ManyWriters

I hurried to the hotel on my beat-up electric scooter, eager to tell my wife that our coffee shop was finally about to land its first big order.
As I pushed open the door to the banquet hall, I froze in shock.
A ragdoll cat was rolling around on the cake I had stayed up all night to make.
My wife walked over, stepping on cake crumbs strewn across the floor. Without even glancing at me, she fastened a platinum collar around the cat's neck, then moved close to adjust that man's tie.
I looked down at my flour-covered work uniform, then at the cheap plastic pendant hanging from my daughter's neck.
So this was the "high-end market" she had been talking about. It was never about our coffee shop.
Ten years of marriage, shattered at a pet party.

The Aftertaste is Not Gone

But the good times didn't last long. The coffee shop's orders began to dwindle, and the carefully roasted coffee beans went untouched.


After some inquiries, I learned that her company had also started operating a coffee chain, and they were waging a price war.


Although the quality was average, her connections and reputation still managed to snatch away most of our clientele.


I gathered my partners for a discussion.


"We need to pivot now, and focus on the premium market."


Everyone thought I would lose my cool, but little did they know I had taken Meadow on a trip.


Not only could I spend time with my daughter, but I could also research specialty coffees from different regions.


When she found out, she immediately called.


"If you remarry me, I'll give you back the market."


Her tone was full of confidence, as if she was certain I would cave in.


She was right; I had been so focused on roasting these past years that I'd fallen out of touch with the market.


Chapter 7