From the journal of Debbie Sadler, 34, of Leesburg, VA on 2/1/10:

 

Serves me right, what happened to me today.  I shouldn’t have broken my promise.

Just last night Jim said to me, “Debbie, you need to stop with the daily coffee run.  What’s that costing you each day?”

“$2.00,” I said, rounding it off.

“You’re rounding it off,” said Jim, knowing me all too well.  “How much is it?”

“$2.65,” I said without missing a beat.  My large, chocolate-hazelnut flavored coffee from Cathy’s Coffee Corner across from my office.  Had the price memorized.  “It’s not that expensive,” I said.  “Not as ridiculous as Starbucks.”

“That’s $13.25 a week,” said Jim.  “$53 a month.  You know we need to cut back, honey.”

I promised him I wouldn’t go to Cathy’s anymore.  I would stick with the office coffee.  Yecch.

So that was last night.  I swore to myself this morning that I would not go to Cathy’s Coffee Corner today.  I had the office coffee this morning.  Tasted like liquid tree bark. 

By 2PM I was hitting my afternoon lull and I desperately needed a pick-me-up.  I looked in my wallet and saw a $10 bill.  I immediately thought of Jim and my promise and I closed my wallet.

But wait!  I knew I had change in one of my desk drawers!  I usually paid for my chocolate-hazelnut coffee at Cathy’s with three ones so I would always get 35 cents in change!  Sometimes I’d throw the change in my pocketbook, sometimes in my desk!

I ripped my top drawer open and found a couple quarters, some dimes and some nickels!  This was free money!  This money could be used for my coffee…for my large chocolate-hazelnut coffee today!

I grabbed $2.65 in change and saw that there was only one dime and seven pennies remaining.  Yes, this was indeed free money.  No breaking promises with my hubby since my coffee was pretty much on the house! 

I grabbed my coat and darted outside.  There, caddy-corner from my office, sat Cathy’s Coffee Corner…teasing me…tempting me…beckoning me…I could even smell the coffee from here.

I started to walk down the sidewalk towards the streetlight when I heard a woman say, “Miss?  Miss?”  I looked across the street and saw an elderly woman standing beside a parking meter and what I assumed was her car.  Tanya, the town’s ubiquitous militant meter maid, was approaching fast from down the street.  “Miss?” the woman asked.  “Could I borrow a quarter from you?  I need some more time on my meter and I’m out of change.  I’m so sorry to have to ask…”

Tanya was approaching quickly.  She had pad and pen in hand.  I looked at Cathy’s Coffee Corner…it was still beckoning.  I looked at the poor helpless woman across the street.  I looked at Tanya’s grinning face.  Good Samaritan or good coffee?  A quarter to this lady and her meter and I’d be out one pick-me-up!  My free, unbroken-promised coffee!

I quickly ran across the street, pulled a quarter out of my pocket, and handed it to the woman.  “Bless you,” she said as she placed it in the meter slot and gave the knob a twist.  Tanya was too late.  The woman now had an extra twenty minutes.

I felt good for about five seconds when I saw the flashing lights.  A Leesburg police car pulled up beside the old woman’s car and a cop sprang out.  He took out a pad and pen as he approached…me!

“Can I help you, officer?” I asked.

“Just caught you jaywalking,” said the cop.  “Can I see some identification?”

Now did that old woman pipe up and explain that I crossed the street to give her a quarter to prevent her from getting a ticket?  No!  She was walking into Cathy’s Coffee Corner!!

So there you have it!  Jim was right!  Coffee has become way too expensive!  Hell…here I go and quit my daily coffee run and yet it still cost me fifty bucks today!!!

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