Before the Coffee Cools

When I open my eyes in the morning, there is someone who comes to mind first. It might be the family I used to eat breakfast with, or a colleague I'd pass on the way to work. Thoughts like that usually flit by and are gone. But some days, my relationship with that person stays in my heart a long time. Last week, I had a small argument with a colleague. It started over work, but the mood stayed heavy until that evening. The next morning, that colleague handed me a coffee and said, "Sorry about yesterday." I only nodded. But in that moment, morning light came in through the window and lay on the table between us. The light said nothing, but it seemed to understand everything. Relationships are never clear. You can't tell when the reconciliation came, or when the hurt went away. Only, like that morning's sunlight, some moments seem to quietly connect us. I want to hold that light, but it can't be held. It can only be looked at. Morning has come again today. Outside, it looks like yesterday, but I make coffee with a slightly different heart. Whether, perhaps, that person is looking at the same sky. I leave the question unanswered. Only, before the coffee cools, I take a sip. That warmth will carry me through today.