CONTESSA DOESN’T UNDERSTAND COFFEE

The coffee shop was small, nestled between larger buildings on a quiet street. The air carried the rich scent of roasted beans and freshly baked pastries, blending with the low murmur of conversation and the occasional hiss of steamed milk.

Contessa sat across from Maggie, fingers curled around a ceramic mug. The coffee inside was dark, its surface rippling as steam curled upward in slow, lazy tendrils. She took a sip.

Maggie, stirring sugar into her own cup, watched her expectantly. “Well?”

Contessa set the mug down. “It is bitter.”

Maggie snorted. “Yeah, that’s coffee.” She took a sip of her own, sighing contentedly. “You get used to it.”

Contessa frowned slightly. People often said the same about alcohol, spicy food, music that grated at first but became familiar over time. The idea of an acquired taste—something one disliked but learned to tolerate, even enjoy after a while—was a curious one.

“What is the purpose of consuming something unpleasant?” she asked.

Maggie grinned. “Caffeine. And sometimes, it’s just about the ritual.”

Contessa glanced around. The shop was full of people nursing cups of coffee, some alone, some in quiet conversation. A man near the window read a book, pausing now and then to take a slow, thoughtful sip. A woman typed on her laptop, her untouched drink cooling beside her. Two friends laughed over their lattes, the foam art still intact, untouched by time.

She turned back to Maggie. “It is an unnecessary habit.”

Maggie shrugged. “Most human things are.” She gestured at the cup. “But it’s nice, isn’t it? The warmth, the smell, the little break in the middle of the day.”

Contessa lifted the mug again, inhaling the aroma before taking another sip. The bitterness remained, but now she noticed the way the heat seeped into her palms, the slight richness beneath the acidity, the way the warmth settled in her chest.

A habit. A ritual. A pause.

She place the mug down.

“…I may have been hasty in my judgement.”

Maggie smirked. “Give it a week. You’ll be a coffee addict in no time.”