A Sip in Between | Kazemakase Literature Club

“Hey, why do you always
leave a little bit?”

My husband points at the cup.

There is one sip of coffee left.

“If you ask me why, I wonder why myself?”

“I've always left one sip. And then, I drink it all at the moment I say, 'Alright, let's go.'”

My husband looks at me as if I were something rare.

“Huh... so it really is the very last sip.”

I drink that last sip.

“When I don't have that 'Alright, let's go' sip, things feel a bit off.”

Husband: “A closer, maybe?”

“Yeah, that's right. It's like a way to switch gears.”

Husband: “Is it because it's coffee?”

“Yeah, mostly coffee or tea. With juice... I wonder, did I do that?”

Noticing my own habit, I suddenly trace back through the past.

“At my house, we had tea often, and whenever we got home, it was tea first thing.

Since we'd say 'Let's have some tea' whenever we finished something, maybe it was the sip that wrapped things up.”

“Because once you sit down, you don't want to get back up, right?”

“How was it at your place?”

Husband: “Not at all. That's why I used to think, 'This person sure drinks a lot of tea.'”

My husband laughs while staring at the coffee cup.

"You never skip your after-meal tea, do you?"

Me: "If I don't do that, something feels left behind even when I get into bed. Like I didn't have my tea today."

Husband: "I guess it's all about switching gears."

Our child comes over.

"Mommy, isn't it tea time yet?"

My little daughter decided early on to join the tea parties I used to have after meals, and she invites me every night.

Husband: "Shall we have some tea?"

Child: "Daddy, go over there."

"Sorry, honey, it's a girls' gathering."

My husband walks away, his shoulders slumped.

Me: "I wonder if tea-drinking culture has anything to do with genetics."

"Mommy, what's the treat for today?"

I head to the kitchen with my child, who is smiling and holding my hand.

We both smile as we look at the cookies we pick up.

For some reason, this joy is something I can share with my daughter.

And perhaps, in a few years, there will be a sip left in my daughter's cup, too.

Thank you for reading. This work is participating in a project by the Kazemakase Literature Club.