CISMALE, HE/HIM. Hey, is that RAYMOND ABLACK, no that is just ARJUN DESAI around Cypress Cove. I heard they are 35 years old, and their birthday is JANUARY 8, 1991. They rest their heads on the COAST but they can mainly be found working as the OWNER OF WAKE UP COFFEE. Some say they are ATTENTIVE, GROUNDED, RESILIENT and can be OVERCOMMITTED, PASSIVE, OVERTHINKING. If they had a theme song it would be "FIRST DAY OF MY LIFE" by BRIGHT EYES. I hear they are a NEWCOMER, either way Cypress Cove is starting to feel like home.
Arjun Desai was supposed to be headed to Atlanta. He had been offered a position managing a high-end accounting firm, the kind of job that looked impressive on paper but felt like a tight suit he’d eventually suffocate in. Still, it was the sensible choice, the responsible path his parents expected him to take. Somewhere along the coastal highway, his old car began to overheat. Cypress Cove was the nearest town.
While waiting for a local mechanic to take a look at his car, Arjun wandered down the street near the harbor until he stopped in front of a small, vacant corner building just a block from the water. The white brick exterior was sun-washed and simple, the large windows catching the afternoon light. It wasn’t much then, just an empty space with good bones and a view of the sky but Arjun could already imagine what it could become. A place people stopped before work. A place where the day started slowly. Instead of continuing on to Atlanta, Arjun made a decision that surprised even himself. He stayed.
Now Wake Up Coffee stands just off the harbor, a bright modern café where morning light pours through tall windows and the scent of fresh espresso drifts into the street. Clean lines, warm wood accents, and simple seating give the space an easy, relaxed atmosphere, somewhere people can grab their coffee on the way to work or linger a little longer if the morning allows. It’s the kind of place that wakes up with the town each day, one cup at a time.
Arjun works the bar himself most mornings, sleeves rolled up as he carefully steams milk and greets regulars by name. He remembers people’s orders, their stories, and the small details most others forget. Some customers come for the coffee. Others come because it’s the one place in town where they feel quietly understood. He never expected to build a life here, but slowly the town has begun to feel less like a stop along the way and more like somewhere he belongs.
Part of that unexpected life includes River Evers, someone who has managed to slip past Arjun’s usual emotional caution. Their relationship is steady and thoughtful, growing at a pace that suits Arjun’s careful nature. It took time for him to trust that something good could last, but River has made the quiet rhythms of Cypress Cove feel even more like home.
Arjun still works too much, still overthinks everything, and still struggles to say no when people ask for help. But for the first time in a long while, the life he’s built feels real. Even if it started with a broken car and a decision he never planned to make.
This is the first day of my life
Swear I was born right in the doorway
I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed
They're spreading blankets on the beach
