Steve Denyes: Music

One Latte at a Time

(Steve Denyes)

(excerpt from "Waiting on Arleen" monologue)

I was more than a little distracted by the thought of seeing Arleen again. In fact, it just about cost me my job when my boss found me filling the decaf thermos with regular coffee. When you work in a coffeehouse that is something that you just don’t do.

My boss’ name is Will Randolph. He’s the owner of the coffehouse where I work. He named the place the Bean Counter in honor of his first career as an accountant. He laminated coffee beans into the service counter and decorated the place with his collection of antique adding machines, just to make sure people got the joke.

Will’s a good accountant but he’s not much of a businessman. When I first started working for him he was making coffee from the directions that came with his machines. He bought the cheapest beans, used tap water and wondered why people were still buying their coffee at the 7-11 for a buck cheaper.

Over the years, I’ve gotten him to loosen up the purse strings a little bit and let me change a few things. Now, every morning there’s a line out the door.

I’ve been at the Bean Counter for almost five years now and people are always asking me why I don’t move on to bigger and better things. To be honest, I’m not sure that there are bigger and better things. You’d be surprised at how happy you can make someone with a good cup of coffee in the morning.