THE STARBUCKS CHRONICLES
CHAPTER ONE
THE CHAIR
Stacy is already at Starbucks as I pull up for my morning coffee. I can see her silver Porsche parked with the convertible top down. It’s 7:45 on Monday and there are only a few cars in the parking lot at the Boca Center Starbucks. The sun is out, temperature in the 70’s and the humidity is still low on this spring morning in Boca Raton, Florida. I park my car and carry my laptop to the café.
I lost my job in the car business a few months ago, and decided to work from home with an internet business. My wife Arlene works nearby at the shopping mall. She has to dress for work each day. But not me. For now, there are no more white dress shirts and ties. Now I am dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. No more dress shoes, I am seen most days in flip flops. I needed to be around other people, so I started to go to Starbucks in the morning for coffee. Not that I am a lover of their coffee, in fact there are other coffees that I am fonder. But the atmosphere and the people is what draws me to Starbucks. I can sit with my laptop and people watch for hours.
“Good morning” I say as I walk by Stacy to go inside to grab my morning fix. Stacy is seated outside the café. She has a small circular table to herself. Stacy is seated with her back to the café so she can watch the patrons as they walk inside. Stacy has a thing about where she sits. If she is not in her usual seat, she is a little disoriented. She needs to be with her back to something, no one should be able to walk behind her. She needs to be able to see the pedestrian traffic in front of her. Her oversized purse is placed on its own chair next to her. There is a newspaper on the table, a large (or “Venti”) coffee and a similar sized cup of water sitting on the table with an ashtray as well.
Stacy’s wavy red hair is still a little wet from the morning shower and is draped over her shoulders and enhanced chest. Stacy has an outgoing and inviting personality. She knows most of the morning patrons at Starbucks. She is the mayor of Starbucks. She smiles, says good morning to me and buries her head back inside the NY Times crossword puzzle. Stacy has the NY Times and the Sun Sentinel newspapers almost every morning. She reads the horoscopes and does the crossword puzzles. She is not interested in the rest of the paper. Lucky for me. I always have the sports section to read without having to buy the rest of the paper.
There was a light rain earlier in the morning, but Stacy made sure the tables and the chairs were dry for us and in their proper places. She borrows a towel from the baristas and wipes them down; she slides the tables together and arranges the chairs for most of us to sit.
I am only getting a tall coffee as I wait in line, listening to the parade of coffee drinkers ordering an array of different Lattes. Many of the customers are regulars and the baristas are familiar with their orders. They are making a pit stop on their way to work. One by one they enter the café. By 8:00 a.m. the line is 6 deep and growing. Bobby is behind the cash register, totally unfazed by the growing line. Much of which is simply because Bobby has trouble operating the cash register. Bobby also likes to converse with many of the regulars with each of their purchases so that slows things up a little as well. Bobby is a short 53 year old man with thin hair. He is also a photographer that has his works shown in galleries. Bobby was part of the Andy Warhol crowd of the late 70’s. He also has his photos hanging on the walls of this particular Starbucks café. He had done too much partying in the 70’s and 80’s, and now is living a much more sedate life. He seems to have moments where he just is not all there. Bobby lives with his mother and his dog. He works a few hours each morning, probably just enough to secure health insurance benefits.
Bobby sees me every day, he knows me by name and what I want. I am a creature of habit. “A tall coffee for you today?” he asks. We have the same people coming to this Starbucks almost every day. The barista’s have developed a sort of kinship with the morning regulars.
I take the coffee outside and sit with my laptop computer at a table that has been moved close to Stacy as others are expected to join us. We have a fairly regular group each Monday through Friday. The group differs slightly on a Saturday and I am never there on Sunday. We have a diverse group of people that join us. We have many different backgrounds, nationalities, sexes, ages and ethnic backgrounds. Everyone is connected to Stacy. She is the magnet that seems to draw us all together.
“How was your weekend? “ I ask her. “It was ok” she says. “ I took Steph shopping and then stayed home waiting for Jeff to bring Steven and his dog home”.
Stacy is going through a divorce. Her third. Jeff, her most recent casualty, was apparently an on again off again boy toy that eventually resulted in a marriage. He is a fireman and several years younger than Stacy. The marriage lasted only a short while and they had no children of their own. After they separated, Jeff was not allowed to visit this Starbucks. He was also barred from several other places that Stacy liked to frequent. There is no protective order, it is simply an understanding that they have.
