The Legendary Heavenly Deluxe Beverage

Brandon had never once considered himself a great lover of coffee. That was until he found himself standing right outside what appeared to be a delightful and cosy coffee shop on the corner of Fifth Avenue.

Coffee World.

Already he was starting to like it even more because of the name itself. How ironic that he was in the Big Apple, a vast city that catered to the needs of caffeine addicts that needed several fixes to keep them motivated day and night. A small smile crept on his face in spite of the stress filled day he had regarding work. Needless to say sometimes it wasn’t easy being the owner of a mechanic garage for cars and motorbikes…

Pushing open the door, a small bell jangled overhead signalling his entrance, the strong aroma of coffee invading his nostrils as he breathed the delicious scent in. For a brief moment he stood rooted on the spot, merely soaking in the atmosphere while admiring the modern sophisticated décor of the vicinity. Not too packed or too empty, just the way Brandon liked it.

Near to him in a secluded corner, a couple occupied one of the black leather sofas. The attractive redhead’s boyfriend must have made a funny remark as warm laughter spilled from her throat before she quietened down.

“Oh, James!” she exclaimed lovingly, leaning into his shoulder as she ran a hand through his brown hair. “You never fail to amuse me with your adorable sense of humour.”

In response the man flashed her a boyish grin. “And that’s one of the reasons you fell for me, isn’t that right, Carolina?”

Seeing the young lovers like that instantly reminded him of Connie, his soon-to-be wife. Ah yes, his beloved Connie would positively love it here! One of these days when they both had free time from their busy work schedules, Brandon will bring her to Coffee World, after buying her expensive clothes, and they could discuss their wedding plans over a cup of coffee and some bagels.

Brandon approached the counter straight ahead of him. Much to his surprise it was deserted – no long queues of impatient customers lining up. God knows he absolutely loathed waiting to be served whether it was purchasing something simple like cologne or even pain killers. The last time he waited to be served was a few month ago when he bought an engagement ring for Connie – it was a living nightmare due to the fact the damn line didn’t budge for at least three quarters of an hour!  

Upon reaching his destination he casually rested his elbows atop of the sleek onyx counter, noticing how clean and pristine the surface was.  His gaze travelled upwards, studying the bright panel displaying the various foods and beverages they sell with the price alongside each item.

Cappunicho. Latte. Hot chocolate. Espresso. Iced tea. Americano.

Hold on, what on earth was that?

What attracted Brandon’s attention was something called Heavenly Deluxe which was underneath the Today’s Special section. True to its quite unique name, this coffee looked so very tempting judging from the actual photograph. Chocolate New York skyscrapers, varying in size, rose from the piping hot dark liquid, accompanied by a thick cloak of steam. What added to the refined way it was presented in was the coffee was poured into a white cup on a matching saucer.

He had to admit this particular beverage intrigued him. If it was as awesome as depicted in the image, then he couldn’t wait to see it right in front of him. He made up his mind – he was going with the Heavenly Deluxe.

A man, appearing to be in his late twenties or early thirties, emerged from the other side of the counter. He was dressed in a smart beige and azure stripped uniform with his longish light brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Right away Brandon knew that this Butch Flowers (the name printed on his gold pin attached to his chest) was a friendly and helpful kind of guy.

Upon noticing he had a customer, Butch put on one of his most polite smiles that he perfected over the years and warmly announced, “Hi there! What can I get for you, Sir?”

“Yes, I’d like to get Today’s Special please,” Brandon answered without any second thoughts, feeling confident that he’d made the right decision. “It’s called the Heavenly Deluxe.”

“That’s such a popular choice. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed!”

“I bet.”

“Sir, if you’d like to wait here while I’ll get it ready for you. It will take two to three minutes, alright?”

Before Butch left to prepare the beverage, he thanked him for his assistance. As far as he was concerned the standard service was very impressive, which was something that Brandon expected at any place. If the shop had knowledgeable and cheerful staff, he’d most likely visit there frequently. Besides he enjoyed having conversations with shop floor assistants. It gave him the opportunity to get to know them as human beings and also gaining new information about products and whatnot.

Within the next few minutes Brandon watched a bit of TV where a quiz show was being aired. On screen the female presenter asked a male contestant what was the capital city of Arizona. A blond haired man, who was following the show with a couple of his buddies, squealed, bouncing up and down in his chair.

“It’s Pittsburgh!” he exclaimed.

This earned him stunned looks as one of his buddies hissed, “It’s Phoenix, dumbass!”

“Here you go, Sir!” a voice came from behind him. “That will be four dollars please.”

Brandon’s excited mood vanished as he turned around. He frowned deeply at the sight of a frothy beverage sprinkled with chocolate pieces with two thin wafer sticks rising up. This wasn’t anything like the drink in the photo!

Disgusted, Brandon pushed it across the table to a bemused looking Butch. “I’m not paying.”

“Uh…why?”

“Because it’s false advertising!”