A bell tinkles overhead as she flung the door open, blissfully escaping the deluge at last. The rain continued to beat against the tall windows, as if to curse her for escaping its clutches.

The room smelled warmly of roasted beans and the faint smell of old paperback novels, due to the large bookshelves taking up much of the back wall.

Carefully, she divulged herself of her rain jacket and umbrella, hanging them besides the door on an old, worn coat rack, that seemed to be getting a lot of business today.

“Hello,” the barista said warmly, her youthful face pleasant and kind. “What can I get for you? Something to warm you up from that rain?”

“Cafe au lait, please.” Digging around her bag for loose change, she looks around the rest of the cafe, drinking in the familiar sight. Large, overstuffed chairs were clustered around low tables by the windows, full of patrons extending their stay, not eager to emerge once more into the storm. The long butcher block tables in the center were occupied with a mixture of students focused on the novels or laptops before them, some young children exuberantly playing a board game, and a group of elderly women splitting a slice of pound cake.

“Cafe au lait, up.”

thanking the young woman and grabbing her drink, she heads towards the favorite worn chair in the corner. Back to the book shelves, it gave the perfect vantage point of the rest of the shop. From here, she could easily observe the other patrons and those passing by on the street in peace.

This seat had provided years of inspiration for her stories, characters stemming from an odd fashion choice here, an over zealous motion there. If the staff at the cafe had any issues with the prolonged stays, they never said so.

It had, of course, also led to a mild caffeine addiction, but what can you do. There were worse vices.

Pleasantly defrosted by now, she took a minute to breathe in the rich nutty aroma of the cafes house dark roast. It was hard not to smile at the warm, familiar comfort, as she opens her laptop and settles in, reviewing the writing prompt of the day.

“Describe a cozy, small town cafe on a rainy afternoon.”

Smiling slightly to herself, she begins to write.