Paul was Spring, Ahead.

Paul was putting the red jam on his toast. Then he wanted marmalade. His toast was half red and half orange. & sweet. His coffee, black.

Before him lay the middle of an idea fueled by clarity in coffee. Pen marks & perspective lines. The diner placemat framed with a brown lattice pattern. Next to a coffee ring, a list of photography supplies. In short script on the right side were subjects he wished to shoot. His head humming with a crisp white clarity, what steps next to take, snowing.

“It’s going to be a hot one” the flannelled figure next to Paul remarked.

“I don’t have much to say.”

“If it gets much above 45 degrees workin is gonna be tough.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for working if it was hot? Put some rum in your straw.”

“Ground thaws. Bad news.”

 

The waitress refilled Paul’s coffee.

“Hey doll how about some sugar and crème?” Paul asked.

“You asked for it black”

“Oh.”

Before he could respond she had placed the seasonings on the counter & stared straight into his eyes, her one eyebrow cocked.

“Thanks.”

“Cindy just likes to fool with ya,” the man said, “just give her a rap on her backside when she walks round the counter — that will set her straight.”

“I did that in a place down in California. Waitress slapped me straight away.”

“People up here know their place. Cindy knows her place. I move trees. And you?”

“Looking for work. Was down by the coast for a while; I thought I wanted sun; I missed winter.”

“If it gets much warmer, there won’t be any work.”

“Place needs to be frozen, white, to get things done.”

 

Snow was melting. The crisp white outlines melting. Away.

Paul was a ceramic coffee cup with four motivational sayings printed on it, one reading:

 

“Teamwork: Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

Paul was

Paul was a ceramic coffee cup with four motivational sayings printed on it, one reading:

 

“Perseverance: Barely hanging on and ahead by a mile both mean that you’re in the game.”

Paul was not motivated by the container of his morning coffee, just by the contents.

Paul was a cup of coffee in a Styrofoam container. Always sipped before activating his headset. Just sitting & staring into the creamy morning wakeup.

 

Morning jitters & an uncontrolled body spasm brought teeth down into the white foam.  Indents of the mandibular central incisor, mandibular lateral incisor, and mandibular canine punched through the cup in a cresent shape. The thin holes from the bottom teeth dribbled café down the side of the small cup forming a ring round its base.

 

A stain that would remain on the desk long after Paul left.

Paul was a ceramic coffee cup with four motivational sayings printed on it, one reading:

 

“Determination: Even the tallest mountain is conquered one step at a time.”

Paul was a ceramic coffee cup with four motivational sayings printed on it, one reading:

 

“Confidence: Believe in yourself and you’ll always be on solid ground, no matter where you are.”

Paul was a cup of coffee in a ceramic container — unlike coworkers who used Styrofoam cups as Paul had multiple issues with these white vessels. Paul stared at his cup each morning before activating his headset, a bit of wakeup reading much like the paper.

 

The cup had four motivational sayings printed on it.