Don't Get in Your Own Head

It was one of those mornings. You know the one. The kind where you get a perfectly fine amount of sleep, at least by your standards, but you still wake up feeling like you haven't felt rest in 30 years.

As a fitness instructor, it was important for Taffy to feel energized before it clocked in. How could anyone feel like they can take on the world when their instructor looks like it can't even take on keeping its eyes open? There was only one way to fix this. Well, there were multiple ways, but only one of them involved something sweet, making it the only way according to Taffy.

It would have to visit the Paradise Café before its shift at noon.

The trek to the café was arduous, made even more so by the morning's fatigue. Nevertheless, Taffy made it mostly unscathed. The moment Beanny saw the messy head of hair on top of Taffy’s head, they immediately diagnosed the situation.

“Another rough morning?”

Taffy could only manage a nod.

The sound of Beanny jotting down on their notebook introduced what they were about to say next. “Your usual will be out in a jiff. Take a seat wherever, I’ll find you.”

Contrasting Beanny’s purposeful and confident stride over to the brewing area, Taffy practically dragged itself to the nearest seat. Alarm bells attached to its body would’ve been less obvious to anyone nearby that it needed caffeine STAT.

Luckily, the café was surprisingly quiet, so Beanny was able to work on Taffy’s order right away. 
Unluckily, the café was surprisingly quiet, so the few others who were there had their full attention on Taffy’s situation.

Feeling pitiful, Taffy leaned over the table and hid its face in its arms while it waited. It wasn’t like it was trying to make a scene, and the other customers could’ve standed to make their staring a little less noticeable.

Soon enough, Beanny had Taffy's order hot and ready. It was a cappuccino… arguably. Not to mean that it was poorly-made, oh no. Beanny’s work was fantastic. It was that the specifications to Taffy’s intensely sweet palette that made its status as a cappuccino questionable. With whipped cream on top of the milk foam, sprinkles of several varieties, two strawberry wafers on each side, white chocolate chips, three chocolate-coated biscuits, jelly beans, chocolate drizzle, caramel drizzle, strawberry drizzle, and a cherry on top, many would call it hot ice cream before ever considering it coffee. However, it also had espresso, so coffee it was… at least to Taffy.

Beanny brought the drink over to where Taffy was sitting and immediately put their other hand on their hip upon seeing its head on the table.

“Your morning's really this bad?”

Taffy unstuck its face from the table surface. “Sorry…”

The barista shrugged and gently set the drink down in front of Taffy. “You don't have to apologize. I'm just curious. You’ve never acted like this on your coffee days.” After a quick scan for any new customers, they sat across from the other bun. “You wanna talk about it?”

Head leaning on one of its hands, Taffy looked down as it spoke. “It's really nothing important. I’m just feeling a bit self-conscious. I guess I kinda made a scene coming in here.” Taffy took a sip of its drink and quickly perked up with some of its usual energy. The way the blend seemed to have instant effects was frankly incredible. “I didn't mean to, though! I was just tired!” Now clutching the cup with both hands, Taffy took another step towards its normal self with a second sip. “Everyone's eyes on me like that made me almost not even want coffee after all! Almost.”

Beanny held their chin. “Huh. I wouldn't have guessed you’d care about that sort of thing. Interesting.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your usual coffee order tells me a different story.”

With a puzzled look, Taffy licked a bit of overly-dressed whipped cream off the top of the drink in question. “My coffee order?” A quick pause to wipe whipped cream and sprinkles off the chin. “Is there something wrong with it?”

“To some people, yes. But to you, no. That's what I mean. I get some customers who force themselves to drink coffee black because they're scared of judgment from coffee purists who’d disapprove of even a bit of cream or sugar.” Smiling, Beanny leaned back in their seat. “As confused as I was by your order, I honestly kind of respected it. It’s so unapologetically your own taste, and you always drink it without a care. That's the way to do it. Do you get what I'm saying?”

“I shouldn't let what other people think get to me, like what I do with my coffee, huh…” Taffy took a sip contemplatively as it leaned back in its seat. Even though its energy was almost entirely back, it was quietly drinking in both Beanny’s words and the delicious brew. Eventually, every drop of coffee was gone, and out came Taffy’s next thoughts.

“Some people really drink coffee with nothing in it???”

…

Beanny’s laughter chased the silence. They lifted their glasses to wipe their eyes as they choked out their words between small fits of giggles. “Yep. That… That they do.”

Laughing along, Taffy checked the time. Its laughter came to a complete halt. 

“I’M GONNA BE LATE!!!”

With a SLAM Taffy slapped the necessary carats, including a generous tip, on the table and bolted out the door, shouting like you’d end up in a wonderland if you followed it.

Beanny smiled and waved after it before starting to clean the table. “Odd girl,” they murmured to themself, “as the way it should be.”

Two eavesdropping customers a couple tables away piped up.

“I agree.”

“Me, too.”