Happiness is Coffee

Lucia stared at the foam of her hot latte. Out came her phone. Snap. Shaky. Moved two millimetres. Snap again. She looked at the image on her screen — looked fine. Time to edit. Jakarta filter. Yank up the contrast, stretch out the light. Perfect. Now for the caption. God, that was always the hardest part.

A university mate walked by. Their eyes met; both smiled half-heartedly before Lucia went back to her caption. She’d keep it simple today — something grateful.
She began typing: Happiness is coffee.

Then came the next hardest part — the song. She scrolled through thirty-five Korean ballads before picking one that sounded suitably emotional. There. All done. Post on story.

Finally, the first sip. In the busy café, Lucia sank into a soft, empty calm. Life was good. She should be grateful. Nothing to complain about. She had it better than most.

Her phone vibrated. It was Josh.

“Hey honey, how’s it going?”
“I’m just having coffee, about to do some reading.”
“Oh yeah? What are you reading?”
“A book about letting go of past trauma and anger.”
“Ooooh, heavy stuff. Tell me about it later. I’m off at six — can’t wait, madhouse here with the kids.”
“Sure.”
“Fish and chips later?”
“Sounds awesome. Drinks after?”
“I’m a little tight this month. We can grab beer from the convenience store and sit at the park.”
“Sounds good.”

Back to her phone. Five views on her story. She decided she should make a reel. Josh and she had gone sightseeing the weekend before — tons of photos. Reading could wait.

An hour and a half later, forty-five photos and another Korean ballad later, she released her reel into the world.

**********

Lucia got home an hour later. The house was empty — her brother and his family were in Indonesia for the holidays. Of course she wanted to go home too, but airfares were expensive. Her master’s required sacrifice.

With nothing to do, she sprawled on the couch scrolling through her phone. A WhatsApp ping. Dulce from class.

Wanna go for coffee?

Lucia checked her watch. 4:30 p.m. Why the hell not? She texted back a yes and an emoji, and hurried out the door.

**********

Josh was pissed.

“You’re thirty minutes late,” he said. “You know I get hungry after work.”
“I’m sorry, I was with Dulce.”
“But we had plans.”

The waitress appeared. Josh ordered fish and chips, curt.

“For me too,” Lucia murmured.

Silence. She didn’t know how to calm him. They’d been together three months; she let him lead in everything.

“Look,” Josh said, “I know you’re lonely in Arizona. You miss home. You’re eager to make friends. But… you’re just going to go out with anyone who asks?”
“No I don’t!”
“Come on, Dulce’s twenty-two. You’ve said you’ve nothing in common with Gen Zs — you’re always complaining about them.”
“But do I have a choice? Everyone’s so young here. I’m the odd one out. I need friends.”
“Didn’t you think about that before coming for your master’s? Especially when friends are, what, crucial to your happiness?”

Lucia froze. He’d hit a nerve.

“I am doing something. I try to find friends on apps.”
“Okay, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… maybe try something else. Other than finding friends. Or posting stories all day.”
“What???”
“If you want older friends around your age, maybe start acting—”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Did you even have a conversation with Dulce? Or were you both glued to your phones, uploading your girl-date photos?”

Lucia’s face burned. Tears welled up.

Josh softened. “Hey, I’m sorry.”

She pulled her hand away, a tear sliding down her cheek.

“It’s tough,” he said gently. “Starting over. It’ll get better.”
“I’m so lonely here,” she whispered. “It’s just so hard.”
“It’ll get better.”
“What if it doesn’t? It’s been a year…”
“Hey — who am I? I’m your boyfriend, right?” He brushed her cheek.

Lucia smiled through her tears. “I’m so grateful I have you.”

**********

New Year’s Eve. Lucia was at a countdown with her university mates — mostly from India and Vietnam. Someone had planned it, and here they all were.

She sat on the sofa, listening to three married classmates talk about in-laws and recipes.

“Where’s Josh?” Dulce asked.
“Work party,” Lucia said.
“Ahhh okay. That last assignment was tough, huh?”
“I know, right?”
“Party time!”

An Indian classmate, Veshi, arrived. Dulce switched to Hindi, animated and bright. Lucia zoned out, scrolling through Instagram.

Her Indonesian friends were having a much better time — big smiles, big laughter, big groups. Familiar faces, familiar places.

She checked herself. She should be grateful. This was the land of opportunity. Friends would come. She had Josh. No reason to be unhappy.

She opened her photo album. A selfie with Josh after their argument — warm, cuddly, filtered with Jakarta and contrast, as usual.

Happy New Year from us, she captioned, and posted to Instagram and Facebook.

**********

8,000 miles away in Jakarta.

Swensen scrolled through Instagram and stopped. Lucia and her American boyfriend, smiling through the glow of filters, wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

She took a screenshot and sent it to her brother.

“She’s really lonely.”