AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, I was in this place in South America and went on a coffee bean tour as a why not kind of expedition, and it turned out I was fascinated by the process. Of how they treat the workers, of how it all got done, everything. For a week after, since I had nowhere to go, I volunteered my services and helped harvest the cherries.”
“Cherries? Really?” Now I knew I was being played. Coffee came from beans, not cherries.
“Seriously.” He nodded and slowed his pace a touch. “They aren’t the red cherries you and I are used to from the BC interior, but I learned which cherries were ripe for picking and we hand-harvested those. Then we spread them in the sun to dry. I wasn’t there for the rest, but my friend, Diego, informed me how they dry out for a few weeks until they are at the right moisture content, and then they are sold to millers.”
I wanted to doubt the veracity of his story, but one look at his face to see the sincerity in the way his lips curled up and the corners of his eyes smiled as he spoke with fondness.
“You really went to harvest coffee?” It was mind-blowing.
“I did. I loved it so much when I came home, I took a job at a coffee shop. But I learned I didn’t just want a good cup of coffee; I needed agreatcup of coffee. So I researched more, visited other plantations, and learned about the coffee-making process.”
“Geez, Carter, I’m impressed.”
We passed a section of stores with large canvas awnings, and surprisingly the further we ambled down the street, the more the traffic picked up. The Coffee Loft must be in the quieter section of town.
“Want to hear something even more interesting?”
“Of course.” I leaned in closer.
“Did you know the workers haul, on average, between 100 and 200 pounds of cherries a day, and of that, only twenty to forty pounds of coffee beans are produced? The workers get paid based on the merit of their daily work, and it’s incredibly hard work.” He shook his head which threw our stepping off.
“That’s actually, that’s pretty cool. After that, and getting a barista job, you decided to manage a shop?”
“Yes, and no. After hearing how the plantation workers are treated, some sadly aren’t treated well, I went back to school and got a business degree instead.”
“Oh, I bet your parents were happy.”
Once upon a time, the Cross family had big dreams for their engineer son, especially since his sisters hadn’t done much with their lives, or at least the last time I’d seen them they hadn’t.
“Ah, whatever. They learned to live with it. Money isn’t everything and it can only get you so far.”
I shrugged. Maybe it wasn’t, but it sure helped to take the edge off. “And then what did you do?”
He slowed again to match my pace. “I bought this place and am working on producing the best dang coffee north of Columbia, all the way back to how the cherries are grown until the beans land in my shop and I grind them to perfection. Part of my plan is to pay the workers more, treat them well, and move it up the chain. Ideally, I’d love all the Coffee Lofts on board, with the money feeding back to the workers.” He shook his head. “I don’t need a fancy car or a second home, but they need a solid roof over their head, food on their table, and better working conditions.”
“Wow, Carter, I’m impressed.” Such a change from the guy whowasgoing to own fancy cars and have at least two homes, one of which was someplace warmer than the middle of Alberta.
He kept his focus ahead of us. “We’ll need to walk down this way.”
I held tight as we stepped onto the road and crossed over it. “And you’re happy?”
He faced me, his gaze dancing over my face. “For the most part, yeah. If I can succeed with that, then at least I can say I did something good for the world. That would make me happy. Truly happy.”
“Your wife and kids must be thrilled and your biggest supporters.” I hadn’t chanced a look at his ring finger, not that it meant anything these days. Cheaters wore rings and some married men did not. Sadly, I could no longer trust what the ring finger portrayed.
He snorted and then laughed. “Yeah, no wife, and definitely no kids. The last girlfriend pretty much sealed the deal on never wanting to procreate or get married.”
“Piece of work, was she?”
“Remember Rachel Rose?”
“Our high-school valedictorian?” Who was as snobbish as they came, drop-dead gorgeous but wow, what a witch especially if you weren’t part of her callous cliquey crowd.
Carter nodded, cresting his brow up into his hairline.
“No way.”
“Multiplied by ten.”
