It is a cold, rainy December day. After browsing at the library, you are perambulating through the town's main shopping street, umbrella overhead. You walk past the Banana Republic, the Talbot's, the Gap.
You cross the street and enter a coffee shop which is not a Starbuck's, but almost. What the place lacks in crass commercialism and bad atmosphere, it makes up for in warmth and unassuming charm.
There is music, Anita Baker, softly purring in the background. You approach the counter, and looking at the goodies behind the glass, you decide to yourself, "Yes, I will have that brownie that looks so good." One of those "holiday specialty" spicy pumpkin lattes will fill the bill as well.
The attendant is an attractive, cheerful Asian man of about your own age (not a teenager.) His smile and pleasant manner light up the otherwise clammy gray afternoon. Heck, you even give the guy a tip, and you're not much of a counter-tipper.
You will not remember the exact name of the drink you have chosen, much like the perfect one-night stand you meet at some Christmas party or other where things just seem to line up your way for an evening.
Expert hands which seem to have been guided by an Unseen Force, put in just the right amount of coffee, steamed milk, and pumpkin and cinnamon spice.
The ingredients of this drink, or, more specifically, the flavors, are indeed quite special. The steam rises from the cup and delivers the spicy bouquet of pumkin to your nostrils. The nutmeg sprinkled on top, shimmers and twinkles at you as it floats on the foam at the top of the cup.
Those who study alchemy or sex magick will understand this: It is as if you have invoked the Angel of the Nutmeg, the Angel of the Cinnamon, the Angel of the Pumpkin, and the Angel of the Coffee who have all transmogrified into the Lover of Your Soul, as they stand, tiptoes on the edge of the paper cup, waiting. Waiting for you.
You lift the cup to your lips. The temperature is just hot enough, just below too hot for you to quaff a healthy amount of the drink. As it flows into your mouth, over your tongue, you realize: you haven't tasted anything this delicious in a very, very long time.
You close your eyes and mouth after the first taste, savoring it. You lean back in your chair, open your book and start reading with a sense of satisfaction that must be palpable to the others in the coffee shop. You are going to take your time with this beverage.
You are in a unique bubble of time and space.
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