"The Coffee Shop" by Lilian Wang is a charming portrait of three people and their interactions while having morning coffee. In third person, the author describes the viewpoint of a man, and then a woman, each of whom are clearly interested in each other but won't make a move. In a startling and brilliant move to first person, she then describes the barista viewing the stolen glances of the infatuated two, and ends with a cliffhanger where the barista switches their drinks so they are forced to talk to one another.
     I loved this story because it is so quiet, and short too, yet there is such a clear portrayal of the characters. "Her," the young woman in the piece, has "a face like an open book, and emotions play across her delicate features." I got a sense of her sensitivity and creativity without knowing her name, just as the description of the man's "gazing out the window" helps show his intensity and daydreaming tendencies. The daring of the barista to take action to bring these two together also reveals her personality. I think that the description, especially to bring out the characters, was artfully done.
     However, the best part of this piece was really its cliffhanger ending. From the barista's point of view, Lilian writes "So today, on a gray Sunday morning, I walk over and hand him a frothy macchiato, then place a steaming black espresso by her notepad." I love the elegance of this final line - there is something of a happy ending, in that the two who like each other have a chance to interact because their drinks were switched. The reader is left imagining, and chuckling at the barista's daring. It was a very good choice to leave the future up to the reader's interpretation. In general, I loved the chance to read this cozy, warm, well-written story that was so lovely and concise.