Coffee Beans

Joseph walked into his kitchen, the room had a chill in the air. It was almost October and the summer had barely ended. The house took a turn from being hot and humid to cold and dry in a matter of hours. While the world slept the cold air of Fall slowly crept through the town like a rolling fog. Joseph shuffled through his kitchen in his green fuzzy slippers. Each step made a smooth shuffling sound as the plastic from the bottom of the slippers rubbed against the linoleum flooring.

 

            It was still early and Joseph hadn’t fully regained his senses. He shuffled like a zombie over to his freezer and removed a canister of coffee. He opened the canister and the fresh smell of ground coffee filled his nostrils. He started to feel more awake just by smelling the sweet caffeine in those dark ground up beans. Coffee was always a soothing comfort to Joseph and the warmth of each cup helped on cold autumn mornings.

 

            Joseph poured the coffee grounds into the pot and then added water, the splashing of the cold water into the coffee maker drifted into Joseph’s ears and traveled to his half awake mind. The splashing water was soothing and his day dreaming state took him to a place of pouring rain and warm coffee. Joseph snapped awake and remembered his mission, to brew a caffienated beverage. Joseph reached for the button and pressed it. There was a small click and a little green light went on. That small noise was strangely satisfying and a small shot of excitement went through him. This was not an unusual morning and he found it strange that he would get so excited for a process that he had accomplished hundreds of times.

 

            Joseph opened his cabinets where he kept his coffee mugs and pulled out a bright orange pumpkin shaped Jack-o-lantern mug with a silly grinning face on it. Joseph loved little things like playfully shaped coffee mugs, weird key chains, unusual hats and unique styles of glasses. His favorite coffee mugs were the ones that were related to Halloween, video games and cats.

 

            The coffee had finished brewing and sat in the pot warm and dark just waiting to be poured into a weird coffee mug. Joseph took his pumpkin mug and poured in the cream and sugar, then poured the coffee on top of it. The coffee, cream and sugar all mixed together as the dark liquid fell from the pot in an even flow.

 

            Joseph took a careful sip from the top of his pumpkin shaped mug. He had a habit of over filling his cup and the pumpkin mug was not practical to drink out of. Since the top of it curved inward, forcing the coffee drinker to use a different coffee drinking strategy just for that mug. Joseph didn’t mind little annoyances like a mug that was slightly harder to drink from. He felt that the little novelties that he collected were his few remaining expressions of self. He went to work, paid bills, did errands and chores like everyone else. For many it is hard to hold onto identity as an adult. Many work places treat the workers like a number that is only to be employed for as long as they are useful. Joseph couldn’t fix business politics or regulate laws to make the work place a better environment, he didn’t even complain about his job. Instead of complaining or acting out, he bought novelty coffee mugs. Occasionally Joseph felt sad about having to express himself through coffee mugs but many people did it and he hoped others like him found other ways to express themselves too.

 

            Joseph looked at his mug and realized he had drifted into a very deep inner monolog, so he shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. The chemical reaction in his brain lit up the nerves like lights on a twitch board. He wasn’t instantly awake but he felt like he was slowly coming out of his morning haze. If there was a world where no one had to wake up earlier than they wanted to, Joseph would still drink coffee. It would be a noon though and not seven in the morning.

 

            Joseph shuffled to his kitchen table, his green bathrobe draped around him like a very disheveled king and his fuzzy slippers slid and smacked against the kitchen flooring. Joseph sat down with a small groan and took another sip of his coffee. Three pairs of eyes stared at him from the kitchen chair next to him. It was an eerie sight but Joseph was used to it. Three cats with large eyes stared at Joseph expecting attention and food. One cat was all black with bright green eyes, another was a gray tabby who also had green eyes and the third was a calico with beautiful golden eyes.

 

            Joseph waved his hand at the cats dismissively. “Alright alright” he grumbled. The cats jumped off the chair, then quietly and quickly walked to their food dish. Each cat was very graceful as they walked to the food dish. Joseph couldn’t believe that these calm, well-behaved cats were the same cats that were running full speed through the house at two in the morning. Cats were an interesting species as they could be both clumsy, goofy, garbage eating monsters and then still retain a level of elegance and poise when they wanted to.

