The Art of Sipping Coffee – Conclusion

Well, we made it into April, no fooling, and here’s the conclusion of our story. 

THE ART OF SIPPING COFFEE
Part 4
by
Charlene Elder

My temporary employment at the insurance agency was about to wrap up. Three months had flown by as I looked back but I’d learned a lot of helpful instruction that I would now take back to my permanent job and share with my co-workers. I think I would be able to handle taking the lead in our office and looked forward to it.

The downside of having to leave was that I’d be leaving my cozy coffee café. I’d gotten to know the baristas there. I’d grown comfortable in my little table by the window, and I’d become acquainted with some interesting people.

My last morning I once again sat at my little table by the window, enjoying my coffee. I was checking my phone when one of the baristas came and sat down next to me.

“Hi,” she began, “I just found out you’re moving and wanted to let you know I’ll miss you.” She smiled which made me smile.

“Thanks,” I replied and lifted my coffee cup to her. “I’ll miss you all here, too. Maybe I’ll get back.”

She smiled again and went back to her workstation. It wasn’t long before several others came over to my table to share their good-byes. I was beginning to choke up with all their sentiment when I noticed a somewhat irritating moth at the window. He kept moving up and down the glass thinking he could find a way outside to where he lived. He wasn’t successful, of course.

As I contemplated his plight, my friend with the wisdom ventured over and even took a seat next to me. “So,” he began, “they tell me you’re leaving our little town.” I nodded.

“Let me wish you the best, my dear,” he saluted me with his cup of coffee. I smiled, and in the next moment, we both watched the moth at the window.

“The moth is making the best of his moment,” he said. “After all, his is a short life.”

“Too short,” I added. He nodded.

It was less than a second later when another moth appeared, and it wasn’t long until they had greeted one another. We watched as they flitted across the window, both hopeful to find a gateway to the outside world.

“Ahhh,” I sighed as I watched.

“I say we help them out, my dear,” he said, grabbing an empty cup close by and handing me one. “If we put the cups over the moths against the glass, we can secure their safety. Then gently cover the top of the cup with our hand and we’ll send them off on a new adventure outside, however short it is.”

It took us several minutes to maneuver our cups over the flitting moths, but finally we had them both safely secured. We walked to the front door and I’m sure the entire café was watching us. A local patron sitting next to the front door quickly got up to open the door for us. Once outside, we held our cups up, and counting to ‘three’, we removed our hands.

The moths quickly moved to the light and found their way outside. We watched them fly upward, circling each other, and then vanishing from sight.

“Moths don’t have a long life,” my friend stated again. “We should make the most of our lives, don’t you think?”

“Definitely.”

He continued. “I think the lesson for your last day among us is to enjoy your coffee in the moment whether it’s here or somewhere else. You don’t have a guarantee on tomorrow but you do have your cup of coffee to enjoy today, now.

“Thank you for that,” I said. “I’ve learned a lot more about coffee and myself these few months. I do believe I’ve gotten to the place of drinking my coffee slower, sip by sip. Thank you for your words of wisdom.”

He smiled and motioned us back to our tables. “Shannon!” he called to the barista. “We need some refills of hot coffee that we can sip.”

I chuckled to myself realizing that I had moved from a coffee drinker [gulper] to a coffee sipper. I had indeed learned the art of sipping coffee and much more.

* * * * * * * * *

The End.

Originally published 2017