The Autumn Cafe

A Short Story

“What’ll you have?” Joshua took a minute to size up the young man who sat down in his section.

“Just coffee, please.” The young man, who could not have been more than twenty–five looked back down at the table after glancing at Joshua’s wedding ring. The young man seemed lost in thought.

“Coffee it is then. I’ll bring you some cream, too.” Joshua walked back to the counter and almost knocked a tray of mugs over as he fumbled to grab one. No one seemed to notice his clumsiness. The server found himself staring at the young man again. Joshua had not figured out what it was yet; something about the boy tugged at Joshua’s chest. The young man looked distracted, maybe even sad. This was the third day in a row he had come in and sat in the last booth by the windows. His clothes were nice, and he tipped well, but Joshua felt sorry for him. Something about him was different today and Joshua could tell.

“Stupid kids, and all their drama.” The low–pitched voice that assailed the youth came from one of the other waiters. Pete was Joshua’s age, and they both married young. Pete liked to tell Joshua that he worked so much so he would not have to deal with his contentious wife.

“They come in here like crazy bohemians seeking some relief to what? Nothing, that’s what. They don’t know what real life is. They just get all emotional and wallow in their sadness. Bunch of pot smokers. That’s what college does to them. Makes ‘em worthless.”

“Oh now, Pete. Relax. They’re just kids. Most of them are just trying to get by.” Joshua eagerly took the young man his coffee and laid down some sugar packets. The youth nodded as he reached for the sugar and closed a notebook. He had been writing something.

“Thanks.” The boy did not look up, so Joshua figured that was his cue to go away.

The server walked back over to where Pete was wiping down the counter. Pete had that look on his face, like he was not finished talking to Joshua about the bohemians.

“I mean what is with them,” Pete said as his face started to turn red with frustration. “Let ‘em get jobs, that’ll make ‘em grow up. Instead of coming in here all day long, they could be off making something of themselves. When I was their age, I was already married, and we had our own place. We may not have had much but we made it work. These kids just want to cry about life, that’s all.”

Joshua shook his head and looked back to the corner. Probably love; it always seemed to be love with the college kids that came in. Someone might have broken his heart. Had the young couple had been together for a long time? Maybe he had never told her how he felt? Joshua’s chest tightened and his eyes moistened. He watched as the young man took out his wallet and pulled out a picture. From the counter, Joshua could make out the blonde hair of a young lady, likely the same age as the boy. He wondered what her name was but was shaken from his observations by Pete.

“What do you think of all these kids coming in here all the time, Josh?”

Joshua looked around the cafe to see if there were any customers to distract him from the oncoming train wreck. But the group of friends sitting by the window left at the moment Joshua needed them most, leaving only the young man. Joshua thought maybe he could escape by volunteering to clean the floors, but it was too late.

“Parents, that’s the problem I think.” Pete rarely waited for Joshua’s response to his questions. “If only they would teach these kids that life isn’t over at twenty–three or whatever. I mean, I know I don’t have any kids of my own, but if I did, I wouldn’t let them mope around all day and waste time asking stupid questions about philosophy and whatever else they talk about.”

Joshua grabbed a white hand towel and started wiping the bar stools as he nodded. “C’mon Pete, you don’t remember what it was like to be young? To feel like you were lost a little bit?”

Pete let out an obnoxious laugh and put his hands on his protruding belly, giving him the appearance of a heartless Santa with black hair. “Honestly, Josh. Lost? Me? Ha! Nah, I wasn’t ever lost. At least not like these kids. But I never pitied myself into depression like these kids do. They regret every decision they make just about. They should all just get jobs and move on with life. Who needs a degree in literature or that psycho–babble stuff anyways?”

“Oh right, I keep forgetting you got it all figured out, Pete.”

“Dang straight I do.” Pete chuckled some more at what Joshua had said. “I’ll never get you Josh. I mean, you’re the same age as me. You’re thirty–eight, right? And yet you don’t mind waiting on all these whiny kids who got nothing going for them?”

Joshua stared at Pete for a moment and wondered if Pete had ever been heartbroken, or if he had ever known what it felt like to feel found.

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

Pete shook his head. “Whatever man. I’m going to go clean the grill.”

Joshua turned back around and looked at the young man in the corner. He had propped the picture up using the saltshaker. The server walked over with the pot of coffee in hand, to get a better look.

“Refill,” he asked as he reached for the cup.

The young man nodded yes and went back to writing what looked like a letter. Joshua couldn’t make it out. He decided to focus on the picture. Her smile enchanted Joshua. The server wondered for whom she smiled. He hoped it was for the youth sitting in front of him.

“Who’s that?” He set the cup back on the table.

“A friend of mine.” The young man did not offer any more information, so Joshua decided to drop it.

“She’s very pretty. Nice smile.”

“Yeah,” the young man said as he cradled the picture back in his hands. “You should see her smile in spring. She loves it when everything blossoms.”

The youth’s face tightened. Joshua thought he had prodded enough. He turned back towards the counter and straightened a few chairs along the way.

“See what I mean about emotional?” Pete had been watching through the pickup window. “You can’t even have a normal conversation with these kids without them choking up on you.” Pete shook his head and went back to cleaning the grill.

Joshua stood for a second thinking about the young man and this girl. Had they fought? Or had she found someone new? The tightness in Joshua’s chest returned and his throat felt dry quite suddenly. The server understood that time does not heal all wounds. But still, some things might be saved.

In the back, a white rotary phone for employee use rested on the desk. Joshua picked up the phone and dialed his home. The machine picked up, instead of his wife. The server heard her voice and he smiled. The beep went off, and he sat there for a second waiting to see if she would pick up. After a few seconds, he decided to leave his question on the machine.

“Hey honey, I wanted to ask you something.” He took looked at the kid in the corner. “How do you feel about a trip to the coast?”