Kingmaker (Ace of Queens #5)

Pt.13 The people's Prince

Chapter 13

After his talk with Ella, Maksim cleared out his whole calendar. Instead of attending fundraisers and dinners with the elite, Maksim devoted his time to the people of the city.

On his first day, he visited the retirement community for the veterans. He spoke to the many men and women there who had served under Xavier's reign until Mavi became queen. They told him stories of how the town used to be, the friends they lost, the battles they fought. Maksim took a long walk with one veteran who showed him around the neighborhood. Upon the prince's request, the palace guards had stayed back. He was free to walk around and meet the people the old man introduced him to.

"This...." the man pointed to an old coffee shop. "This used to be the only coffee shop in two. Everyone used to gather here. AT midday it was impossible to find a table at this place. We used to go sit on the sidewalk with our little cups of coffee. It was only 10 cents."

"Are they still open?" Maksim looked inside.

"Yes," the old man said proudly. He tried to open the door, but Maksim rushed forward and held it wide open.

They stepped into the shop as the bell on the door dinged. The man behind the counter looked up and frowned.

"Afternoon' Morry," Phill, Maksim's guide, said as he took off his hat.

"Hey, Phill," Morry said as he eyes Maksim.

"Two coffees please," Phill put his shaking hand into his pocket and tried to retreat his wallet.

"Please, allow me," Maksim stopped him. He quickly pulled out his own wallet and paid the man at the counter.

"I'm not sure I got anything for him here, Phill," Morry said. "I don't serve no fancy coffee. All this is home grown."

"Home grown is fine," Maksim smiled.

"We ain't got no fancy oat milk or almost milk either," Morry poured a cup for Phill.

"I drink my coffee black," Maksim said.

Morry narrowed his eyes at the prince as Maksim patiently waited. Phill took his cup and cleared his throat.

"The boy paid for two cups, Morry," he said.

Morry grumbled unintelligently under his breath and poured a new cup. Maksim thanked him as he followed Phill to a table.

"Drink it while it's hot," Phill told him.

Maksim nodded as he picked up his cup. He could feel the man from behind the counter watching him. Slowly, Maksim sipped the coffee and nodded.

"It's good eh?" Phill laughed.

"It's really good," Maksim nodded. He looked at Morry over Phill's shoulder, "Medium roasted? Arabica beans? Am I tasting a bit of..... Lemon juice?"

"Yes," Morry said, a bit surprised. He lifted the counter and came around to the table as he wiped his hand on his apron. "It's an old family recipe. My grandfather used to add lemon juice to his coffee. He said it helped him sleep less."

"It's very good," Maksim took a longer sip of his coffee. "Oh there's cinnamon."

"Yes, yes," Morry smiled. "Do you taste the acidity of the beans?"

"Not really," Maksim shook his head.

"That's the nutmeg in there and the lemon juice."

"Wow," Maksim chuckled. "I never had coffee with so many different ingredients in it."