He opened up the disturbingly light bag to get four scoops of coffee for the French press, but a mere pinch of the precious black powder mocked him. He forgot that since his son turned fifteen, there were now two coffee drinkers in the house. No matter. He had gotten up early enough to prepare for a job interview that morning, so he had time to stop at Starbucks on his way in.
He circled the block four times looking for a parking space, but every time one opened up it was behind him. He ended up squeezing in the leftover space between a Fiat 500 and a Nissan Leaf with scarcely an inch of clearance on either side. No matter. If he could get into it, he could get out of it.
A woman with fierce eyes stepped in front of him as he approached to order. She thrust her coffee towards the cashier with such force that some of it sloshed out.
“I asked for a soy latte. This tastes like animal exploitation. What’s wrong with you people?”
The cashier tried to apologize and order a replacement, but the woman was having none of it.
“You want me to get out of the way so you can wait on other customers? You know what I want? A soy latte. I’ll move when you bring me what I paid for.”
Now it did matter. This was going to make him late for his interview.
“Why are you preventing her from waiting on other customers while your order is being taken care of? It isn’t fair.”
The woman looked him up and down as if he was a cockroach on the dining table during Thanksgiving dinner.
“It isn’t fair?” she spat vehemently. “You’re right. It isn’t fair that my decision to be a vegan, a decision that benefits everyone, including white middle-aged men such as yourself who have gone out of their way to destroy the planet, is treated as if I’m simply a picky child throwing a tantrum. It isn’t fair that you’re first in line when it comes to decent jobs and pay. It isn’t fair that I came here early to get a cup of coffee, but now I’m about to be late because it doesn’t matter whether or not they get my order right.”
Her order arrived. She inspected it and left. His watch declared that he would have to face his interviewer without the benefit of caffeine. He went outside and saw the Nissan Leaf, driven by Soy Latte, unable to escape the clutches of his close parking job.
He pulled out, scraping her bumper in the process, but made it to his interview precisely on time. The secretary told him that his interviewer was running a couple of minutes late. What a relief. That gave him a few moments to compose himself before going in.
He walked in the office, the picture of assured confidence, and put his hand out to greet… Soy Latte!
Literature in Small Doses 