The River, Estuary & Sea
A Story About Movement
Do you know what cafés offer? No, I'm not talking about the coffee, the tea, or even the pastries.
Cafés offer neutral ground—a place where titles fade, differences soften, and three people can comfortably live inside the overlap of their perspectives.
But perhaps the true value of a café isn't that it brings people together. It's that it never asks them to stay. When that overlap begins to disappear, so can you.
For our group, Shirley always arrived first. She liked being early.
Joe was usually second. Not out of preparation, but deliberation. He simply liked to savor moments and therefore found himself contemplating the details he came across along the way, like why people seemed so eager to display the groups they belonged to. Why, he wondered, did so many people choose to present themselves through someone else's identity?
Frank was always last. He wasn't late. He’d come to recognize the power that comes with making people wait.
"Sorry," Frank said as he slid into his chair.
"You don't sound sorry," Shirley acknowledged.
"I don’t? Damn…I guess the veil is starting to wear thin."
Joe smiled. "Gotta grab what you can with what you have. Right?"
Frank gave Joe a crooked smirk.
The waitress walked over. "Good morning, what can I get you?"
"Tea please. Black," stated Shirley.
"Just water is fine." followed Joe.
Frank quickly gave the menu an up and down, made a few noises to show he was putting in effort, and then finally committed with, "Coffee, black. But can you put mine in a to go cup."
"You’re late AND leaving early?" asked Shirley.
"Not early, but I do have a couple of errands to run." Frank responded.
Shirley leaned forward, "Well then I’ll get straight to it. You two would've loved our team meeting yesterday."
Frank folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, "I doubt that, but hit me with it anyway."
"Our Brand President asked the group a question."
Frank groaned. "There's your first mistake."
Shirley ignored him and continued, "She walked into the conference room, and wrote one word on the whiteboard..."
Shirley paused. "...Why."
Joe looked up. Frank gave his phone a quick check and then returned to the group with a stare.
"She asked us why our company exists."
"And?" Frank asked.
"And everyone answered."
Frank nodded.
"With the same response, right?"
"No..." Shirley said. "...not right."
Frank looked confused.
"We all gave different answers."
"You all said something other than money? Was this some kind of culture day?"
Shirley paused and gave Frank a semi-annoyed look—the kind that gently reminds someone they're flirting with the line. Then the look dissolved into a playful smirk.
"You know, Frank...most people wake up to pee. You wake up to mark your territory."
Frank smiled slightly. "Why not? Two birds with one stone."
Shirley continued. "I said growth. Someone else said meaningful connections. Another person mentioned innovation. And someone even threw out 'family.' Although I'm still trying to figure that one out."
Frank smiled. "Advertisements."
Shirley responded. "Advertisements?"
"Yeah, advertisements. You know, the Halo Effect or whatever it’s called, where companies present their products as being better than what they actually are. People do the same thing."
Suddenly the waitress appeared and began passing out their three drinks. Frank quickly reached for his coffee, took off the lid, and even though he'd ordered it black, like the conversation, he began stirring.
"Companies exist to make money, period."
He looked up at Shirley and Joe, "They can't exist without money."
Joe remained quiet, seemingly taking it all in.
Frank continued. "People like fancy mission statements. They hang them on walls. Print them in annual reports. But if payroll doesn't clear on Friday..."
"...none of that matters."