3224. All for a coffee © Bruce Goodman 2 June 2025

It was one of those suburbs where all the houses were crowded together. People got on, mainly by completely ignoring each other. It was a survival arrangement. There happened at this particular time to be a coffee shortage. The green-spotted slush beetle had decimated the coffee bean trees around the globe. The little coffee for sale in the town, mainly home-grown, sold for an astronomical price. One day Sharon Jarden happened to be in her small back yard hanging out the washing. Peggy Hooker happened to be doing the same next door just over the fence. “How’s it going?” asked Penny. “Not that good,” said Sharon. “I could murder for a cup of coffee.” “I don’t have to worry about that,” said Peggy. “My daughter-in-law grows her own coffee beans, and you’re not getting any.” Contact Author Back to Index Next Story Previous Story