Emptiness in the Long Line

Katie pulled up in the parking lot to Rolling Designs Cafe, her morning destination before she arrived at her office for the day. She couldn't begin her day without her coffee, nor did you want to cross her before she had her first cup. Her first cup of many.

Hmm, I wonder why I can't find a parking space, she thought, driving around the lot. Normally, it wasn't like this. She always found it easy to find a spot and get into the cafe. That wasn't the case for today.

She drove around for ten minutes and gave up. Today was going to be one of those days she was going to have to park out on the street. She knew what her co-workers would've told her to go to another cafe, but this was her favorite one. She was a regular and the baristas always knew her drink. She never had to say her order. They always knew.

Finding a parking space down the block from the cafe, she walked over and couldn't believe her eyes. The line went from the counter all the way to the front door.

"Excuse me, could you tell me why the line is so long?" Katie asked a man standing in front of her. She arrived at the same time she always did and never had this problem before.

"Don't you know what today is? Rolling Designs just announced their new autumn drinks. Everyone is here to try them," the man answered.

Great, Katie crossed her arms and silently groaned. She needed to get to her office and at this rate, she wasn't going to have time to sit and enjoy her coffee while reading a book before she had to get to work.

Time was going by slowly, or so Katie thought. She thought she was going to have to leave without getting a chance to put her order in, when she heard the barista.

"Next!"

Katie walked up to the counter, expecting it to be a barista who knew her and already put her order in, when she realized she never saw this barista before. Now I'm going to be late because I have to tell them what my order is, she sighed.

"I'll a small cappucino with soy milk and very dried, please," she said.

"Would you like to upgrade that to one of our new autumn drinks?" The barista asked.

"No, the drink I ordered is my usual one. Every other barista here knows that," Katie said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she snapped. She didn't mean to take it out on the barista. She was sure he was only doing what his manager asked. But at the same time, he shouldn't have kept pestering about it after she said she wasn't interested.

The barista rang her up and she moved to the bar, waiting for her drink. The one good thing about not wanting one of the new drinks was that she didn't have to wait for her drink to be made. While the other baristas were stuck making the different pumpkin drinks, Katie's drink was made in a matter of a few minutes and in her hands.

She grabbed her coffee and brought it over to the table that was by the cafe library. She looked for the book that was the one she was reading every morning she was here and picked up, bringing it back to her seat.

Katie started to ready the book, but it wasn't long before she was having trouble concentrating. The noise of all the people lining up for the news drinks became too much, she had to get out of here.

She made her way back to her car, coffee in her hands and she drove to her office. This was the last place she ever expected to have peace and quiet, but as she closed the door and made her way to her desk, she realized this was where she needed to be to enjoy her coffee.