He sipped the coffee, and his eyebrows rose in pleasant surprise. “I didn’t expect anything this good.”
“Glad to see you savoring it.”
Jo prepared a cup for herself and lingered with him. She didn’t have to be anywhere for a few minutes, and he was her first customer.
Hugo looked up from his booth. “She’s not kidding. She spends a fortune on the best beans she can find.”
“Don’t you have to drive back to school today?” Jo asked.
“I have a ten o’clock class, so I’ll wait until traffic eases.”
Rocky swiveled to see him. “Hey, Hugo, good to see you again.”
The two spoke a little while Jo listened. With his easy manner, she imagined Rocky could befriend almost anyone. He was good with people.
Hugo had risen early and come to the diner before it opened. He liked to study here because it was quiet and he could make all the coffee he wanted or forage for breakfast. The kitchen staff didn’t mind, and they often cooked for him.
He’d worked here during high school, and sometimes he’d pitch in when it was busy to help Jo.
Hugo returned to his studies, and Jo nodded in satisfaction. Her brother was on a partial scholarship and turning out better than she could have hoped, especially considering their absent parents.
Jo had looked after Hugo since he was in middle school. Their grandmother had helped a lot before she moved into the independent living home.
Now Hugo was living in a house with roommates in San Diego. He returned to Crown Island whenever his laundry was dirty, or he needed a quiet place to study.
If Jo never had a family of her own, she’d always have Hugo. She had done more to raise him than their parents had.
Rocky took another sip of coffee, and this time he really tasted the flavor. His expression shifted.
“No wonder you do a good business. This is your house brew?”
“My new one. I call that the Queen’s Blend. It’s Colombia Huila and Guatemala Antigua, fifty-fifty. The Colombia gives it some sweet floral notes and a toffee finish. The Guatemala adds touches of cocoa and caramel with a touch of spice.”
“The Queen’s Blend,” Rocky repeated. “After Crown Island, right?”
“It’s more than that. The beans I use come from women-led farms. The Colombia is from a women’s cooperative there called AMACA, which advocates for women’s land ownership and financial independence. The Guatemala is from a woman-owned estate in Antigua. Every bean in that coffee you’re drinking was grown, sorted, and processed by women.”
Rocky looked at her with heightened interest. “They’re the queens of coffee. You made deliberate, supportive choices. Very admirable.”
“Everything about this coffee is deliberate.” Jo lifted her chin. “Did you know that women do up to seventy percent of the field labor in coffee worldwide? They grow, pick, and process, but historically, they own almost none of the land and businesses. Women-led collectives and owners are changing that, and I want to support that change on this side.”
She hadn’t planned to say all that to him. But Rocky was leaning in and listening, and he seemed to understand her point of view.
“Do you buy direct?” Rocky asked.
“Are you asking about my supply chain?”
When he nodded, Jo looked at him with a slow smile. Most people who sat at her counter wanted to know what the special was. But Rocky, fresh out of USC with an MBA, wanted to know about her supply chain. She hadn’t even heard that term until she took night classes.
“Why do you want to know?”
“I like learning about what makes successful businesses run. What gives them an edge in the market. Strategy and operations, that sort of thing.” He raised his cup. “And I’m drinking the best coffee I’ve had in a while.”
Jo refilled his cup. She didn’t talk about this with most people. Blue’s eyes glazed over whenever she brought it up. That was part of the problem between them.
She’d left Blue once before because she wasn’t ready to commit. Memories of her parents screaming at each other were still vivid in her mind. Then, she’d chosen to return. Now, who knew what was going on between them?
Here she was, pouring coffee for a man who asked more questions about her business than Blue ever had. Maybe that wasn’t fair. Even though Blue didn’t understand what drove her, he professed to love her.
