Mikio clasped his hands together delightedly and replied, "Wonderful, I'll get to it." As he and the scarved stranger congregated around the island bar-table, two nattily-clad men entered. Much to the shock of Mikio, who rocked back on his heels slightly, one of the finely suited men asked, "
Y'all don't serve any alcohol here, do ya?" He hardly managed to speak in return when the other chastised him. Pursing his lips, the waiter's hand found the gentle grooves of one of the coffee cups neatly piled on one of the table's upper shelves before bringing the pearly, graceful cup on the counter behind him.
Mikio smiled at the man's apology. "No, no, mornings are rarely ever spoiled. Let me get it started for you three. Please make yourselves comfortable, gentlemen!" Mikio chirped in response, grabbing two more coffee cups, all displaying a careful spiderweb of symmetric golden lines curving about the white porcelain. He withdrew the coffee filters and grabbed the sealed glass container of milled coffee beans that Mikio had grounded half an hour earlier. Rich, sensuous smells danced around him as he unsealed the container and gingerly poured the blackened-brown grains of coffee beans into the white filters. Mikio learned well from Shika; he kept a balance between the coarse, acid taste of over-extraction and the unexciting flatness of poor extraction.
He did not hear the mumble coming from the seated man, whose eyes reminded Mikio of the still-seething cinders of a fire. He was too focused his attention on setting the perfect water-coffee ratio; using only filtered water--Shika had edified to such an extent that she often remarked on the exact sameness of Mikio's habits compared to her own. He flicked on the coffee machine, which responded with a gravelly protest. The heavy smell of coffee soon permeated the air of the Tea Lounge.
The sharp
clink of ceramic on quartz pierced the coffee-thick air as Mikio methodically laid out the cups of scalding-hot coffee out in a line, coasted on a small plate that, too, shared the simple curving artwork of the coffee cups. He then set out a basket of sweeteners and sugars, all abreast with carafes of fresh milk.
"There you are, gentlemen. Please enjoy!" Mikio announced with a sheepish smile.
