It all started when two of Abby’s friends used to meet every weekday for coffee. She wanted to join them, but they lived in town and she lived way out in the country. Their coffee shop of choice was too far away. It would mean driving for two hours – an hour there and an hour back – to spend one hour seeing her friends.
Then Bettina got covid. Isolation meant not going out for coffee. A mild case meant boredom and sniffles. When she complained about cabin fever, Abby offered to host a digital coffee hour on her Zoom account.
It was supposed to be temporary. A few days until Betts felt it was safe to go back among other humans. Turned out they all liked the arrangement. Abby got to see her friends. Betts liked drinking coffee in her pajamas. Chris like saving money.
They kept meeting.
Instead of shrinking over time, the group grew. This friend. That sister who lived out of town. They finally settled on about two dozen women all told. A core group of 5 or 6, with others rotating through as time or interest allowed.
The hour was convenient. Coffee hour Abby’s part of the US was afternoon break in Europe.
They talked about this or that. Movies, books, sometimes politics. They talked about coffee. What they were drinking today. Who got a new machine. Brew vs. drip. Coffee history. Free trade. How someone ever figured out how to make coffee from beans in the first place. They talked a lot about coffee. It was coffee hour after all.
There was no role call. Still, people tended to notice when one of the regulars hadn’t shown for a while. Does anyone know what happened to Dorothy? Oh yeah, she’s really swamped at work right now. She’s going in early to cover the opening shift. Where is Erica been? I dunno. I’ll text her later.
Abby didn’t get off the property much, so she was around to play host as soon as all the animals had been fed and settled for the day. She liked to sit out on the porch with the trees in the background. If you’re going to live this far from civilization, you might as well enjoy the perks. Although the prize for backgrounds went to Felicia, who traveled for work and went to some amazing places.
In time, the group would fade away. It was the way of such things. They’d move on to different places in their lives. Fewer people would show up. The meetings would shift to weekly and then to monthly and then to promises of getting together again soon.
Or maybe not. Maybe they’d still be meeting in 30 years. The one steady element in the vicissitudes of life.
It could go either way.
For now, Abby would pour a cup of coffee, aim her laptop at the trees, and hold space for whoever showed up.
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Virtual Brush Box 