For a moment, she stood motionless, silently staring up at the ceiling. Then she finally slowly looked down at the gentleman.
‘…Certainly, I’ll go and make it,’ she said and walked off sprightly to the kitchen.
Seasons flow in a cycle.
Life too, passes through difficult winters.
But after any winter, spring will follow.
Here, one spring had arrived.
Kazu’s spring had just begun.
About the Author
Toshikazu Kawaguchi was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1971. He formerly produced, directed, and wrote for the theatrical group Sonic Snail. As a playwright, his works include COUPLE, Sunset Song, and Family Time. His debut novel Before the Coffee Gets Cold was adapted from a 1110 Productions play by Kawaguchi, which won the 10th Suginami Drama Festival grand prize. It was followed by Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Cafe.
Also by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Copyright
First published 2020 by Picador
This electronic edition published 2020 by Picador
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
The Smithson, 6 Briset Street, London EC1M 5NR
Associated companies throughout the world
ISBN 978-1-5290-5087-5
Copyright © Toshikazu Kawaguchi 2017
Translation copyright © Picador 2020
Cover illustration courtesy of Sunmark Publishing Inc.
The right of Toshikazu Kawaguchi to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Originally published in Japan as 
by Sunmark Publishing, Inc., Tokyo, Japan in 2017 Japanese/English translation rights arranged with Sunmark Publishing, Inc., through Gudovitz & Company Literary Agency, New York, USA
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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