The Times I Should Have Said No

And how my beverage choice taught me to speak up

I don’t know who thinks it’s a good idea to have networking meetups at the crack of dawn, but obviously I was silly enough to go along with it. And so here I was, groggy and trying to fake a smile as I joined the line of nametag-adorned young professionals waiting for our overpriced coffee.

I love coffee but am not as much of a snob about it as I am about beer, so the list of brews and the flowery descriptions painstakingly written on the oh-so-typical chalkboard invoked an eye roll from me. I chose the one that sounded the most like it would suit my pedestrian tastes, paid, and dragged my feet to the side of the bar to wait.

The barista finally pushed a wide white mug on a saucer toward me and asked if I’d like room for cream. “Almond milk, please,” I said.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

I stopped for a moment, surprised by the question. I’d been avoiding dairy because it occasionally upset my stomach. Yes, I was sure what I wanted, wasn’t I? “Yes.”

He rolled his eyes as though amused that I, in this extremely pretentious coffee shop, was being ridiculous for wanting an alternative milk. “Ooookaaayyyy, but it’s gonna curdle,” he said, making no move to get the almond milk and instead…