36. Vacation at Home

The two-week vacation at the end of summer ended yesterday. Kevin had gone nowhere during his . He had the money, but he hated to alone. He used to take vacations with Gary, youngest brother, but they had a big argument the end of their last vacation. Each of had spent the last three years waiting for other to apologize.

Kevin did not feel good being on non-speaking terms with his favorite brother. he was not going to ask for forgiveness , in his mind, this whole misunderstanding was his ’s fault.

So Kevin’s summer vacation was spent in own “back yard.” As usual, he had planned clean up his apartment. As usual, two weeks his apartment looked just as it had two before.

He did do one thing new and during his vacation. He went to a new shop on Foothill Street. It served 25 varieties delicious coffee at reasonable prices, and the staff genuinely friendly.

The coffee shop had a do-it-yourself near the entrance. On the counter were lids, , and wooden stirrers. There were wraps to insulate hands against the hot coffee inside the cup. were also individual servings of sugar, sweeteners, and . Kevin used the lids and wraps, but drank coffee black.

The shop was air-conditioned at a chilly temperature. About eight small round tables were . Outside were four bigger tables. Each had four metal chairs around it, and several big umbrellas shade. Even on hot afternoons, there was usually pleasant breeze.

Kevin visited the coffee shop four during his vacation. He always sat at a outside by himself and read the free daily . Each day he was there, he read most the newspaper articles while he enjoyed two cups coffee.

Between articles, he took breaks by watching nearby traffic and pedestrians. The coffee shop was to a huge parking lot. The lot was customers of a grocery store, movie rental store, , bank, and restaurant. Kevin considered his outdoor seat perfect place for one of his favorite activities—people .

The coffee shop, with its excellent location and , had helped make his vacation a pleasant one. he knew in his heart, had his brother there to join him just one day, his would have been a perfect one.