The Coffee Gang

I am a person who thrives in rountine and yet every ounce of my being resists routine. I get bored. I get ansy. I crave change. And yet I know, if I just keep a routine, life is better. Maybe this is why I so enjoy being with Steve. Steve lives a routine, especially on Saturdays, that is highly predictable. Coffee at Kaladi's. Coffee with a group of friends that have been coming to Kaladi's every Saturday for the past number of years. When Steve and I first start dating, he told me about his Saturday routine. After awhile, I was invited to join in and meet the "gang". Ever since, every chance I get, I go to Kaladi's on Saturday too. I say it's because of the great coffee. (They do have the best latte in the city, hands down.) But really, it's about the cameraderie, the predictableness of the gang.

There's Anita, queen of the coffee gang, who got the whole thing started. She half Austrian, half Indian and critical of all things American. She's opiniated, hot-blooded, and incredibly loveable. Some how, she draws you in and tells you stories about her life you can't believe, all the while slipping in a critical opinion of a politician, fellow coffee companero, or her son. The two best things about Anita are her blueberry torte and her husband Ken.

Ken, husband to Anita, is an even keeled psychiatrist who sits proudly by Anita's side, occasionally shaking his head and smiling at his loose-lipped wife. The nuggets of wisdom that emerge from Ken fall seldom enough for me to really take notice when they do. He is a gentle, kind man that left to his own devices, would probably be a total bore. Hence, his marriage to Anita.

Then there's Nevin. Nevin is a five-foot-two Jewish guy who is as neurotic as George Costanza on Seinfeld. A devout bachelor, Nevin always has the same drink every Saturday morning, he is always there first to save the table, and he has a passion to polish rocks. (Yes, rocks! Turquoise to be exact!) But of all of the gang, Nevin is my favorite. Why? Because when discussing his failure with online dating one time, Steve and I told him of our success, and his response was, "Yeah, well of course Steve thinks eharmony is great. Steve won the fucking lottery, Lisa!" How could I not love a guy that says that about me?

Mike and Cindy are regulars at coffee too. Mike and Cindy. Cindy and Mike. They are inseparable. Mike is a tightly wound oil "land man" and Cindy is his sudoku-loving Chinese girlfriend. Not sure whether its a language proficiency thing, pure personality, or a cultural phenomenon, but Cindy almost never talks or engages in conversation at all. Mike does all the talking for the two of them but they are never apart. I mean never. Maybe it's true love or maybe it's just disfunctional co-dependency at its finest.

There's James, the british comedian. He's not truly a comedian, but he tells a lot of jokes that I find hilarious. Occasionally he'll sing a song. Occasionally I'll sing with him. He's jovial and just a helluva a lot of fun. After the death of his father, he started a non-profit to teach Alzeimers's patients how to play croquet with his organization called Jiminy Wicket. He's a truly good chap.

Julia is a sassy Russian woman who at times, can come to coffee looking a little ragged around the edges. I found out why one night when Steve and I went out dancing with her and I tried to match her shot for shot. I found out exactly how foolish I was later that night when I was hugging the toilet in Steve's hallway bathroom. She's beautiful. And she wants a baby. She announces that regularly. Even when you first meet her. I think that might be why despite her winning personality and her beautiful smile, the boys run.

Other regulars are JoAnn, an unhappy multi-millionaire and her boyfriend Peter who visits occasionally from Denmark. Jeffery, the well-heeled preppy real-estate developer and Norma, a Peruvian woman who interprets for Social Services in Denver.

They are all different, yet individually the same in their predictableness. I can always count on Anita to shock and Ken to smooth the ruffled feathers. I can count on Nevin to have a table saved and James to have a good joke for us. Julia will be there and so will JoAnn. They'll all be there. Every Saturday morning. All though I can't join them all the time, I know, if I'm available, they'll be there. Drinking coffee at Kaladi's. Every Saturday morning. It's a routine that works when I let it.