Steven, Stacy’s son from a prior marriage is fond of Jeff and they spend time together. Steph is Stacy’s 20 year old daughter from the same prior marriage.
Everyone that is acquainted with Stacy is familiar with the drama in her life. We are all her sounding boards as she expresses the latest news of her troubled relationships and new adventures. Our crew is like an extended family.
Richard slowly walks by, cigarette in hand. Richard is a stock trader that works in an office building behind the strip mall. He has already been to the office, and now is having his morning break before the stock market opens. Richard is a short 59 year old divorced man with a Napoleon complex. He is quiet, but with a strong knows it all personality. Richard has experienced almost everything. Just ask him. Or, better yet….don’t. He will just tell you. He was a landscaper, a masseuse, a firefighter, a semi pro hockey player, an star softball player and baseball coach. As I was sitting down to write this story, Richard advised that he too has written a book. “About this thick!” Richard showed with his hands, showing about 3 inches worth of thickness. While clearly full of himself, he has an otherwise pleasant demeanor. And, besides boasting about his own success, he enjoys conversing about the latest sports news.
“Good morning” Richard says as he walks toward the tables. He stops a few feet away so he can finish his cigarette. “Anyone need anything in side” ? he asks. No thank you, I say as I open my laptop to check my emails.
Richard comes outside with his coffee and breakfast and sits at the table with Stacy. He brings an extra chair over so that Tammy has a seat. Tammy is a late 40’s former medical practitioner and now a stay at home mom with a young son. She is a thin blond woman and generally in her tennis outfits in the morning. She is soft spoken and seems to be enjoying motherhood late in life. As she approaches the tables, Richard’s face brightens like a schoolboy with an adolescent crush. “You look so nice in that outfit “ Richard says. Tammy smiles and thanks him as she sits in her reserved seat by Richard. She is waiting to go inside for coffee as the line inside has already grown more than 8 deep.
“How was everyone’s weekend?” Tammy inquires. “I had to wait around all day yesterday for Jeff and Steven to come home” Stacy immediately responds. “ He tells me he wants to get back together, but then he is so inconsiderate…. . “ “I had a little league baseball game for my son yesterday, it was so much fun” Tammy says.
“My son Steven was a fantastic baseball player”. Richard jumps in. “I coached him throughout little league. ….. He was even invited to play in the Maccabi games a few years back.” Richard proudly adds. The Maccabi games is sort of Jewish Olympiad.
Jackie is another regular to the group. I remember the first time I met Jackie, I was on line at Starbucks and she was sporting a very nice handbag that I commented on. Since I sell women’s clothing and handbags on line, I occasionally take notice of interesting handbags. Jackie is a tall thin mid 40’s woman. She is originally from Canada, married with 2 children. Her son is 14 and her daughter is 17 years old. She is also somewhat bohemian in her style and works part time at Lucky Brand’s store in the mall nearby.
Jackie’s is a doctor’s daughter and married into a fairly wealthy Canadian family besides. There is an aura of wealth about her. Not in a pretentious way, just the aura. Jackie is a very bright opinionated lady that is always able to help Stacy with the answers to her daily crossword puzzle.
Jackie drives up in her blue Mercedes with the top down to enjoy the morning Florida sunshine. She parks her car near mine. When she gets out of the car, she is already holding an empty Starbucks coffee cup. She recycles. It is her contribution to the environment.
With a rather fast gate, using her long strides, Jackie walks towards us. Jackie walks practically every morning for exercise around 5 am. Why anyone would want to walk or voluntarily exert physical activity at that hour of the morning is beyond me. But then again, I am one who has trouble making it to the entrance of a gym more than once a week.
“Good morning”, Jackie says as she puts her car keys and a book on the table where we are sitting and the proceeds to enter Starbucks for her morning tea. Jackie is an avid reader; she is a member of a book club and will read at least one book a week. However, she never gets to read her book in the morning but still brings it along.
Jackie has been frequenting this Starbucks much longer than I have and knows each of the baristas by name and they (at least most of them) not only know her name but know her morning flavor. Chai flavored Tea.
“How was everyone’s weekend? “ Jackie asks, as she sits down at the table next to me with a “Venti” cup of tea (a large in Starbucks language). “I went to dinner on Saturday with {Simon and Paula}” ( some other couple and not a member of the crowd so why even mention their name?) . “I drank a little too much wine, but felt I needed to make up for the fact that Alfred did not drink”. Alfred, Jackie’s husband is a tall stocky guy. Looking at this guy, you would think this guy could put away a six pack of beer or down a few cocktails with ease. But, he does not drink. He does party a bit (smokes a joint or two on a regular basis). We all have our vices.
