On the way home from work yesterday, I stopped off in the retail park to go to Borders to get a magazine and a coffee. I’d had to stay a little late, so it was almost 6:55 when I got there. Starbucks closes at 7:00, and Borders at 8:00. I checked the time and went upstairs - there were still people sitting in the couches drinking and eating. I went up to the counter:

“Hiya, are you still serving?!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, no, we just closed…”
“Aww, no way! Okay, thanks anyway.” Cursing my bac luck, I turn away to leave.
[Announcement: Good evening Borders customers. The time now is five to seven. Starbucks will be closing in five minutes. Thank you.]
I half turn back around, really wanting to say something but knowing I probably wouldn’t. The barista sees me and catches my eye.
“Okay, what drink did you want?”
“Oh, seriously, are you sure?! Just a caramel macchiato, thank you so much!” I reach into my bag for my debit card.
“Nah, don’t worry about it, it’s on the house. I was only kind-of in the middle of something…” she gestures vaguely to the half-put-away food.

We just grinned when she passed me the cup. “Thank you so, so much!” “Haha, not a problem.”

What a great end to the day… free coffeel, and good coffee at that, and a wander through a bookshop browsing the new books and magazines, and checking out DVDs and stuff. I didn’t buy anything, but it was a great de-stresser nonetheless. I treasure those rare half-hours wandering the stalls of new-smelling books sipping anything hot and caffeine-infused. Bliss.