<div><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Love in My Coffee</b></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Written by Jordan Taylor Dubin</b></span></div>
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<p>“Hey, put love in my coffee, will ya? Okay?”<br />
My chin goes down<br />
Eyes turning to crescent moons<br />
Trying to prevent a smile from filling my face<br />
Biting my lip<br />
Losing<br />
Big time</p>
<p>I want to say “Okay”<br />
But all that comes out is a squeak<br />
He smiles<br />
A twinkle appears in his eyes<br />
I quickly turn around</p>
<p>He has nothing to offer me<br />
Except love<br />
Loyalty<br />
A laugh that brings butterflies to my tummy<br />
An exhale leaves my lips without my control<br />
Trying to relieve the nerves</p>
<p>Dad always said<br />
“Nervous is on the other side of excitement”<br />
I usually believe it<br />
But right now I can’t believe<br />
Can’t think<br />
About anything</p>
<p>Except for him</p>
<p>I shakily make his coffee<br />
Cappuccino without chocolate<br />
“I like extra foam, but the chocolate is too much”<br />
He apologizes for complicating things<br />
He doesn’t<br />
And he doesn’t know that it’s my favorite</p>
<p>He takes a sip<br />
“I can taste it”<br />
It warms my heart<br />
He hands me a folded $5 bill<br />
I go to put it in the tip jar<br />
When he puts his hand over the top<br />
He winks and walks out</p>
<p>Inside is a gum wrapper<br />
His phone number is in orange Sharpie</p>
<p>That was Tuesday<br />
Our date was Friday<br />
And every Friday after that</p>
<p>Dark brown hair<br />
A brown beard to match<br />
It’s not messy<br />
Unlike the art he makes<br />
I don’t understand it<br />
But that happy laugh and joy<br />
He feels while painting<br />
Is enough for me<br />
I’m easy<br />
I’m in love</p>
<p>He’s 5’9” on a good day<br />
5’7½” when laughing<br />
Isn’t fat<br />
Isn’t skinny either<br />
A happy medium<br />
His 1950s reporter glasses shape his beautiful shit brown eyes<br />
They look great holding back my hair</p>
<p>He teaches art<br />
At an elementary school<br />
He didn’t see himself doing this<br />
Neither did his doctor and lawyer parents<br />
But it’s his passion</p>
<p>All of his students know my name<br />
Because he talks about me during the day<br />
They all go “awwwww!”<br />
He can’t help but blush<br />
When he talks about his wife<br />
Me</p>
<p>When he found out that I was pregnant<br />
He couldn’t contain his emotions<br />
He cried tears of joy and happiness<br />
He gave me the biggest hug<br />
He used to feel embarrassed<br />
About how fast he gets emotional<br />
It makes my whole day<br />
Because he’s mine</p>
<p>He left me not too long ago<br />
Rather unexpected<br />
I’ll see him soon<br />
Or, rather, one day<br />
Heaven’s really lucky to receive his bright light<br />
I know he’s greeting everyone with that smile of his<br />
Turning everyone’s eyes to crescent moons</p>
<p>I seemed to age overnight<br />
Wrinkles appeared<br />
Sadness always hung over me<br />
But a twinkle appeared<br />
In my newly droopy eyes</p>
<p>Some see feathers<br />
Or lucky pennies<br />
Or even silhouetted spirits<br />
But I got a twinkle</p>
<p>I will always put love in your coffee<br />
Okay?<br />
Okay</p>
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<div><img class=" wp-image-10513 alignleft" src="https://rockthepigeon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_7068-7.jpg" alt="IMG_7068 (7)" width="260" height="419" /></div>
<div><em> <strong>Jordan Taylor Dubin</strong> is an actor, theatrical mover, writer, teacher, and huge musical theatre nerd. She was born and raised in Southern California and is now living out her 13-year dream of living in New York City. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance &; Theatre Performance and Psychology from Mills College. During the day she works as a theatre teacher and staff associate at a college, and at night she&#8217;s an editing manager and freelance copy editor. Jordan is thrilled to have the opportunity to be published in Rock the Pigeon. </em></div>
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<div>Instagram: @arts_n_smarts</div>
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<div>Twitter: @_arts_n_smarts_</div>
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