A Perfect Moment

I helped my friend with her many babies and she rewarded me with a gift card to the local coffeehouse. I love coffee, but to save money I usually drink homemade brew in my living room while I fold clothes. Today instead of doing the ever-increasing mountain of laundry, I grabbed my gift card and headed out for joe.

Guilt-free, I bought a gignormous cappuccino and a chocolate croissant. Let me take a minute to describe these croissants. These are not those soft squishy half-moons of flavorless dough that a lot of places pass off as croissants. No, the Regency's chocolate croissants are pure joy distilled into a slab of bitter dark chocolate in a flaky, buttery shell of delight.

I sat down with my dessert, my bowl of coffee, my book and my magazine. I read the Affair of the Bungalow and leisurely picked out bathroom light fixtures. I drank my coffee and listened to Modern English. I noticed a woman was typing feverishly on her laptop, a man was making an appointment loudly on his cell phone, and a beautiful couple was very much into each other. Loud man aside, I realized this was a perfect, peaceful moment. No one was asking me for anything, I wasn't finding gummy fruit in my shoe or looking for the next writing gig. I was just being me, unfettered. I licked the shards of pastry off my fingers and savored the peace.