The Bitterness of Coffee

 Richard hadn't realized how much he hated the taste of coffee until now. He sat in a café, sipping his coffee, alone. Maybe it was the loneliness he didn't like? He had a newspaper in front of him, which he aimlessly flipped through while eating his breakfast, two eggs and sausages with toast. He looked around and saw only one other person in the café. He saw that she too was eating and looking at the paper as she sipped their coffee. He looked at her, a woman of maybe twenty-five, and realized she was quite attractive.

Long dark hair and dark skin. The thought passed through his mind to go and talk with her. He flipped through a few more pages. Taking one last swig of his coffee and got up. Pretending to go to the bathroom, with his coffee in hand he passed by her and looked at the newspaper.

“Ah! The comics. My favorite page.”

She looked at him with a smile, “Mine too.” She said.

“Nothing ever worth reading in the paper except them.” Richard said leaning on the chair across from her. She laughed.

“I want to ask, you don’t have to say yes, but I was wondering if you could use some company?”

Looking around at the empty seats, she nodded. He pulled out the chair and took a seat with his coffee.

“Richard” he said beaming.

“Jenifer” she said.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Richard said, “What are you doing alone on a beautiful Saturday morning?”

She looked outside at the rain trickling down the window. She laughed,

“I don’t know. I woke up this morning and found myself walking into here.”

“I see.” said Richard. “Kinda the same thing for me. I don’t know why but I find myself in here every morning.”

She looked at him then back the paper. It fell silent for a while. He looked at her as she read the comics.

“What do you do? I mean as a living.” Richard asked.

“I’m a teacher.” She said, glancing up from the comics.

“What do you teach?”

“Math.” she said.

“Which school?”

She sipped a bit of her coffee, “You've probably never heard of it.”

“Try me!” he said with a smile.

Taking out a map, she pointed to a country in Africa. “I teach math in a town in Uganda called Gulu to children from ages six to fifteen.”

Taken back, Richard didn't know what to say at first.

Finally, “Wow! That’s really good! Helping out those in need. So what are you doing here then?”

Looking at him, she said, “Summer break, visiting family.”

It fell silent for a long time again.

Richard looked out the window and saw that it wasn't raining. The window wasn't even wet. Looking back in front of him, she was gone; there was no one in the café but the waitress pouring his coffee.

He asked the waitress, “Excuse me, what happened to the young lady sitting in front of me?”

She looked at him puzzled. “Hun,” she said, “you been out cold for about an hour.”

Finishing pouring his coffee she walked away. He took a sip of the coffee and realized how much he hated the taste.