A New Kind of Project for an Old Friend
Working at a small town coffee shop is a great way to meet people. I so enjoyed my time as a barista at Via Cappuccino in high school and made a lot of lasting friendships during that time. But there are some people who stand out, usually regulars who you miss on days when they don't show up for their hazelnut latte or frozen caramel white mocha. Jack was one of those.
I noticed pretty quickly that he was a regular, and that he always ordered the same thing: a plain cappuccino. As I did with most regulars, I asked one day if he liked his drink or if there was anything he would change about it. He seemed excited about the question and answered that he really just wanted espresso and foam. He wanted the cup to be so light when he picked it up that it didn't feel like anything was in it. I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the prices we charged for a cup of espresso and milk, but I’ve only had one person ask me to charge them $3.50 for what was mostly a cup of air. Well that's easy enough, I thought. I told the other girls and all of us made sure to make his lighter-than-air cappuccinos as soon as we saw him walk through the door.
Jack is one of those people everyone loves. He owns a heating and air conditioning business and I'm pretty sure he knows everyone in town. He is always smiling, always kind, a pretty generous tipper, and a great businessman. I've never heard anyone utter a negative word about him. Our biggest problem with him, at the coffee shop, was that we would often make his drink as soon as he opened the door only for him to take thirty minutes to get to the counter since everyone in the shop wanted to talk to him. We learned just to take it straight to him and let him drink it until he finally got to the back to pay.
When Jack's wonderfully sweet wife, Carolyn, asked me if I did pet portraits, I told her I had never done one before and tried to recommend another artist. But then she said the magic words: “It would mean a lot to Jack if it was you.” I pretty much couldn't say no to that. To be honest, I was terrified the entire time until I painted the 37th or so layer. Fur and bricks are very different things. In the end I think it came out ok, it was certainly painted with love, and the picture below makes me smile a lot.
