Brewing Coffee

This morning, I started my coffee brewing and then sat in darkness listening to my coffee maker.

That was a mistake.

A lot of strange sounds are made by coffee makers during the brewing process.  Honestly, you might think water is being murdered, judging by the gasping and wheezing and gurgling as water heats and surges to escape to the brew basket.

For some reason, the fierce sounds made me think about an argument Uyen and I engaged in some thirty years ago.

Money.

We argued about money.  I childishly stomped out the door at the most elevated height of this argument.  If I recollect properly, I drove around the block and then went back in the house, feeling small and stupid.

Sorry.

This morning, I listened as the brutal sounds gradually softened and smoothed into a sort of purring.  The purring soon drained into silence.  Eventually, I poured myself a cup of coffee and invited 20 pounds of housecat to sit with me in the darkness.

--Mitchell Hegman