Joe's Doughnuts

            Another day, another test, it’s amazing what the universe will do to make myself a better man. It was during my typical morning routine, you know the one where I leave my house at exactly 6:45 am, drive eight-point-nineteen miles down the road to Joe’s Doughnuts, pick up my usual coffee with two packs of sugar but no cream and two doughnuts (one glazed and one chocolate), then continue another thirty-seven-point-forty miles to work. Well it was at Joe’s doughnuts where it happened.

            As you know, I always take the drive-thru at Joe’s, and I would like to thank the man himself for putting it there for me, making my commute so much more efficient, especially since nobody ever uses it that early in the morning. You don’t see that many drive-thrus at small time coffee shops, so I cannot thank him enough; but I digress. Yet the universe works in mysterious ways and I stumbled upon a line, a small line maybe three or four cars, but still a line. I figured that Joe, being the clever genius he is, arranged this to get me to come in and finally meet the man. So I did.

            I was greeted with a warm smell of surgery air, and the soothing roasted of a cocktail of many coffee blends. The shop was small, almost uncomfortably so, it held only two two-seater tables and nothing more. Behind the counter stood a woman of middle age, she wore a blight orange shirt, but the expression of her face was as dull as a winter’s night. I’ve never seen her before, but I knew she liked me; I was their most valued customer after all.

            “I would like the usual please,” I said with a warm smile on my face.

            “Sorry sir,” she said her face still stern, “I don’t know what that is.”

            “Joe didn’t tell you about this?”

            “About what exactly?”

            “That he wanted to meet me in person, that’s why the drive-thru –. “

            “The drive-thru is what?” She cut me off.

            “Let me finish please,” I said. Maybe she was new here, that would explain her expression, and she wasn’t a morning person for sure. “The drive-thru is busy. It’s never busy this early in the morning, but it is now so I knew it was because Joe wanted to meet me.”

            The door bell rang, I turned around, maybe this was all a trick before Joe came in to shake my hand (and maybe offer me a free meal). But it wasn’t, two women dressed in button shirts, one a baby-blue the other a plain and white, and khakis paraded in instead. I have to admit, I felt a tad disappointed.

            “I wouldn’t know because I never liked dealing with the drive-thru,” she said, “now if you would excuse me I have actual customers to get to.”

            “Hey Mel,” the woman in white said.

            “Moring,” the woman behind the counter said, “the usual for you two?”

            “Yes please.”

            “Hey,” I chimed in, “what about my usual?”

            “What usual?” Mel said.

            “Oh I see,” I said walking to the door and smiling as I realized what was going on, “I see. This is a test of my patience, not some sort of reward for being a valued customer. I wasn’t even supposed to come into the store this morning. You just wanted to see if I could wait in the drive-thru, and if I could I would be the best customer. Tell Joe that I passed, I’ll pull my car around.”

            I walked triumphantly out of the shop with a bounce in my step and a smile on my face, this was a good day. I felt so stupid for not getting it before hand but it was better than standing in line like some sort of idiot.