Alfie looked at his coffee. It didn't smell like Poppy's. It didn't taste like Poppy's either. It was the one thing he could always count on in the morning.
Sure, he wanted to be on his own. He'd told Poppy this. How he really needed to go solo for a while. Really, he had good intentions, but then he showed up at work a little late and told Kristine who he worked with about staying in his car, she told him he could stay at her place.
She was a mom. She had a daughter just a little younger than him. Of course, it made him a nervous wreck when he found Ting was there. Suddenly, he felt he was meeting Poppy all over again. Except, her hair was a different color and she was really a bit of an introvert.
He found himself talking. Just talking. He couldn't stop himself. Nor help himself. Sometimes, she would crack a smile as if he was just as strange as he probably sounded.
It hurt. But still, it was nice to be at Kristine's. Just being with her and her daughter. Oh, they were always waiting on him. He did try to wash the dishes. He fried bacon for breakfast, but they didn't like bacon.
"I wish you would have told me you were vegetarians." He'd found bacon in the ice box along with half and half.
"We..we just don't eat it very often," Kristine said.
There was their dog. He enjoyed it. They were the only males in the house. Alfie would hate to get used to this, but he knew he could.
"You just take your time," Kristine had said about living here. She was after all his supervisor.
It was quiet here. Unusually, quiet. But it was a house. It wasn't apartment living.
Still, he felt lost. So lost. Was he really that bad? As bad as Poppy said?
Yes, he liked to smoke, but he did that outside. Yes, he liked to drink, but it was only red wine. Just one bottle a night. He always shared. Although, Poppy didn't like it.
He guessed he spent his money on all the wrong things. He was doing his best not to smoke. Not to drink. But this was a part of him. He couldn't ignore it.
He drank another cup of coffee, but he made a face. Was this really coffee? Could it be something else?
"It's Chicory," Ting finally said.
"Chicory?" Alfie made a face of disgust, but he took another sip. There was a lot to get used to.
Hello!! I love the title and the chapter is really good, thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!!
Chicory coffee is new to me
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing post-title! I loved it. Bye the way i really dont know anything about the chicory coffee. Looks really different.
ReplyDeleteI like coffee very much. I don't know chicory coffee. Nicely written.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.
Lots of changes. A bottle a night? That... seems like a lot. Maybe that's Poppy's issue. Living with his supervisor could be interesting too, I hope things work out.
ReplyDeleteGreat 👍
ReplyDeleteInteresting :-D
ReplyDeletePobre Alfie hasta le cambian el café. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteOther interesting chapter
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, I love read you
Kisses ♥
Very interesting. Have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteAlfie, este vícios são muito ruins,
ReplyDeleteesqueça eles o quanto antes!
Um abraço!🌼
That's so nice that Alfie's boss took him in. Caroline Rhea is a good choice for her! And I agree with Greg that a bottle of wine a day is a lot. I guess that's the point -- Alfie hasn't really admitted that he has a problem. You're always so wonderful at showing us who characters are even when they don't know themselves.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's so funny that you mentioned chicory. I just posted about that too, albeit as a made-up hair color called Chocolate Chicory. 😁🍫