Mid-day coffee

“Okay, I’m going to say something really crazy.”

Phoebe, my coworker, looks at my expectantly.

“I am… going to maybe… have a second cup of coffee.”

“Whoa, girl! You’re nuts!”

I grin. Precisely the type of reaction I was both expecting and hoping for from Phoebe. We make our way to the kitchen, grab our lunches from the communal fridge, and pick the table that the heat vents are pumping on the least. The office is never the correct temperature.

I leave Phoebe with her rice bowl and head over to the coffee machine, intending to make good on my second coffee plan.

I pick the pod I want, place it in the machine, and lower the lid.

“It seems to be giving me a…” I trail off, unsure of what exactly the problem is. “Maybe it’s not heated up?”

I walk back to our table and take a bite of my own bowl as I patiently wait for the machine.

A minute goes by, and I go back over. It no longer says it’s heating up, but it does say I have to empty the pods.

“Phoebe, do you have any idea how to pull out the pods on this thing?” I look back at her after I’ve tried and failed to pull at a couple different parts of the base. I’m not trying to break the thing.

“Larkin, do you maybe perhaps think that the universe is telling you no coffee?”

I ignore her, and look back at the coffee machine. Where else could these pods be…

“Phoebe, the universe and I are in a bit of a fight at the moment. I’m going to defy it.”

I remove my paper coffee cup and try pulling on the drip tray itself. Bingo! It pulls right out and I proudly empty the bucket of pods into the neighboring trash can. I reconfigure the coffee maker, set my coffee cup back up, and press for the 8oz option. Little bit of milk, little bit of sugar, and my mid-day pick-me-up is ready.

I’m going to be completely honest with you - I would say that it was fine. Dang universe always knows.