Coffee and Tea

Another morning, another cup of coffee. And boy did Benson feel like he needed it today. It was Monday, the beginning to another long week.

Letting himself inside the old teal house, Benson turned on the coffee maker, and grabbed the newspaper. It was a little after 7:30, which meant Pops would be up soon. Mordecai and Rigby were supposed to wake up at 8 (most likely he would have to drag their lazy butts out of bed, again). Skips was probably already up, and was just relaxing in his own house before coming into work.

The familiar grindings of the coffee machine echoed through the kitchen, and the caffenated drink's scent began to travel through the house.

Just as Benson was pouring the coffee into a mug, he heard soft footsteps come down the stairs. "Good morning, my good man!" Pops said with a smile. Everything from his shined shoes to his spotless top hat made the lolliman look like he was ready for the day.

"Morning Pops," Benson said, giving him a small smile before turning back to his coffee.

"I'm glad you accepted my invitation for an early morning meeting," Pops said as he walked over to the kitchen counter. His opened the cabinet and got out the tea kettle.

"Yeah," said Benson, "No problem." While it was nice to spend the mornings at his apartment by himself (probably the only peace and quiet he would get all day), whenever Pops offered to spend the morning with him, Benson always accepted the offer. He couldn't explain why he always said yes. Maybe it was because he just wanted someone to talk to while he drank his coffee, or maybe it was because he couldn't say no to those big, happy blue eyes.

Either way, Benson was here, so he was going to enjoy it. As the tea boiled, Benson and Pops made small talk. Talking about the local news, laughing at the comics section (though mostly Pops did that), and discussing what had to be done that day.

After a few minutes, the high pitch scream of the kettle was heard, and Pops happily excused himself from the table, and turned off the stove. With careful precision, he picked out a shiny, baby blue tea cup, and poured the light brown liquid into the cup.

But before he drank it, he reached into his vest pocket, and pulled out a butterscotch ripple lollipop. He then began to stir the drink with the lollipop. "It's my secret ingredient," Pops said to Benson.

"I know Pops, you've already told me," said Benson, "three times."

"Oh, right. Sorry." After a few more moments of st iring, Pops threw away the now mostly melted lolli, and sat back down at the table. He took a sip, and smiled even wider.
"Would you like a cup, my good man?" Pops asked, a glint of hopefulness in his eyes.

"Maybe some other time," said Benson. He had already drank coffee, so drinking tea would just cancel out the caffeine he desperately needed.

"Oh, alright then!" Pops said, disappointed but still had a friendly smile on his face. As he took another sip, Pops looked at the mug of black coffee. It never smelled as good as coffee, so Pops had never tried it before. But he was curious about it, since Benson drank it everyday, sometimes twice a day.

"Benson, may I please have a sip of that?" Pops asked, pointing at the mug, "If that's okay."

"Huh?" Benson said, "Oh, sure Pops. But, be careful." He was sure the coffee was about room temperature by now, but he still wanted to make sure the lolliman didn't accidentally burn himself from drinking too much too fast.

"No need to worry!" Pops said, confidently. He picked up the mug, looked at the drink one more time, and then took a sip.

As soon as the liquid touched his tongue, Pops wanted to spit it out. It tasted so bitter, not an ounce of sweetness. It was hot like tea, but unlike tea, this drink almost burned. He wanted to spit it back out, but Pops always thought about his manners first. So, reluctantly, he swallowed the repulsive drink.

He gave Benson an uneasy smile. "Very, um, interesting."

Benson couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Yeah, I guess I should've warned you I don't put sugar in my coffee, so it probably tasted really bitter to you. Sorry."

"Oh, it's alright, my good man," said Pops, who was feeling much better after he took a couple sips of his tea, "After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained."

"Right." The two went back to their drinks. But this time, Benson kept glancing over at the lolliman, and then at the tea kettle.

'I didn't know curiousity was contagious,' Benson thought jokingly. But truth be told, he was a little curious. And Pops did look like he wanted Benson to try the tea, like a proud chef-in-training wanting to show his teacher his creation. 'Oh what the heck.'

"Pops?"

"Hm?"

"Maybe I will try some of that tea." Pops blinked, and then smiled.

"Oh, good show!" He practically jumped out of his chair, pushed in his chair, and ran to the stove. "One minute please!" Benson chuckled, and watched the lolliman prepare another cup of tea.

After a few minutes, Pops presented a cup of warm tea to the gumball machine. Thanking him, Benson took the cup, and took a sip. To say he was plesantly surprised would be an understatement. The tea instantly made his entire body warm and his heart flutter. He felt his nerves go numb for a split second, and a smile creep its way on his face.

"So, do you like it?" Pops asked, snapping Benson out of his daze.

"Well, let's just say I wish I would've tried your tea sooner, Pops," replied Benson, "this tastes amazing."

Pops laughed cheerfully. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, my good man."

Sitting down by his friend, the two polished off their tea, and simply enjoyed each others company. "Thanks for the tea, Pops," said Benson, "Maybe I should start putting butterscotch ripple in my coffee," he joked.

"Perhaps sugar would be better," said Pops, "Ooh, and whipped cream and chocolate, like at those fancy coffee cafe's with the mermaid! Good show."

Benson just shook his head, but he still smiled. "Let's just stick with the sugar."

"Alright!"

Just then, the two heard yelling from upstairs. "Dude, you didn't have to throw it at me!" "Well, you wouldn't wake up, and you were snoring like a train!" "Shut up, I was not!" "You shut up!"

Benson sighed. "Sounds like Mordecai and Rigby are awake," commented Pops.

"Oh joy," Benson said sarcastically.

"Don't worry Benson, my good man," said Pops, with a smile, "We can have tea later. But it was really nice spending the morning with you, I couldn't think of a better way to start the day."

Benson blinked, but then smiled. "Thanks Pops," he replied. An idea then hit him. "Say Pops, maybe next week, if you wanted to, you could come over to my apartment for the morning instead of me coming over here." If Pops was over at his house, they wouldn't be interrupted by certain employees. That, and his third floor apartment had a great view of the sunrise that Benson knew the lolliman would enjoy.

Pops' face brightened. "I would love to!" he said ecstatically, "Oh! And I can get us a box of frosted pastry wheels."

"I think you mean donuts, Pops."

"Oh my, what an interesting name," said Pops, but he simply giggled and shrugged it off.

Benson excused himself from the table, and got his clipboard from his office. He could still hear the two friends yelling and arguing upstairs, and he had a long list of things to do. But surprisingly, he didn't feel that bitter about it, as if his mood couldn't (or wouldn't) be changed.

Yep, just another morning, but maybe, just a little more pleasant than usual.