The Coffee Palace

I love the fall season. My favorite. Not too cold, not too hot. Just perfect. It is mid-October. The dominant colors in the city are red, orange and yellow. We have a majestic view on the Mount-Royal boulevard. You can smell the fall season and feel the Halloween vibes.

After a long day of work on this Friday, after 6 PM, after my shift, I decided to head to this new coffee shop they opened a few blocks away from my office. I am curious. It is not a Starbucks, McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts. The place is called The Coffee Palace. It is not franchise to my knowledge.

I arrived there around 6:20 PM. The place is brand new. All re-built from the old infrastructure. We can smell the paint. Brand new counters, chairs, tables, windows, doors, etc.

I will eat later with my best friend Brian. Usually I have supper around 7 PM but because it is Friday, I can eat later and hence wake up later on Saturday morning.

New place, new coffee shop, weekend has started, people leaving work, and curiosity attracts curious minds. I would say there were around forty seats in terms of capacity. I was in the line up waiting for my turn to be served and I kept looking around to see if I will have a place to sit. I wanted to sit, enjoy a good hot drink while continuing reading a novel from Jules Verne titled Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Finally, my turn arrives. I look at the menu in front of me. I noticed four different drinks, specially out for the fall season. I see on the blackboard behind the barista that one of the four seasonal drinks under the autumn category, one has a pumpkin sign. A Halloween special hot drink. That got me curious. It was called Pumpkin Spice. I used to drink a lot of Indian tea when I was still living with my parents. We would call it chai. A masala chai. A spiced tea. It is so tasty. With some sugar, you have a cup of tea that is spicy and sweet, all in the same cup. A great combination of flavors in your mouth. 

‘’May I have a Pumpkin Spice medium size,’’ I requested.

‘’Yes sir. Was there anything else?’’ Replied the barista.

‘’That will be it Miss,’’ I said.

‘’It will be $3.89,’’ she answered.

I made my transaction with my Iphone using Apple Pay. I love technology when it makes our lives easier. 

As I am waiting to pick up my order, I see a lovely young woman, waiting for her order also. I see her glance at me and at the same moment, our eyes crossed each other. She seemed to have just finished her work like me. She was carrying a folder in her hand. She was ahead of me I believe. I see that she ordered one of the seasonal drinks but not the same as me by looking at the color of the cup being prepared for her.

‘’One small Autumnal Cappuccino,’’ calls out the staff member. I see her pick up her drink to head to a table.

After a few minutes, I am offered my Pumpkin Spice. I am looking for a place to sit. I don’t want to go out with the drink. I need to find a seat, enjoy this new drink, and continue reading my novel. I think I can stay here for a good hour, then proceed for my future plans for the evening.

I am staring at the place like a lost kid. With my backpack on me, and my cup in hand, I start walking around the aisles. All the tables are taken. Lot of them have a room for one more person. A two-seater table used by one client only. Either I leave, or ask politely someone, if I can share a table with them. As I keep walking, my eyes fall on the lovely young woman. She is seating on the table that has four seats. She is occupying only one of them. 

‘’ Are these seats taken?’’ I questioned.  

‘’No, al three seats are available,’’ she replied.

‘’Would you mind if I sit at your table? It won’t be long. Max, an hour, and I am gone. I will drink my hot drink while I continue reading my novel.’’

‘’Sure. All good. I am working on a few work projects myself while having my beverage.’’

‘’Thank you very much.’’

‘’You’re welcome.’’

As I pull out my book from my backpack, I have my first sip of the drink. And…just wow!!! I love it. A very special taste. So unique. Some spices, some sugar, some pumpkin flavor, and I sense a taste of maple syrup in it. The drink is hot but I a really enjoying it. In this weather and ambiance, the timing to consume this beverage is perfect. I get to see also the lovely young woman. A nice view…

As I am reading, the lovely young woman, looks at what I am reading. Asking me if it is a fictional novel.

‘’Yes, it is,’’ I replied.

‘’This is a quite long novel. I seem to recognize the cover. It is from Verne?’’

‘’Oh wow! You recognized the author by the front cover? It is so rare people would recognize the author by its cover.”

‘’With the size of the book and the cover graphics, I was quite sure it was Jules Verne and yes, it is Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers.

‘’And you know the title in its original language! Who are you?’’

‘’I am Caroline.’’

‘’Nice to meet you Caroline. I am Andrew.’’

‘’Nice to meet you Andrew. I worked many years in a bookstore. Today, I am in the publishing field. I love to read.’’

‘’I am in the field of computer sciences but reading is my passion since I was a kid.’’

‘’That is a good thing. To have hobbies, interests, passions…’’

While talking to Caroline, this drink is even more enjoyable now.

‘’Are you enjoying your coffee,’’ I asked.

‘’Oh yeah! My first time trying this drink. I see you ordered the Pumpkin Spice. I did try that last week and it was a delight.’’

Out of those four seasonal drinks, mine was terrific and Caroline was enjoying hers. I will try the one she is having next week.

I was supposed to leave by 7:30 PM at latest, and it is 8:30 PM. Time just flew. We kept talking about this new place where we were enjoying our hot drinks and we discussed about our interests is type of novels and authors.

The place is now about to close. We had such a great evening that we did exchange numbers to meet up next Friday, same time, same place, with different type of drinks that we did not try yet.