Inspiration Words: Pumpkin and Scream
Anne sipped her pumpkin spice latte and glanced at Johnson, who sat at the table across from her. Then she noticed a couple with a small child walk up to the Starbucks counter. Anne watched them gaze into the pastry display before they moved on to the drink menu that hung behind the counter.
Even though it was the beginning of October, Anne didn’t feel the fall chill in the air (unless the air conditioning was on full blast), but she was still excited when Johnson suggested coming to Starbucks so he could buy her favorite drink for her. They usually split the price of meals and other activities, so Anne enjoyed the extra treat when he bought her something special. She was looking forward to quality time with him and getting to know him a little better, since they still had only been dating for a few months. Aside from the explosion of fall in her mouth every time she took a drink, however, and the air conditioning that kept her comfortable, the date already felt like a disaster. Johnson wasn’t in the mood to talk, and Anne was wishing she had brought a book to read instead. Wasn’t that the purpose of a date—to chat and spend time together? She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to get to know someone on a deeper level when that someone wasn’t talkative.
As the date lengthened, and the couple she was watching left after enjoying their drinks, Anne started to fidget. Johnson still didn’t meet her gaze, and she wondered if she should just go home. It was still raining outside, and Anne’s shorts were still damp from her bike ride over here. Even though she had a raincoat and wore tall rubber boots, she couldn’t hide from the ceaseless drizzle that had covered the roads. A truck had driven past her, right through a puddle, splashing muddy water across her legs and shorts. She had wanted to scream in frustration—some people didn’t think about how their actions affected anyone except for themselves.
“How’s your drink?” She asked as Johnson sipped his latte.
“It’s good.”
“Good!” Anne looked back toward the window. The rain dripped down from the closed umbrellas in the umbrella stand near the door, forming little pools of water. Delivery guys came and went, dripping in their full-body rain suits. Anne certainly didn’t envy them their job.
When Anne felt like she couldn’t sit still any longer and had grown tired of tipping her cup back to try to get the last few drops of the delicious liquid, she suggested they go on a walk around the mall.
“Sure,” Johnson replied.
They stood and headed toward the entrance that led to the mall, away from the drippy weather outside.
Is this guy even going to speak to me today? Anne started to wonder as they walked along in silence.
“How was work this week? Anything crazy happen?” Anne tried to make some light conversation.
“It was normal, nothing unusual.”
Exasperated, Anne looked at her watch. “Do you just wanna head back home?”
“Sure, if you want to.”
“Well, I want to talk to you, but that doesn’t seem like an option today.” Anne tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but she didn’t succeed.
“Oh, I was just enjoying the environment.”
Anne nearly made a biting comment about the environment being strained, but she remembered back to the earliest days of their dating relationship. They’d had a lot of fights about their different expectations, and Anne had finally started to realize that sometimes it was enough just to enjoy his presence.
“Ok, maybe after we walk around for a while, we can talk some before we go?”
“Sure, that sounds like a good idea.”
After they had wandered through several stores, Johnson asked her about her plans for class the next week, and Anne smiled as she talked about some games she planned to play with her students.
An hour or so later, Anne gave Johnson a hug and hopped on her bike. The miserable drizzle had stopped, and even though the trees still dripped, she was thrilled she would be able to go home without wearing her heavy raincoat.
****
Johnson stretched his legs out as he sat at a table in Starbucks. He knew Anne liked Starbucks, and she said last week that she had been missing her hometown and the cooler weather that came with autumn. Since his job required him to welcome foreign businessmen when they visited China, he knew foreigners seemed to like the seasonal coffees Starbucks offered. Maybe Anne would feel less homesick if he treated her to one of their autumn drinks, even though he thought they were a little strange.
Anne hadn’t arrived yet, but Johnson didn’t mind. Now he had time to scroll through the news from today and see what was going on in the world. Anne preferred that he put his phone away during their time together, and he tried to comply.
Coronavirus updates.
Typhoon in the Northern Indian Ocean.
Fuel Shortages in Haiti.
Looked like some tough stuff going on in the world.
The door dinged, and Johnson looked up to see Anne coming inside. He slipped his phone into his pocket and gave Anne a half-hug when she came up to him. She seemed a little damp.
“Is it still raining outside?” he asked, as they walked to the counter.
“Yep,” Anne continued talking about how a crazy truck driver had splashed dirty street water all over her.
“That’s annoying,” Johnson said, glancing back at her splattered clothes. “What do you want to drink?”
When they ordered their drinks, Johnson flashed the QR code so the worker could scan it for payment. He liked buying things for his girlfriend, even though they usually split the cost of things. It made him feel good.
Johnson watched as they mixed the drinks and put a thick layer of something creamy and white on top. “What’s that white stuff?” he asked Anne, pointing to the drinks as the worker put the lid on them.
“Oh, that’s whipped cream,” Anne answered.
They took the drinks back to a table in the corner. Johnson was curious about this drink. He had ordered the same as Anne because he figured she probably understood the Starbucks menu better than he did. She had said it was a pumpkin coffee. He didn’t usually drink coffee, but hopefully this one was good.
Tentatively, he took a sip. It was different than he expected. Having pumpkin in a drink seemed strange. He’d only had pumpkin as a dish at dinner, rather than a flavoring for drinks. He took another sip and tried not to make a face. It was super sweet. They should market this as a dessert, not coffee, he thought.
As Johnson nursed his coffee, his thoughts drifted back to the news articles. He wondered if the fuel shortage in Haiti would influence the fuel market in other countries. He didn’t have a car, but several of his friends had cars, and they were always talking about how expensive gas was. Would this make it even worse?
“How’s your drink?” Anne asked Johnson.
He tried to bring his thoughts back from world news to his girlfriend, who was looking at him and smiling. He stared at the funny concoction in front of him. It wasn’t bad. It was a little weird, but it was pretty good. He decided to go for the simple answer. “It’s good.”
There was also that coronavirus update. He wondered what the situation in America was like right now. He thought about asking Anne, but she seemed distracted by something outside the window. He made a note to read the article later.
He glanced toward Anne. She really was so pretty. For such a long time, he had thought her long eyelashes were fake. And he was still amazed at her gray eyes. Pretty much everyone he knew had brown eyes, or sometimes, eyes so dark they could be black. But hers were gray. They were special.
When Anne suggested they go for a walk in the mall, Johnson agreed and was glad when she took his hand, lacing her smaller fingers between his. He walked along, glad to be inside out of the muggy autumn weather and to just be with his girlfriend. Anne asked about work, and he gave his usual answer. He tried not to think about work after he left the office, and he didn’t think Anne would understand if he did try to explain it.
“Do you wanna just head back home?”
Johnson was surprised she was ready to go already. He felt like they had just arrived, but if that’s what she wanted, then it was fine with him. She seemed irritated by his answer, but he wasn’t sure why.
“I was just enjoying the environment,” he said, using his other hand to motion to the shops around them.
Anne didn’t answer right away, and Johnson was wondering if she was upset when Anne suggested they talk a little more later. Johnson remembered that she liked when he asked her questions. He tried to think back over the last hour or so and couldn’t remember if he had asked her anything yet. What could he ask about? She had asked him about his work; maybe she wanted to talk about her classes. She did seem to enjoy talking about her classes and her students.
“What are you gonna do in your classes this week?”
Anne smiled and launched into a discussion of her plans. Johnson smiled too. He was pretty sure he had nailed it. When she hugged him before they left, he knew he had been right. For some reason, she really liked it when he asked her those simple questions. He should try to remember that from now on.