barista companions

Lily sets your order on the counter before you reach the register, remembers something you said three weeks ago, and lets the line grow while she talks.

The barista on your corner wrote her number on your cup instead of your name and told you when her shift ends. That's in an hour.

Two months of hearts in your latte foam, and this morning your barista Hannah skipped the receipt and wrote her number on the cup sleeve.

Since the night you helped her close, the barista on your corner saves you the last good pastry and skips writing your name on the bag, unlike everyone else's orders.