Just Another Coffee Run

Every morning, I make that same old trip from the break room to my station, but today feels different. There's a customer at the counter who looks like they've had a rough day, just another one of those days where it seems everyone is in a rush and doesn't appreciate how hard we try behind this counter. But then there’s also that one regular who remembers my name every time and asks how I am. That small gesture, even if just for a moment, reminds me why I started doing this job, just to make someone smile with a good cup of coffee. But lately, the smiles are few and far between. The tips have been getting thinner too, which isn't surprising since we've all had our pay cuts and layoffs around here. It’s hard not to feel like we're just another cog in some big machine that doesn’t care how tired or stressed out we might be. But then again, maybe it's okay if the small moments of connection are all there ever is, those tiny bits of humanity that make everything worthwhile.