Coffee and Me
Every Wednesday I share an excerpt from Coffee and Me, releasing January 5, 2027. This one comes from July.
It’s Saturday morning, and I’m having breakfast with a friend at 8:30. The problem is, I really don’t want to wait until 8:30 to drink coffee.
Of course, sleeping in today meant waking up at 5:30. Bella had other plans anyway. She licked my head and my pillow until I finally got out of bed.
Walking Bella on Saturday mornings clears my mind and gets me focused for the rest of the day.
So after the walk, of course, I’m brewing my own coffee. Well… making a K-Cup.
If I’m staying home on a weekend morning, I’m not going out for coffee. If I make a full pot, I’ll end up drinking most of it. Besides, I have to remember to save some for my wife, Kim.
Kim likes her coffee much stronger than I do. She usually drinks those all-in-one Korean coffee packets. She’s also a huge BTS fan, so one day I found a box of one hundred BTS coffee packets at Grocery Outlet.
Score one for my love bank.
Back to my morning cup.
I grabbed one of the red Starbucks tumblers that changes to a dark maroon-purple when it’s cold. To prepare the K-Cup, I added some sugar-free caramel syrup, then the instant espresso, followed by the Donut Shop coffee. I finished it off with my customary two packets of Splenda, stirred it all together, and now I’m sitting at the table typing.
At breakfast, I just drank water because I wanted to save my coffee craving for the book swap afterward.
When I arrived at the coffee shop hosting the book swap, the line stretched out the door and down the sidewalk. Apparently, the owner had appeared on Love Island, so fans of the show had flooded the shop.
Good for the business.
Bad for me.
I hate waiting in line.
So I skipped the coffee, headed to the backyard, dropped off my books, entered the raffle, and eventually went home.
Where I made another K-Cup.
Later, I met up with the movie club and went to see a movie.
Driving home afterward, I found myself craving an iced Americano or an iced shaken espresso. It was after four o’clock, though. The temptation was strong, but I just didn’t have it in me to pull into the Starbucks at The Grove. Even with parking validation, you’re still paying five dollars, and lingering long enough for coffee would only make the parking more expensive.
I also drove past a Coffee Bean with easy parking.
But I rarely go to Coffee Bean.
Besides, I didn’t want to wake up in the middle of the night with an espresso-fueled surge of energy.
So I tapped out.
Only two coffees on a Saturday.
And honestly…
that felt just about right.
How do you know when you’ve had enough of something you enjoy?