That quirky lady in black goes here at 9:30 every morning. She sits at the table beside the window where she waves to black crows (who knows where they come from?) gleefully hopping at the other side of the glass. By 9:37 AM, she’d walk up to the counter and place her order. The wooden coffee bean-shaped clock beside me points to thirty-seven minutes past 9. Right on cue, she moves her left hand against the glass one last time before standing up. There is no line. She smiles at me the same smile for the past two and one-third years. Yesterday is her second anniversary in her marketing job. She works in the building three blocks away and routinely, meaning every Mondays and Thursdays, she includes orders for her colleagues.
All right, is this two americanos, one cappuccino, one iced latte with a dash of vanilla syrup, and one green tea latte? I return the friendly grin. Good morning!
She hands me a black plastic card. “As usual,” she laughs.
Fancy. I point to her black cane made of marbled resin as I reach for the card.
“As usual,” she repeats. “Everything, so far, has been the same.”
Everything, so far. I turn my back to get vanilla syrup. Is that a good or a bad thing?
“Well, who knows? Do you think… at the End… we’ll do?”
One americano, one cappuccino, one iced latte with vanilla syrup, and one green tea latte for one lady in black having a normal Thursday, as usual, so far. Ah, who knows?
She laughs again. “Thanks! See you!” Then grabs her orders and skips to the office. She only goes here in the morning but those won’t be her last for today. Her last one is later, a little past 6:43 PM when we meet again at the intersection near her office. I don’t always make friends with my customers but when I do, it’s a lot more interesting when I see them on their way out and say the last goodbye. I wonder if she’d finally figured out how everything is.
flash fiction, 350 words