“What can I get started for you, sir?” the pretty dark-haired girl behind the Starbucks counter asked.
Laura stood in line behind the tall man currently being waited upon. She checked the time on her cell phone impatient for her turn.
“I’ll have,” the man hesitated as he squinted at the list of options posted on the wall, “a blueberry muffin and a Grande Mocha.” His voice had a baritone quality that didn’t quite sound as if he’d put a period at the end of his sentence. He paused again, reflecting on whether he needed to add to his order, or perhaps change his mind altogether.
It was 7:47 a.m. and Laura was supposed to be to work in five minutes in order to have time to get the switchboard software launched by 8:00. She was exactly five minutes from work, which meant she had three minutes to get her coffee and get in her car. The man in front of her had hopped out of his SUV and run to the door of the shop one moment ahead of her. She’d noticed him immediately because he looked as if he had just rolled out of bed. He wore flannel pajama pants that had a dark blue background with little snowmen printed this way and that all over the material. His shabby red plaid bathrobe, which he wore over a light-weight green fleece, hung loosely about his frame. The belt of the robe dragged on the ground behind him like a train. He had chivalrously held the door for her but then had scurried along in his Birkenstock slip-ons to get in line ahead of her.
“Is the Verona any good?” he asked the pretty girl who smiled patiently while he pondered. “It’s very smooth, sir. One of our best in my opinion.” Laura marveled at the girl's ability to be so cheerful. The girl marveled at the man’s oblivion to the now nine customers in line behind him. “OK, I’ll take a tall Verona too,” he decided.
Laura could feel her body relax knowing she’d be next.
“What name shall I use for the order, sir?” the girl inquired.
“Bubba,” he replied.
“Oh,” the girl brightened as she exclaimed, “my nephew is called Bubba and I think it’s the sweetest thing.”
The man nodded his head congenially and said, “It beats the original.” Somehow there was an incongruity about his name, the way he was dressed, and the fact that earlier he had said to Laura as he looked down at his clothes with his hands in the pockets of his robe, “I could get used to this.”
Laura had smiled and responded, “You mean rolling out of bed and driving to Starbucks for coffee?”
“Yeh,” he’d nodded. “It’s Pajama Day at my son’s school and I thought it would be great to spice up the car pool and join in. The kid’s all thought it pretty entertaining.” Laura smiled and nodded her understanding as she listened to him continue. “I don’t suppose clients would enjoy it much, though, unless I could convince them that I was some sort of eccentric genius.” Laura gave him her squinty I’m-tolerating-you smile. She really needed her cup of coffee.
The pretty girl set Bubba’s coffees and muffin on the counter and told him the price. He pulled out his wallet and handed her his Starbucks card—the one he “loaded” with $20 charged to his credit card every few weeks or so. “Cheers!” he smiled to all as he headed toward the door.
Laura ordered a tall Verona with room for cream.
At 8:03 the switchboard was up and running, and Laura leaned back in her ergonomically-correct desk chair to enjoy the bold smooth flavor of her coffee.
Copyright DJ Anderson, 2005
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