Spoby One Shots

35 • Coffee & Caulfield

A/N: In 5 years I've never done the iconic coffee shop AU so here it is.

8:47am.
She's here again, flawlessly on time. And looking perfect (as always). How many of those black skirts does she have? Smile, Toby. Don't be weird. Nod when she says her order like you don't have it memorised by now. Black coffee, banana bread, berry smoothie. $9. Done. Smile when you hand it to her, wish her a good day. Watch her leave.

Seeing that girl had been part of Toby's morning routine every Monday-Friday for the last month and a half. Every morning at 8:47am she came in, ordered a black coffee, banana bread and a berry smoothie. She was always dressed formally and obviously worked nearby.

She was stunning, quite tall with long wavy brown hair, gorgeous chocolate eyes and a beautiful smile. She was always polite and he looked forward to her coming in. He didn't even know her name but her presence in Coffee & Caulfield was something he always enjoyed.

Toby had owned this place for 2 years now. He was actually a trained carpenter but had always had a deep passion for books and had ended up owning this place completely unexpectedly.
He had been replacing the old carpet of an old antique store with fresh floorboards for a sweet old man named Peter.
Peter had explained to Toby his wife had just recently passed away and that his daughter and grandchildren were moving out west to California and he was going to go with them. He confided that he was afraid the place wouldn't sell.
Toby had to admit it didn't fit in with the more modernised side of Philadelphia that had grown around it but had a real charm. It was all wooden beams and cosy corners.
On his last day of work Toby shyly offered to buy the place with the money he'd been saving to start building a house from scratch.
Peter had been delighted, telling Toby hat he knew he was special when they first met and said he'd knew Toby would do something amazing with the place.

And Toby had. He'd stood in the empty space where only a few weeks before, antiques had filled every nook and cranny and thought that this place would be the perfect bookstore. But also a great coffee shop. He smiled to himself when he thought of the perfect name which could do both. It was no secret that Toby had always adored the book "The Catcher in the Rye" and thought the name Coffee & Caulfield would work perfectly. He would have a coffee counter where you could also buy books and offer reading programs or a study space for students in the area too.

He did the entire renovation himself and it took him 9 months to do but when it was finished Toby was so proud of it. It was cosy and inviting and just captured what he wanted the place to feel like.

It wasn't a massive space so Toby tried to design it so it maximised what there was. As soon as you walked through the door with its old fashioned bell, a coffee bar ran along one wall and tables, comfy armchairs and couches were arranged opposite. Behind the counter was a series of shelves at different levels, filled with mugs, coffee beans, small plates, different types of tea in jars and syrups, arranged artistically so it looked like wall art as well as being practical.
Further into the store, bookshelves lined the walls filled with classics, new releases, teen fiction, children's books, non-fiction, self-help, cookery, everything you could think of to read about was there.

On the same side as the armchairs and sofas there was a wooden staircase, curving round to a door that wasn't visible to the store below. It was tucked away a little, so customers didn't think there was another floor to the store. The door led to the loft Toby now lived in. It was a cute little one bed place with a decent sized modern kitchen, nice bathroom and very comfy living space. It was very different to the store downstairs but Toby liked it that way, it felt like he could separate work and home although they were only a staircase apart.

It sounded like a simple, possibly even unexciting life but to Toby it was anything but, he loved his comforting space in an intimidating city and he liked to people watch. He liked getting to be part of strangers' morning routines. Especially when those strangers were very pretty brunettes who drank black coffee and ate banana bread.