6:00 AM

Right on time, I enter the coffee shop. This has been my place of work for years. Every day, same time, all to schedule. I set up shop for the day and turn the sign on the door to say “Open.”

As people come and go in the shop, business slows down for a bit. I count the cash in the register while I have the time. I hear the bell of the door.

“Welcome!” I shout from the count...