It was a cold, blustery and rainy Sunday morning on February 29th, in a leap year. Mitch Lucas called his mother early and said he would come over to spend the day. Mitch spent almost every Sunday with Mom. She was dying and he never knew when would be the last time to see her alive. He could not imagine life without the woman who gave him life. The woman he loved so dearly. Mom had a cold and did not want Mitch to catch it. She told him, “Please don’t come over today Mitchell, I don’t want you to get sick.” He reluctantly agreed but could not get those words out of his mind. After all, Mother was always there for him.
So instead of visiting Mom he decided to go to his favorite coffee shop. He went there every Saturday, but never on a Sunday. Today was different.
The coffee shop had everything he liked: Coffee, Baristas and its own blend of unique décor. Mitch loved to come in on a cold day and warm his hands with a hot cup of coffee, prepared just the way he liked it. Made only the way Baristas of Seattle could, where coffee shops were a way of life.
Mitch was the first customer to walk in this February 29th, and the last to walk out. He spent the entire day at his favorite coffee shop. Something he never did before. Why? It started with a strange lady who walked in out of the rain and ended with another holding a dark-red umbrella in the rain. An instrument designed to shield, absorbed the sadness of two strangers.
Leap Year at the Coffee Shop is how strangers became friends through their undeniable need to share one another’s sorrow. It is also where Mitch Lucas shook hands with destiny, understanding his life’s purpose. Come in and eavesdrop. -- The Publisher