker boots and cowboy boots, but short like business boots. Similar to these…

I am not quite sure what that says about him. They started to pack up so my attention shifted to a new arrival.

A young college aged couple seated themselves at a table in front of me but he was partially hidden by a column. As they waited for their soy chai drinks I watched them hold hands across the small two seater table and gaze lovingly into each other's eyes, exchanging no words.

Once their drinks arrived the casual conversation began. Soon her iPhone came out and she scrolled through Instagram and Facebook. Then suddenly he jumped up and came towards me, I thought "oh no, busted", but no, he quickly snapped a photo of the framed picture of Jesus hanging on the column near me.

Then he returned to his seat. Of course he had my curiosity peaked now. He was dressed in a mid length, dark heather gray, wool dress coat, he had oversized black, plastic frame glasses which every guy seems to sport these days. Then I looked down at his shoes and they were spectacular…

Cerulean blue suede, wingtip dress shoes. I wanted to get a picture of them so badly, but he moved too quickly, these that I found on the internet are very similar. Is this hipsterish attire? I wonder.

Once back at the table, they continued to scan their phones. She occasionally taking a photo of him and posting it to Instagram. Eventually they finished their drinks, returned their phones to their proper places and bundled up to leave. Probably off to class. 

By this point it was time for me to head out as well. Home to walk the dogs while the blue skies and sunshine still prevailed, these elements helping to offset the 10 degree temperature. Hopefully...