Coffee, Leaves, and Wagging Tails
for John and Paul and the rest of the Beatles
Most mornings, he grabbed his cup of coffee and disappeared into his office for another morning of clacking away while listening to the podcast fitting the moment.
In retrospect, a perspective uncovered at this very singular moment, he realized that wasn’t true. It wasn’t his routine most mornings, it was every single morning.
Save this one.
It was a perfect cup of joe, mostly in that it was warm and present, by his estimate the two most important traits of any cup of coffee. He took a deep inhale, savoring the aroma of the roasted beans grown half a world away that once built empires, and chased the scent down with a hearty gulp. On such a crisp fall morning, the interplay of heat, sweetness from sugar also once a luxury that gathered proverbial dust in its countertop container, and creamy goodness from a cow–er almonds in truth, the modern world and all its wonders–felt as good as donning an Irish wool sweater, which coincidentally he had just done–a splurge of his most recent trip across the pond. The spoils of entire centuries of empire, right here in a tranquil acre as the leaves fell over his manicured, yet still somewhat wild, lawn.
On that trip to the Emerald Isle, they bought his niece a stuffed sheep from the weaver’s cottage, which she promptly named “U-U” and discovered how cool castles were. One day, he’d remind her of that, of how prescient her babbling was, and they’d all have a good hearty laugh. He imagined it would be beside a fire, bellies full, with piano music in the crisp winter air.
Yes, every morning, he grabbed his cup of coffee and disappeared into his office for another morning of clacking away while listening to the podcast fitting the moment.
Not this one though. This morning such wonderful wealth deserved its moment atop the podium under a Champagne shower and Forza chanting fans.
As if to share in the spoils, both his pups, each one from half a world away, nudged his elbows, demanding their Imperial veneration. They were the real lords of the realm, after all; their demands were just.
The wider world could wait. There was an entire empire unto itself right here, right now, for a fleeting yet eternal moment.
(And then he turned on his podcast–an outstanding survey of the defense of Malta during the Second World War. Not exactly cheery but profoundly interesting)
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A/N:
Enjoying the irony of posting this the day before a blizzard is supposed to hit. Somewhat, mostly inspired by real events.
If you've enjoyed this, please leave a like and an insight below. If you really enjoyed this, tips to fuel my coffee addiction are always appreciated. All formatting is designed for desktops. My best stories can be found below:
About the Creator
Matthew J. Fromm
Full-time nerd, history enthusiast, and proprietor of arcane knowledge.
Here there be dragons, knights, castles, and quests (plus the occasional dose of absurdity).
I can be reached at [email protected]
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More stories from Matthew J. Fromm and writers in Fiction and other communities.
Past Lives
War made for odd couples. To Private Jim Mclellan, Sepp seemed a good man; better at least than some of the monsters he heard stories of deeper into the Reich. Real monsters. This Sepp almost reminded Jim of his uncle; the one from Wisconsin he met a few times at Weddings.
By Matthew J. FrommExclusive • 10 months ago
Comments (9)
Ah finally got round to this and it did not disappoint. I love how you circle back on the subject of things in your house from many miles away. This was well worth the wait I felt I had to give it before reading. Now I am working through the entries and once we have conferred the results will come this week. Love like Hannah said the marriage of the seemingly simple things and the rather complex sources of joy. Thank you for entering my man
A lovely take on the challenge… did blizzard hit?
"The wider world could wait. There was an entire empire unto itself right here, right now, for a fleeting yet eternal moment." Enchanting and wise!
I love how you tie coffee travel memories, history and the pups into one moment of quiet richness. It feels cinematic.
Simple pleasures but also, incredibly systemically complex pleasures. Both!
I’m currently lying here trying to brace myself for the cold while reading about your hot coffee from across the world haha I hope you guys up north didn’t get hit too hard. I’ll have to see what the weather report said. We got a little dusting down here. I also wanted to say that I love the way you take the time to appreciate the little things and to bring attention to the luxuries we all enjoy that would’ve made an emperor blush haha Very nicely done, dude
Of course you would inject a commonplace moment with deep appreciation for the historical past that brought these items into place. And who said an empire never achieved anything, huh? Kidding. Very nicely done, and loved the nod at the end to those who didn't already pick up on the autobiographical elements contained within, haha
Ha! Great entry my friend! I just saw that weather alert and looks like Chicago will def see some snow. We have a chance on Mon and Tuesday down here In Ohia. Better break out those boots!
I like your economical use of language that doesn’t neglect details, which have purpose. I’ll come back for a close read.