You might be wondering, how does someone meet a man who is nearly 30 years older than them? Sugar daddy websites, a questionable yacht party? Actually no, a quaint coffee shop in Alaska is the answer.
To paint the scene, I was a 19-year-old college student working as a barista in Wasilla. At that point, I wasn’t looking for anything serious as I’d been in a relationship for three years prior, so I just wanted to focus on myself. He had just moved to Wasilla for work and was recently divorced.
He was in his late forties, 29 years my senior, and was looking forward to peaceful evenings in solitude. Before anyone gets the wrong idea, an older divorcee was far from my usual type. I had never even considered dating someone older—especially not someone who was born before my parents.
Back then, I opened the coffee shop five days a week and loved connecting with customers as they started their day. Pete’s morning routine would always consist of grabbing a coffee on his way to work. The first time he came to the Espresso Café drive-thru was a day when I wasn’t there, but the coffee was good enough to keep him coming back.
I don’t remember the first time we interacted, but I do remember how quickly the chemistry became impossible to ignore. Each morning, I’d eagerly watch the clock until he rolled in around 5:30. He always stopped by for 12 oz. drip coffee, black and of course, a little chat.
Our two-minute conversations through the window slowly grew. It was the only time I prayed my shift would be slow so we could talk longer. Two minutes turned into five minutes, which eventually turned into customers honking for us to hurry up.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
