Grown Up

Laura was getting ready at her vanity when her mom walked in with and old, off-white mug in one hand, and hazelnut creamer in the other. Laura grinned at her mom and reached for the coffee. She held it under her nose and inhaled the aroma of the freshly-brewed beverage, and gave her mother a very genuine, “thank you”. Laura poured a generous amount of creamer into the mug and began to sip her coffee. It warmed both her heart and her throat, something very few things were capable of doing. Once her mom retreated back to the main floor, Laura resumed her morning routine.
As soon as she realized she was running late, she ran downstairs and into the kitchen. Laura placed her empty mug in the sink, and grabbed her travel mug from the cupboard. She filled it to the brim with the leftover coffee in the pot, grabbed her keys, and left the house. Laura got into her car and took a long swig of coffee while simultaneously turning her key into the ignition. In the midst of swallowing, Laura thought back to a time she hadn’t thought of in a while. She remembered being 10 years old, sitting at her dining room table on a sunny saturday morning beside her mom. “Can I try your coffee, Mommy?”
Her mother chuckled. “You can try it Laura, but you won’t like it!” She passed her daughter the mug. Laura took a slow sip, then immediately scrunched her face, as if she had just drank straight lemon juice.
“EW MOM! How do you drink that? Why do you torture yourself?”
Her mom laughed. “Trust me, sweetie. You’ll like it when your older. Coffee's for grown ups.” With that, she kissed Laura’s forehead and walked away.
It was in that moment, sitting in a car, with a mug of coffee in hand, that Laura realized, she was an adult. A long awaited epiphone. It wasn’t the fact that she was almost finished with her senior year of high school, that she had got her license, or even her exit of puberty that tipped her off to this realization. It was the coffee.
Coffee was for grownups.
Laura was drinking coffee.
Laura was a grown up.
Laura placed her coffee in the cup holder beside her, and began her drive to school. There was smile on her face.
It was a sad kind of smile.