Cappucitno -

A quiet drink for tired people. With cinnamon. On trust.

“I’m always tired,” she said, not sadly, just as a fact. “My mom died last month. I’ve been reading George Eliot at 6 a.m. because it’s the only thing that makes my brain shut up.”

He stared. He had never made that mistake. Never. His fingers trembled slightly as he picked up the rag. “A typo. I’ll fix it.”

She drank it slowly, holding the cup with both hands. Then she smiled. It was the kind of smile that made Marco remember why he had left banking for coffee beans twenty years ago.