 

            Joseph’s wife Samantha came down the stairs from the bedroom, looking tired but beautiful as she always did. Joseph thought that Samantha must have been part cat as she had the same traits as their housecats. Samantha was elegant, affectionate, calm and knew how to appear dignified, but she also loved to eat sloppy foods, dance like a crazy person and just like a cat, if she didn’t like someone, they would know it. Joseph knew that Samantha had claws hidden somewhere within her slender pale fingers, he just hadn’t seen them yet.

 

            “Good morning” Samantha cooed at Joseph. “Good morning beautiful” Joseph cooed back. The sweetness of that moment could have provided enough sugar for both of their cups of coffee.

 

            Joseph poured a second cup of coffee. Samantha had a red mug with a gold colored design on it. It was pretty classy. Joseph always thought that the gold design looked like a French symbol or decoration, but he didn’t know enough about French markings to be sure.

 

            Samantha gave Joseph a kiss as she reached for her cup. As she leaned back from the kiss she brought the coffee cup up between them and took a long slow sip. “I love you” She whispered. “I love you too” Said Joseph. “I was talking to the coffee” Samantha said and stuck out her tongue. Samantha’s playfulness took Joseph by surprise and he couldn’t contain his wide goofy grin. Samantha was the only person that could make Joseph feel like he was back in highschool, a dorky sixteen year old with a crush on a beautiful classmate. Joseph was still a nerd but he was a happy nerd who married that beautiful crush of his.

 

            Samantha fed the cats who had been waiting patently by their dish. The three elegant garbage monsters attacked their dry cat food like it was prey in the savanna. After feeding the cats, Samantha moved onto her own breakfast. “Do you want anything sweetie?” Asked Samantha. “I can’t, I have to get to work” Joseph sighed. He spent a little too long savoring his morning and was a few minutes behind schedule. He ran upstairs and began to dress for work. Rain started to fall from the sky in small steady drops.  Joseph wished he didn’t have to work, he didn’t want to go out into the cold rain, away from his loving wife, warm house and silly cats. Joseph walked back downstairs and grabbed his umbrella, he checked his phone for the time then quickly went back into the kitchen to say good-bye to his wife.

 

            Joseph walked in and kissed Samantha, who was smiling as she was making breakfast. Joseph went for the door when he heard Samantha call from the kitchen “Hold it! When you checked your phone for the time did you not see the date as well?” Asked Samantha. Joseph looked at his phone again and the build in calendar said it was Saturday. “OH!” Joseph exclaimed in confusion, relief and surprise. Many different feelings and emotions were felt and expressed in only a brief second and through a short grunt of an exclamation.

 

            Joseph took off his shoes and coat and walked back into the kitchen. “I guess I’ll make some breakfast then” He said, still in disbelief that it was Saturday. Samantha placed a plate of French toast and fruit in front of Joseph “I took care of it” Samantha said with a smile. It was a smile that Joseph could stare at all day long.

 

            The went on with a casual pace, Joseph and Samantha listened to the rain pouring outside as they drank their warm coffees and ate breakfast together. The world wasn’t always a nice place to live but at that moment Joseph felt peace.

 

            Life doesn’t need to be any more complicated than you make it. Sometimes all you need is someone to love, a fresh cup of coffee and a little rain in the Fall.

Joseph Stephens and the Pumpkin spice

The crisp Fall air blew in from the north and collided with the warm air of summer. After weeks of warm weather the season finally started to show itself. Joseph Stephens was driving down the street in his bent up jalopy, the windows were down and he smelled a hint of wood smoke. Joseph thought two things, first was how much he loved wood smoke and how comforted he felt when he smelled it and secondly, it was early in the morning and someone not only woke up earlier than Joseph but had the energy and motivation to start a fire. Joseph didn’t like morning people but if some nut was awake and filling the air with the warm comforting smell of wood smoke, he would give them a pass.

Unforeseen circumstances dragged Joseph out of bed earlier than he would have like and though it wasn’t ideal having to bail his friend Jaye out of jail at seven in the morning, at least Joseph was able to enjoy the ride home. While driving the infamous green Jalopy, Joseph passed by his favorite coffee place, “Jerk Toff Jimbo’s Coffee and creamery”. Below the sign of a smiling cartoon Jimbo was a wooden sign in the shape of a pumpkin hanging from a metal pole with a chain on either side connecting the pole to the wooden sign. The sign read “Pumpkins back Bitches” in an elegant styled font that had been carved into the wood of the sign. Joseph knew that sign meant Jimbo’s was serving pumpkin coffee and other pumpkin flavored foods.

