We are at Panera Bread this afternoon. We have come for a late lunch, early dinner, and to just be in a public space. It is a beautiful winter day.

Wolfinwool · Grounds in my Coffee_4-enhanced-v2-80p

There are fewer patrons than we normally experience, but that is a result of the mid-afternoon timing. A smattering of young women camp out on the east end of the dining area, pecking away at their laptops—no doubt writing and rewriting theses or some report for their professors.

A heavyset woman waits for her order at the pickup counter where she leans heavily. She seems barely able to hold herself erect as she fidgets uncomfortably. Unlike most people we see waiting in the modern age, she doesn’t even bother to mindlessly scroll through her phone. She just stares thoughtfully into space. Perhaps she is contemplating the maw of existence. It must have been a long day.

Conversely, a fit, middle-aged mom bounds in the door, complete with ponytail and workout attire. I assume the energy is from a post-exercise high. She is likely full of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. No doubt the clock is against her as she races to fuel up before picking up the kids from school across the street. She is loud and brash, whereas the heavy-leaner is quiet and introspective.

At our table, my significant other complains that her coffee tastes of tea. This may be true, or it may be that the last time we were here, they brewed the coffee in the teapot for some forgotten reason. So now, she just assumes this is standard operating procedure.

“I should complain,” she tells me. “I'll tell them, ‘I'm a coffee connoisseur, and I can tell!’ That'll get them to think twice before serving this swill.”

I encourage her to complain, but I suggest that a kinder approach may net a better cup of coffee versus the gauntlet-thrown-down technique she is considering. No one likes confrontation. There are grounds in her coffee in any case.

Across the parking lot, under a mural celebrating sweet treats, three strangers rest on the sidewalk, eating their frozen yogurts. One chatters on his phone while the other two converse easily. Their proximity together on the curb suggests they are a group of friends, but the visual separation makes it clear the woman and one of the men are a couple. Whatever came earlier in the day, these three are having a high moment in their lives—one of those periods you think about years from now and say, “Wow, life was so much better back then.” And they'll wonder what became of one another.

Even though it is winter, the afternoon has a warmth in the full sun that makes it a perfect setting for all of us. The heavyset woman and her fit counterpart have moved on to their next moments. The college girls continue their hours-long efforts at education. And we chat aimlessly about it all and laugh at our secret observations, having a memorable moment ourselves, grounds or not.