Alfred rarely comes to Starbucks, but through Jackie we know all about him. He plays basketball (he is tall enough to play a forward position on an over 40 men’s team) and is a country club golfer with a very respectable handicap. He took over his father’s jewelry manufacturing business and travels regularly. More than that, at this stage of my writing, I can’t say.
Jackie enjoys the movies so frequently my conversation with her will center on the latest flicks that are opening in the neighborhood theatres or movies we have seen.
We sit at the tables, making small talk about the news of the day, the weekend, and watching the passersby’s. We read sections of Stacy’s paper and help Stacy with her crossword puzzle.
Stacy’s neighbor Danielle walks by. Danielle is a single late 30 something girl that is still trying to hold on to her 20’s. She is always dressed like she is about to go to the gym. She is not all that attractive in the face, a borderline butta face. But she has a body that makes most women envy. She has a totally flat stomach; shapely legs; fake tits that always have their headlights on; and is dressed in the skimpiest outfits to show off these assets. She has virtually no fat anywhere. She walks by to be noticed by all. No one really says hello to Danielle but everyone stares ….and Danielle give a forced acknowledgement to Stacy.
Apparently Stacy and Danielle do not get along. Accordingly, Danielle is not invited to join the table.
Other familiar faces continue to walk by. We see the same people almost every day. Most we don’t know by name, only their look; their car; or the kids they have in tow.
There is the lady with harem pants that looks like actress, Francis McDormand, and drives a red Jeep.
There is Harvey the chiropractor who arrives most mornings with hospital scrubs.
There is the lady with the 4 year old little boy that reminds me of the little kid “Ray” from the movie “Jerry Maguire”. “D'you know that the human head weighs 8 pounds”? I keep hearing that line in my head every time I see that little boy.
There is “Jody”, the athletic looking women, that dresses as a tennis coach each morning. Turns out she is both a tennis coach and gym teacher. She pulls up in an SUV with someone driving most days. The driver is her husband and fellow teacher. They are newlyweds. He is also dressed as if he is going for a workout or to the tennis courts. She gets out runs to get coffee and returns to the SUV. The driver of the SUV doesn’t just wait outside, he parks in a parking spot and then, in stealth mode, pulls out to pick Jody from the front of the café as if he had just pulled up.
There is the guy in the Mercedes that walks with a limp to the café. He is a well built guy, dressed in a shirt and tie but has a limp like he just got off the football field. Like his muscles or knee are hurting from the day before. He limps going in, but does not have as noticeable a limp returning to his car.
There is the Boca police officers that congregate as well; about 3 or 4 of them each morning. Stacy knows one of them from her paddle boarding on the weekends.
We see the same people almost every day. Some stop to say hello, but most are in there own little worlds and are just routine passer byers. Only a select group seem to migrate to the tables and actually sit down. Some stop to say hello, most simply go about their business without even an acknowledgement that they have walked by us.
Our conversations this morning have, as usual, moved into so many different directions it is hard to keep up. There is very rarely a theme to the morning conversations. We are not members of a book club. We do have our gossip though as most groups have.
I can see in the parking lot Whitney and Harland getting out of their SUV with Sara. Whitney is a young 30 something mom with a body that a teenage girl would die for. She is a former teacher in a local high school that retired from teaching after giving birth to her daughter two years ago. I am told that Whitney used to be fat. I have not seen a picture, but several confirm that sighting. Harland on the other hand is an overweight guy. He is dressed in shorts and an Ed Hardy Tee. He looks as though he just woke up. Well, both Whitney and Harland look like they just woke up. Whitney gets away with it. Harland does not.
Sometime after giving birth, Whitney went through a major metamorphous (and plastic surgery) to have the kick ass body she has now. She appears this morning, as she does each morning, with extremely short jogging shorts and a tight t-shirt that shows off her nicely enhanced breasts. She is braless and there is some visible nipple action seen.
They walk toward us, Whitney with a pack of cigarettes and her keys in hand; Harland pushing the stroller with Sara.
Whitney sits down at the table, while Harland goes inside to gather vittles. Whitney is still a party girl. Her conversations generally relate to some club or bar she and Harland or she and some girlfriend visited that week or plan to visit. Whitney is the daughter of Ira Schwartz. Ira is a retired businessman and sometimes local politician. He frequents Starbucks, but not till later in the morning.
