Scents and Cent's Ability

You know...
The coffee's great, but it's the smell of the place that really sticks with you.
No really.
I mean it seems to hang off your clothes indefinitely.
And the thing is
no matter where else you go,
it could be a pickle factory even,
you're gonna fall asleep with that scent
drifting off your shirt
and tucking itself up inside your nostrils
all night long.

Maybe the strangest thing
is that it's not even really a coffee smell.
It's more like
dirt
but not dirt
more like
paint
but
like
It's kinda like tea with black pepper.
I imagine that some far off place,
like Istanbul,
probably smells something like it,
but since
I've never been Istanbul
I can't really say with any certainty.

But that's beside point.
I don't go for the smell.
But it does kinda act as a constant reminder
of the way she shuffles her feet when she sweeps the floor,
or the way that crinkly calico apron clings to her waist,
or fact that she puts extra lettuce on my plate when I order a grilled cheese,
or those big brown, coffee colored eyes
that never seem to sparkle quite enough so that I know
she knows it's me.

You know...
I wonder if my meager tip makes any difference,
cause it's not about the money.
When I throw a couple coins in the jar
I know that she can't help but hear it.
And maybe
when that 37 cents starts ringing in her pockets
while she's walking home,
I've managed to do something
that's gonna stick with her
all night long.