A Cold Brew Connection

"I'll never see my friends again."

Sarah glanced at her daughter. "It won't be like this forever. The world will open up. It has to."

Jenna grumbled and continued tossing her baseball in the air as she lounged on the sofa.

"Why don't you go outside and get some fresh air?"

"I don't want to. There's nothing to do out there."

Sarah put the remainder of the dishes away and wiped off her wet hands. "I know it's been hard on you. It's been hard on everyone." A smile touched her lips. "Let's go to Tims. I'll buy you lunch."

Jenna stopped tossing the ball, her mouth curling mischievously. "Promise to get me a Vanilla Dip donut and one of those new Cold Brew Coffees?"

Sarah chuckled and nodded as Jenna bolted off her seat and headed to the door. But as they were about to get in their car, Jenna's forehead creased as she glanced down the street. Her elderly neighbour was kneeling, bent over her flower beds in the hot noon-day sun. And even though her pink sunhat perched low on her head, the strain on her face as she worked to dig out the garden weeds made Jenna swallow.

She got into the car. "Last week, I rolled over Miss Gwen's tulips," she blurted out.

Sarah's gaze flitted to her, then back to the road. "You never told me that."

"I know," Jenna said, her lips pursing. "She yelled at me to stay off the sidewalk with my skateboard."

"Oh."

"I rolled my eyes at her."

"Oh." Sarah pushed her hand through her hair and moved their car into the Tim Hortons drive-thru. "You know what I'm going to say."

"Yeah. But I was just so bored... and frustrated."

Sarah sighed as she scanned the order board. "Well, what do you want? A Cold Brew and a donut?"

"Do you think I could make it up to her?" Jenna's gaze fixed on the dashboard. "I mean, I can't fix the flowers."

"Why don't you do something nice for her then?" Sarah tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. "Tell me what you want."

A cheery voice came over the speaker. "Welcome to Tim Hortons. What can I get for you today?"

Jenna leaned across Sarah. "I'll get two medium Cold Brew Coffees, please."

"Are you ordering for me now?" Sarah said teasingly.

Shaking her head, Jenna sat back in her seat. "Not for you, Mom."

Back home, Sarah watched her daughter baring a Cold Brew Coffee in each hand, timidly approach Miss Gwen. Their elderly neighbour grinned and took the cold drink, motioning for the teenager to sit with her on her porch. Jenna eagerly accepted.

With a smile, Sarah sipped her own Vanilla Cream Cold Brew, knowing this may well be the start of a beautiful, post-pandemic friendship.