Whitney asks Richard for a light, as she pulls a cigarette from her pack. She stands so as not to smoke in anyone’s face and proceeds to begin a conversation with Stacy over a bar she was at over the weekend.
Our tables are full and the conversations are in full swing when Harland returns. He grabs a chair and sits near the stroller to feed Sara. Harland is also a work at home guy. Not exactly sure what he does, but I believe it is marketing related. He has a flexible schedule and a job or business that does not require a shirt and tie in the morning.
Whitney seems to either go out a lot or talks as though she is going out a lot. Who knows? But when I have seen her at parties, she seems to have a good time.
Our tables are just about full. The lone empty chair is next to Stacy and occupied by her purse. Stacy needs that chair for guy who may or may not be coming to visit this morning. The chair is always set in place and occupied by the purse until that special person comes. In fact, during the next several months the chair right next to Stacy takes on a transient occupancy.
There is Steve, an older semi retired guy that Stacy met through a friend. Steve seemed to have it all, at first. He was a well built guy around 50 years old; had money from a business he sold; drove a late model red Mercedes SL55; and had a very big cock for a white guy. But, he had a problem. He complained about money and the prices of things a little too much for Stacy. They would go out on a date to a local restaurant and all he did was complain about the prices for food. At first it did not bother her, but over time (the third or fourth date) it became too much.
There was Texas, a guy she met on Facebook. Long distance relationships don’t usually work, but Stacy made a go of it. She went to visit him in Texas to meet face to face . Despite the long distance relationship, Texas fit the mold of most of Stacy’s boyfriends. He was a weight lifter, and very into fitness and outdoor activities like Stacy. Stacy likes extreme sports, rock climbing, paddle surfing, kayaking etc. She never met him before her trip to Texas. Although they spoke on the telephone. When she left for Texas, she promised to check in with several of us periodically in case Texas was a serial killer. All was ok, Stacy return thinking of a long term relationship with a guy in Texas.
However, the chair for Texas only was occupied on one weekend. The weekend he came to visit Stacy in Boca Raton, we had a party for him. We don’t know what happened but suffice it to say one weekend in Boca Raton was enough for Texas.
There is the gas station guy. He is a guy that Stacy met while filling her car with gas. The guy supposedly works in the same industry as Stacy, so she was able to “check him out”. He fit the mold, a weight lifter between his mid thirties and mid forties.
There is Tony. Tony is a friend or boy toy of Stacy’s that she met at the gym. He is an extremely well built black man in his late 30’s. He Look’s like a professional athlete. Tony and Stacy know each other from the gym for a while. But once she separated from Jeff they started to hand out outside of the gym. One happy hour they went for drinks and before you know it, Stacy was back at her townhouse with Tony. The next morning the chair was reserved for him. According to Stacy the myth was true. He was extremely well hung as well. Tony would become a regular fuck buddy for Stacy. No real relationship just occasional drinks or a breakfast and hot sex.
There is Craig from New Jersey. He is a guy that Stacy used to work with in Boca and according to Stacy has been trying to get into her pants for years. Craig made a lot of money in the market and travels to Florida often. It took a lot of wining and dining and some drinks for him to succeed. They remained friends and occasional bed partners and therefore the chair was occasionally occupied when he came to town.
Finally, there is Jimmy. Jimmy is the current prime candidate for Stacy, he is 2 years older than Stacy at 47 and as much a gym and fitness fanatic as Stacy. He is a career military man. Back from a tour in Iraq and getting ready for training to go to Afghanistan. The stories he tells about his training and his operations are quite interesting. Jimmy is 6’4 and built like a football player or “Rambo”. He drives a classic Porsche from the 70’s that he fixed up. And, Jimmy has been the apple of Stacy’s eyes as of late. However, Jimmy does not want to start a serious relationship with Stacy because he is traveling overseas soon. While Jimmy is in town, the seat is always waiting for him and the possibility he may show up.
There has been so many during the six months it is difficult to keep track of the entrants to thru this revolving door. The one constant is the chair. Today it is being occupied by a purse. But dare anyone to try to sit in that chair, even a regular and they will get a look and notice that “someone” maybe be stopping by.
Stacy takes a call on her blackberry as we are sitting around the group of tables. It was Jimmy, he is not coming but wanted to say hello. Her facial expression changes and she stands up. She is ready to leave. It is time to go to work….soon others begin to leave as well.
It is already 9:15 am, how the time flies and we all begin to disperse.
A slice of life, seen from a chair at Starbucks.
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