The morning was getting better and better and Joseph still had some money left even after posting Jaye’s bail. Luckily Jaye only got into weird trouble and the bail was set for five dollars and thirty-eight cents. The Police officer almost gave Joseph a reward for taking Jaye Williams away from there, but that would have been against the rules.

Joseph Stephens parked his car and as he slowed to a stop smoke came out from the back of his car. Joseph sighed then opened his car door and walked toward the coffee shop. As Joseph approached the brightly lit coffee shop a swarm of young single white girls flooded out of the shop talking loudly while staring at their phone. Joseph Stephens was almost run over by the gaggle of girls. The smell of pumpkin coffee floated through the air as the girls passed by. These girls were pumpkin spice armatures and made pumpkin lovers look bad. Joseph had been shaped into the person he was by Autumn. For many the love of pumpkin didn’t extend passed “OH MAH GOD BECKY, This is like SO good”. Joseph could write poetry about autumn and his love for pumpkin.

Joseph approached the coffee counter “I’d like two pumpkin coffees please” Joseph said. “would you like Creeeaaam and sugar?” Asked Jimbo with one raised eyebrow and smiling with a full row of white teeth. “Y-yeah” Joseph stammered, taken aback by how creepy Jimbo was. People often forgot that Jimbo molested post office workers in his free time, yet somehow he continued to get customers.

Joseph waited by a large support beam that was painted to look like a giant cup of coffee holding up the ceiling. “Heeeere you go sir” Said Mr. Jimbo. Joseph took his cup of piping hot pumpkin spice coffee and took a slow sip.

Joseph’s mind flooded with pictures of autumn, scenery, sights, smells, nostalgia and enjoyable times with friends who hadn’t been put in prison for Llama fighting. Buying an over priced pumpkin spice flavored caffeine drink was Joseph’s first tradition of fall. It was his way of welcoming in the new season and preparing himself for the good times ahead. The caffeine made Joseph feel more awake and the artificial flavors of pumpkin pie spices gave him the warm fuzzy schmood that he always loved.

Joseph walked to his car, feeling even happier than when he first left his poor old, beat up, green car. Smoke billowed from the back of Joseph’s car and Joseph sighed again but he wasn’t about to let the smoke ruin his mood. Joseph started his car and continued on his way home. The whole drive home he thought about the future and how this Autumn season would play out. The trees hadn’t started to change colors yet but the cool air and the pumpkin coffee made Joseph feel a little closer to autumn.

Joseph finally arrived home, he parked, opened his car door and took the two pumpkin coffees from their drink tray. He stood up and walked over to his trunk. Joseph continued sipping the one coffee and placed the second coffee on the hood of his car. Joseph then took out his keys and opened the trunk. Inside was Jaye Williams, who had been cooking a ham in  a makeshift grill that he cobbled together from coat hangers and lighter fluid. The ham was raw all the way through, except on the bottom where it had been burnt black. Thick black smoke billowed from the trunk and Jaye looked dead. “I got your coffee” Joseph said. Jaye didn’t respond. “Its pumpkin spice” Joseph added, his tone was bored and slightly annoyed. Jaye sprang up and jumped out of the trunk. Jaye didn’t want the silly inconvenience of being dead in a trunk to ruin his chance of having a pumpkin spice coffee in the beginning of the season.

Joseph closed his car doors and trunk while Jaye sipped his coffee, holding the cup like a squirrel holds an acorn. “alright, I’m going back to bed. I’ll see you later” Joseph said. “Yeah, later” Jaye said while he took small quick sips from his large to-go cup. “Are you heading home?” Joseph asked as the two men stood in Joseph’s front yard. “Oh yeah, of course” Jaye replied, still focused on his coffee.

Joseph looked annoyed as Jaye stood there and nibbled the plastic top to his coffee. “Get out of here ya freak!” Joseph shouted. Jaye sprang up in the air and started to scamper away as soon as he landed. Jaye ran off into the cool morning mist while he held his coffee with both hands and shuffled along the ground with his feet like a squirrel trying to cross the road. As Jaye disappeared into the distance Joseph thought about the upcoming season and was already planning for Halloween. As a crisp Fall breeze blew passed Joseph, he thought about how thankful he was for autumn, pumpkin spice coffee and that weird squirrel boy Jaye that he called his best friend.