[Short Story] Continued: Senior Coffee Shop (1) End
The elderly waitress from the previous story is no longer here.
It is true that she hadn't been in a state to work at the shop lately.
I suppose she finally retired.
A young girl has come in her place.
She is handling things normally and efficiently.
I feel a little lonely, though.
It has become an ordinary coffee shop.
However, the Showa-retro atmosphere, unchanged from before, is still alive and well.
Although the waitress has become younger, the owner in the kitchen and the regular customers are still elderly, and time flows slowly.
However...
The fried egg this morning has so much salt on it, it's like they're trying to kill me.
There isn't a single ingredient in the soup.
Did they forget to turn on the background music, too?
The shop is strangely quiet.
And, even though it should have been over 30 minutes since opening, there is no coffee on anyone's table yet.
"Is the coffee ready yet?"
Unable to stand it any longer, one of the regular customers called out to the owner in the kitchen from his seat.
Ah, it's not ready yet.
......
Perhaps the owner is starting to lose it, too.
However, everyone just lowered their eyes back to their newspapers and continued to wait patiently for their coffee to be ready.
Not a single customer complained.
I will surely come to this coffee shop again tomorrow.
And, of course, so will the regulars.
I don't know why this place is so relaxing.
But, isn't that beside the point?
I take a sip of the soup, which has gone completely cold and has no ingredients in it.
When I turn my gaze outside the window, there are people heading to work in a hurry.
The flow of time there is completely different from here.
I slide my empty plate to the corner of the table, rest my elbows on it, and watch that busy world gracefully and at my leisure.
The coffee has not arrived yet.
The End