The Coffee Shop - 4. Chapter 4

When Paul’s mom came out to greet us, Paul handed her a paper bag and whispered something in her ear. She opened the bag and took out one of the muffins. I looked at Paul, and he had a big grin on his face. “I didn’t see you do that.”

“When you were taking your shower, I put the leftover muffin in the bag for Mom to try.”

“You should warm that up before you try it. They are best right out of the oven, but also good warmed up.”

She thanked Paul and me, leaving us to our coffee. I thought, what if she doesn’t like it? Will she be angry that I used her food to make something that she thought wasn’t good. I didn’t need to worry. About 5 minutes later, she came out of the kitchen with a big grin. I got a hug and a kiss on my cheek.

“It was delicious. I think we’ll put that on the menu for breakfast. It’s convenient for business people who are always in a hurry. Tim, I’ll pay you to make them for the shop.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, a place to stay, and a job as well. Tears started to pool in my eyes. Paul noticed and looked at his mom. She patted me on the back, with a smile and a nod of her head, went back to the kitchen.

“Paul, I don’t know what to say. I thank God that you got on that bus and sat next to me. I prayed that He would look out for me. I think you and your mom was His answer. How can I ever thank you?”

Paul just looked at me and smiled. It was a smile of friendship, and at that instant, I knew that Paul and I would be friends for the rest of our lives.

From that day on, my life began to look up again. I enrolled in the high school that Paul went to and joined all of the sports teams. I applied to the community college and was accepted. Working at the shop provided enough money to pay the tuition. I thanked God every day for bringing Paul and his mother into my life. Oh, I started to call Paul’s mother, Mom as well. Even though she didn’t give birth to me, her love was more than enough.

Paul and I stayed in touch while he was away. He continued his schooling until he obtained his doctorate in chemistry. He now teaches at a small university not too far away from home and can come home for long weekends and vacations. I completed my studies at the community college and, through an online course, finished my bachelor’s degree in business. Paul’s mom wanted to take it easy, so I began to manage the shop.

It was over Christmas vacation that Paul announced that he had found the love of his life. The weekend between Christmas and New Years’, Paul introduced Greg to the family. He was a nice guy, quiet but extremely warm. I had a good feeling that this relationship was going to last.

One year later, we attended Paul and Greg’s commitment ceremony. Although they couldn’t be married, this ceremony for them was a lifetime commitment.

Paul and Greg were together for five years when, what was to be, the love of my life walked into the shop. Marie was still working in the shop, and she came into the kitchen and told me that there was a man who wanted to talk to the owner. I wasn’t the owner, but I assumed that I could handle whatever this gentleman wanted to talk about as the manager.

I put my apron aside and went with Marie to see this guy. When I looked into his eyes as we shook hands, my heart did a flip flop. From the expression on his face, I’d bet his did as well. I took him to a table and asked Marie to bring us a coffee. He introduced himself as Brad Worthington and said he was a general manager of a chain of coffee cafes. He had been looking for a supply of exclusive coffee. He had heard about our shop and wanted to sign us up as an exclusive coffee supplier to his chain of cafes. He said if I were interested, he would draw up the papers for my review, and we could meet over dinner. I thought that might be a good idea and to go ahead with the contract. “I’ll review it, and we can have dinner Saturday night if you can have the paper ready by Thursday.”

He just smiled. Opening his briefcase, he took out a contract. “I’m always prepared. If you have any comments, get back to me as soon as possible, and maybe Saturday could be a celebratory dinner instead of boring contract talk.”

That evening all I could think of was Brad. When I got home, I sat down with Mom and told her what happened. She took the contract and looked it over. “I’ll let John, my attorney, look at this, but on the first read, it looks ok. We need to tie up our coffee bean supplier in a similar agreement. He’s a small farmer, and we currently buy his whole crop each year. If this takes off, I may ask him to expand. We’ll probably have to invest in doing that, but we could get into the coffee bean supply business on the plus side. When did you say your dinner engagement is scheduled?”

“We’re planning on having dinner Saturday.”

“Well, that might be too soon. There’s a lot of legal work, and I need to talk to Mr. Garcia about expanding. Do you think that’d be a problem if it’s delayed a few weeks?”

Smiling, “No, it sounds great. I’m sure I can convince Brad to stay around a little longer.”

“Brad, so fast on a first-name basis. Is there something brewing here?”

“I’m not sure, but I think, or I hope, something might be brewing besides coffee.”

Mom just smiled and winked at me as she got up, taking the contract to her office.

I called Paul that night and told him I just might have found Mr. Right. Of course, that led to full disclosure on what happened and why did I feel that way. After about 30 minutes of chatting, he said good luck, and we said good-bye.

