A Cafecito.

• Author: Alvarez, Julia
• Position: Short story

Joe barely recognizes his hometown in Nebraska. There are a lot more houses, a new mall, a truck stop, a strip of fast-food chains. Beside the Dunkin' Donuts is a holdout, an old, frame house with its name--Early Bird Cafe--written in curlicue script on the glass. Joe stops there his first morning for a cup of coffee.

As he steps inside, a little bell tinkles. A woman at the counter looks up from the book she's reading. She is in her early forties, Joe guesses, with dark hair and eyes the color of coffee beans.

Howdy, he says. Can I bother you for a cafecito?

The woman puts her book away reluctantly. Say what? She asks him.

Joe smiles. That's Spanish for a cup of coffee.

The woman serves him a cup that Joe can barely get down.

Where'd you get this coffee? Joe asks.

Supplier, the woman replies. Is there something wrong with it?

Joe nods. Remember that book you were reading when I walked in the door? Held your imagination. A cup of coffee has to do the same thing. So, to answer your question, this cup of coffee is like a book you end up using as a doorstop or coaster instead of that book there you could hardly put down.

Joe stops himself, embarrassed. Living off the grid of civilities, he's lost his manners.

But the woman is smiling. That's the kind of book I always dreamed of writing, she says. I once wanted to be a writer, she adds shyly. This was just meant to be temporary. She looks around the shop as if she has been held against her will by the cash register, the glass jar of jerky, the microwave, the stacks of napkins, the tray of salt and pepper shakers, the plastic containers of mustard and ketchup.

The next morning, Joe is back with a bag of his beans. They brew a cup. The woman's eyes widen with interest. She inhales the rich aroma. She takes a sip and smiles.

Where'd you get this? she whispers, as if there must be something contraband about such wonderful beans.

Joe tells her the story of how they came to be that good.

A better coffee, all right, she...