CoffeeHouse Talk

One thing you can count on with Iowa winters, they sure can help drive up coffeehouse business. When the temperature is well below freezing nobody in his right mind wants to be out in the snow and wind and rain and crap. Why not take a few minutes and step into the coffeehouse? A nice tall double-shot latte will help chase the chills away, and maybe you'll even surrender to the temptation of fresh-baked cinnamon rolls.

And in this particular coffee house, maybe you'll come in when Nancy is on duty. Like all the employees, she does a little bit of everything around the store. That's how little places do things, after all. Nancy always has a kind word and a smile, and she's always up to date on the news and sports scores. Want to discuss a recent literary work? Nancy has probably read it and would love to talk with you about it. Worried about the news headlines, afraid the US is about to invade Doohickistan? Nancy can probably point you to an article in the New York Times or the LA Times or the Washington Journal or the Ames Tribune or the Bug Tussle Times that show why the US is unlikely to move troops into Doohickistan any time soon. She won't argue with you, she'll just point out the news articles and let you make up your own mind.

This particular aspect of this particular coffeehouse is important to me. You see, Nancy is my wife. I work a couple blocks away, and a lot of my work can be done away from the office with a wireless Internet connection, so I spend a lot of time here. Nancy comes and sits with me when she can, and when she's working I get to watch her schmooze and admire the ease with which she can talk to people. I don't feel jealous - she let's me know for certain that she loves me, and just me. It's actually really cool, watching a person with people skills like that.

So one cold, windy, cloudy Wednesday afternoon this skinny, greasy kid comes in and walks up to the counter. A lot of skinny greasy kids come in every day but this one is special. He looks particularly disreputable. He's carrying a black backpack and it looks like he must have a couple of bricks in it. He orders his brew and sits down just a couple of tables away from me. SGK (Skinny Greasy Kid) puts his backpack on the floor and carefully puts one of his legs through the straps. Huh, must be pretty valuable bricks he's carrying. He sits nursing his coffee, and 10 or 15 minutes later Nancy walks by and asks if he needs anything. Nope, SGK is fine. She comes to sit with me for a bit and we talk about the news, and our cats, and the upcoming
holidays. I monopolize her attention for another 10 minutes then she gets back to work. She asks SGK if he would like a muffin or anything. Nope, SGK is still fine. Seeing that he seems to be staring into his coffee and hasn't hardly touched it, she gets to talking with SGK. He's obviously not interested in talking, but she has that way about her, you know? You just can't help but
talk.

This time, instead of just chatting for a minute and walking on, Nancy sits down with SGK. This is unusual - she usually only sits down with regulars or with groups. But she's sitting talking to SGK, and she's leaning in and listening carefully. I don't want to stare and freak anyone out so I sort of make like I'm looking at my laptop. Nancy gets up and gets SGK a muffin and a cup of tea, and doesn't charge him for it. This is getting interesting - this is definitely different. SGK is obviously getting kind of agitated - must be having an emo moment, and Nancy's trying to talk him through it. She's good that way - she doesn't like to see anyone hurting, and will try to offer what help she can. The two of them talk, and talk, and talk some more. Emo SGK is doing a little bit of crying, and a lot of shaking his head. Nancy talks some more, and he crys a little more, then he starts to nod his head. Whatever she is saying, he's starting to listen and to agree. Like I said, Nancy can reason with anyone.

A couple of minutes later SGK is actually smiling. Looking at his face, I'd say that's an expression that's pretty rare for him. Nancy gets up and comes over to sit with me again.

"Hey, Dan, kiss me, will you?"

I gladly oblige.

"Life is good, right? The good stuff that happens for us is way better than the bad stuff, right? And no matter what happens, we've always got each other to lean on and share with, right?"

"Of course, sweetie! You know it. It always has been for us. There's nothing so bad that we can't face it together. Why, what's up? What's with the kid?"

"Well, I can't tell the details, but that kid is all alone and living with some awful problems and doesn't have anyone to talk to. Remember how rough it was as a kid, not having people you could trust or feel close to? He's a loner, has people that make fun of him, and doesn't know how to handle it. Like we were, when we were young. He really needs to find someone he can share his problems with. I can't imagine going through life that alone."

"As long as he's close by, he's always got you."

"Yes, but I don't know if that will be enough."

SGK selected that moment to leave the coffee house. He stopped by the table to speak to Nancy on the way out.

"Hey, thank you for your time and patience. It really meant a lot to me."

"I'm glad I could help. You know, you're always welcome to come in and talk."

"Thanks. Maybe I will."

He then turned and walked away. He went out onto the street, paused, and came back in again. Again he stopped at my table.

"I just wanted to let you know that you saved my life today. Things have been so bad, and I've been so wiped out by it all, that I was going to end it all today." He unzipped his pack and showed us the ends of a couple of lead pipes. "I made some pipe bombs, and I was going to set them off right in front of me. But I'm not going to. I'm going to drop them off at the fire station and say that I found them, then I'm going to talk to some of the people that I've been afraid to talk to. I guess it's better to do something scary than to think about dieing, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. You've made a very wise choice."

SGK turned and left. He turned right when he got to the sidewalk - towards the fire station.

Turns out SGK has a name - David. And he's not always greasy, and he's not so skinny any more. He's still quiet and somber, and kind of stays to himself, but he comes by the coffee house kind of regular. Lately he's been bringing SGG with him - skinny greasy girl. And when they sit together, you can sometimes hear them laugh. And Nancy still brings him free tea.