coffee with one's elders

the last few drops of my coffee were cold. i held them in my mouth for an extra moment. 'coffee' was a generous word. but the schnapps still felt warm as it worked its way to my stomach. i readjusted the contents of my backpack. a hand claimed the glass mug that i had been drinking from.

i looked up again. the mug had returned, restored to its former full, warm glory. "ah, sorry, i am just leaving."

"no, stay. he is buying." the thumb protruded from a purple nylon jacket. dirty beige coveralls feigned indifference.

i stayed. something about the windbreaker and the coveralls felt disconcertingly familiar. i made fast work of my second round of coffee and schnapps.

i still had 10 or 11 miles of hiking ahead of me, but they would mostly be downhill. in any case, it was getting late. i dropped a large coin on the rough-hewn table and shivered at the prospect of stepping back into the indecisive precipitation. it looked like it was going to be rain right now. ten minutes before it had been snow.

an hour earlier, four days of stubble had called at me from behind a glass bottle and a carafe at the table where i now stood. "i have coffee and schnapps. come drink some."

i was a little bit concerned about the time, and wanted to make it the last half-mile to the top of napf, the highest hill in the area. "will you still be here in half an hour?"

"it depends on the animals. if there is a problem, i will have to go be with them."

i had taken my chances, and had returned in the promised 30 minutes to purchase my reward.

i had already hiked 11 miles that day from the town of trub to the top of napf. the temperature wavered between the low and mid 30s all day long. i had about two hours of good daylight left when i left the schnappshop, but i would probably have some visibility for at least the first 30 minutes of twilight. that wasn't a whole lot of time to go 10 miles in, but i figured i would jog when convenient.

ridgelines emerged from fog. occasional beams of light illuminated the trail. i jogged most of the way.

i was on the main road an hour and a half later. as i walked the last two miles to my ancestral home, i recognized the men who had sold me schnapps. they were my grandfather--it must have been the 1960s.