The next day at the shop over coffee, I told Brad what Mom had said. He had no problem with the two-week delay. “Are we still on for dinner Saturday night?”

“I’d like that. I’d like us to get to know each other a little bit better. After all, if we’re going to be business partners, we should know something about each other. And what a better way than dinner and spending some time together.”

So for the next two weeks, Brad and I spent every evening together. I introduced him to Mom and received her wink of approval. The time seemed to go so quickly. Mom was busy with Mr. Garcia and the attorneys. At the end of the two week time, we signed a conditional agreement leaving specific clauses open for discussions. Brad was happy with that, and we gave him a pound of coffee to take back to his home office.

Negotiations with Mr. Garcia were finalized. We had to buy into his business with an understanding that he would expand his grove. We got 30 percent ownership with exclusivity for the coffee crop. Mr. Garcia was happy, Mom was happy, and I was delighted. The remaining issue was the price of the coffee we would supply to Brad’s organization. Reviewing the quantity he requested, we would have to install a second roaster. This would take some time. In one of our nightly conversations, I informed Brad that we need to meet to finalize the contract and review our supply commitment.

The following week, Brad arrived and stayed at Mom’s, occupying the spare bedroom. I had moved into Paul’s bedroom, adding my trophies to his. Mom said it looked like a trophy store, but deep down, she was proud of her boys’ sports accomplishments.

It took a day to review the contract, the supply issue, and the roasted beans’ price. We would be limited on our initial supply as we’d need to install a second roaster. Brad said that the coffee we sent was a big hit in the office, and he didn’t see this as an issue.

“I sent one of the packages you sent me to the President of the chain. He told me that the Board of Directors suggested that they buy the supplier to guarantee exclusivity.”

“Mom, maybe we should think again about the price we charge. If the Board thinks this is a great coffee, we could probably double the price.”

I laughed when I saw Brad’s face go white. “I’m kidding, Brad. The price we mentioned is what we want. We are not greedy, but we want to be fair to you and ourselves. We understand that our coffee is a premium roast. That is what we are all about, premium.” When I said that, I winked at him, and he blushed.

Mom started to laugh and went to get us cups of coffee. “But make no mistake, we aren’t selling the business; at least not now.”

After all of the papers were signed, copies distributed, Brad took us to dinner at a very nice restaurant. It was a pleasant evening. But now it was about friendships, and business was over. We relaxed until Mom started questioning Brad about his intentions were toward me. I couldn’t help but laugh. I already had told Mom that I was in love with him, and I’d like to spend my life with him.

Brad wasn’t sure how to answer her. He looked at me. I smiled and shook my head, yes, indicating to go on and tell her. Blushing, “I love Tim very much. I’d like for him to become my life partner if he would agree.”

Mom smiled. I smiled while shaking my head, yes. Brad then reached into his pocket and took out a small ring box. “I was going to do this when we were alone tonight, but since I was asked rather directly what my intentions were, will you be my life partner.” Brad opened the small box, and there were two golden rings. He took one and slid it on my finger as I took the other and slid it on his. Mom had tears in her eyes and hugged us both.

“Welcome to the family, Brad. Well, I guess I’ll get my guest bedroom back now.”

I looked at Brad as he blushed; I knew my face was just as red. “Not until the commitment ceremony. After all, my mother told me to be a good boy.” Mom smiled and playfully slapped me on the head.

“That is fine with me. Tim, if we could, I’d ask you to marry me.”

“Maybe someday that’ll happen. Until then, I’ll be satisfied with the commitment ceremony and your love.”

I had to tell Paul right away. I quietly sent a message to him, telling him that he and Greg were invited to my commitment ceremony. I’ll let him know the date as soon as possible. I think it took less than a minute when my phone rang. I saw it was from Paul. “Mom, this is Paul. Do you want to talk to him?”

Mom took the phone, “Hello Paul. How are you and Greg? Yes, how did you find out so quickly? Brad just asked him 2 minutes ago. He did. Mom looked at me and whispered,’ you are sneaky’. Yes, Paul, I’ll make sure he gets your message. Oh, that would be great. This weekend is perfect.”

She handed the phone to me, and I just listened for the next five minutes. Paul and Greg were very happy for me and insisted that we have dinner this weekend. He said he has to give Brad his blessing before any commitment ceremony is to take place. I chuckled, saying good-bye, we hung up.

Brad looked confused until Mom explained that I had sent Paul a message that he was having a commitment ceremony. I told Brad he would have to pass Paul’s inspection before we could go ahead with the ceremony.

And so, with Paul’s blessing and Greg’s concurrence, Brad and I had our commitment ceremony. I had come a long way from the boy who was rejected by his family. I found a loving family, and more importantly, I found the love of my life. God has blessed me.