Surprise presence at Cup of Love Café in Oviedo
Sometimes you don’t have the time to be present because sometimes you burn the time you should have been present. It’s something I suspect happens a lot, ironically, around the holidays, when so often, while trying hard to make everything special, we miss things that are special without any help at all.
That could mean running around for the perfect gift, or that specific cake that your uncle loved so much last year or because you’re trying to tie up loose ends at work to get out the door.
You know, so you can be present for stuff.
This morning I had a lot to do. Part of that was writing about meals that range from $90 to $250 dollars per person. But amid the crazy, I did the unthinkable. I stopped working. And I took a little time, less than an hour, to connect meaningfully. With someone meaningful.
For a simple spread that fortified us both for $15.99 and in the process, kinda made my day.
Cup of Love Café is another of those little places buried in a strip mall, this one in Oviedo, a few miles up the road from UCF. It has a roster of coffees and teas, the sort of stuff you’d expect, and serves them beneath largely fluorescent lighting.
But the jazz they were playing — piano and upright bass, perfect volume — took the edge off.
And the Persian breakfast listed on the menu caught me by surprise.
“I know what I want!” I announced. More to my companion than anyone else, but the friendly woman behind the counter responded.
“Isn’t it the best when that happens?”
“It is.” I said, and took a menu back to the table.
I was going to peruse, but something magical happened. I set it aside — along with the phone (okay, I did manage to take a few pictures, but I had to file something today) — and instead perused my companion’s face.
Mine, it turned out, was sparkly.
“I think it’s from that,” he said, pointing to a small seasonal snow globe on the table. I’d shaken it up when we first sat down.
“Maybe you’re just happy to see me,” I said.
It was the snow globe, but the point was — I was present. So was he.
And a moment later, the table looked like one, because the server was back, draping a lovely cloth before placing ornate tea glasses down alongside a teapot, its gentle steam orange-scented.
Then came plates. Lots of them.
Sesame studded bread, tomato sauce-infused scrambled eggs,