This is Friday Feels from Feeling Phine. The last post in this series, “Pandemic Dating Diaries”, can be read here. x
Hi there,
Hope the weekend has been good to you so far.
I’m late this week and am sending this well into Saturday. (Sunday, even, for my pals over in Asia!)
I assure you that despite the delay, the feels are still piping hot.
x
She said she likes to get coffee on her ten minute breaks from work. “What’s your go-to spot?” I asked.
She replied. “My favorite is Starbuck.”
Star…..buck. This was my first time meeting her; she’s my friend’s friend. Perhaps it was a mispronunciation? A slip of the tongue. We’ve all been there.
She continues. “Yeah the guys at Starbuck know me now, so when they see me in line they start making my drink for me.”
“That’s so cool!” I reply, as my mind goes into overdrive.
She said it twice; it was not a one time error. Perhaps it’s a speech impediment. No judgement.
Now she’s describing her pet snake. Her eclectic pet whips me out of my head and back into the conversation. Then I realize, she clearly pronounced the “s” in “snake.” It’s not a speech impediment.
Wait - earlier on there was the “s” at the start of “Starbuck”, and also the words “see” and “start”, in her reference to the fact that the baristas commenced her drink the second they set eyes on her. I might too, if I worked at Starbuck. Ok, maybe I’m the one who needs to be checked here.
I’m smiling and “mm-hmm”-ing to indicate active listening.
Is it specifically words that end in “s”? If I were to bring up the star of Forrest Gump, would she refer to him as “Tom Hank”? How can I work him into the conversation to check? Apollo 13… Castaway…
She continues to talk. I nod attentively and wonder: what is her favorite health-oriented grocery store? Does she frequent Whole Food, or is she partial to Trader Joe?
“The snake eats live mice” she says, with a grin.
The “s” sound at the end of “mice” was there. Perhaps for the “s” to disappear it has to be preceded by a consonant, like a “k”.
We walk out of the restaurant. “Thanks for tonight! This was so fun.”
There’s that “k” and “s” combo. And there goes my last theory.
We part ways. I marvel at her feat; she’s gone through thirty years of life mispronouncing the name of America’s most ubiquitous coffee shop.
I’m driving home and conclude that no one has ever corrected her, because no one has ever dared to embarrass such an exquisite creature. If I were five foot ten with perfect boobs and mile long legs, I’d likely get away with “Starbuck” too.
I wonder if she actually wants to hang out again, like she said she did. If she hits me up, I already have a venue in mind: we’ll meet at Peet Coffee.
You should meet at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf for mutual ground !!!
Maybe she is French and dropped the final consonnant S and made it silent as francophone do