I need my morning coffee. Without it, nothing would ever get done on this planet. I'd never be able coordinate the exploration vessels, for one thing.
Instead of heading out to the countless planets and stations that we need to populate, they'd likely all end up in the same place.
Lenaxia, my lovely Aquilaxian wife, came in just as I was finishing my first cup. "Why won't you involve me in the preparation of your most important drink of the day?" she asked, as she wrapped all eight of her arms around me.
I almost dropped my cup when her eight extremely skilled hands found their rhythm. Then I focused. This was about my coffee, after all!
"Because you like to sleep an extra half hour, Dear. If I wait, I won't have time for two cups before I go. I really don't mind making it myself."
She leaned in even closer, nuzzling my neck with her nose. "It's not about the work. I feel it's something we should do together, because it's so important to you."
I sighed. "It's something that helps me wake up. It's not like hiking in the Callaxia Hills, or swimming. I need it if I want to do my job properly, nothing more."
She beamed with delight, and gracefully slid into my lap. "Good. Then you'll wait until I'm up, and show me how to make it."
How did it come to this? And why? I've never neglected her... I couldn't.
"Lenaxia, you don't even like coffee. You dislike the smell as much as the taste. Why involve yourself in something you find so distasteful?"
"Because I'm your wife," she said, as if that explained everything.
The next day was rough. Lenaxia had insisted on making it herself. I carefully went over each step before she firmly but gently guided me to the table, but unfortunately she forgot the filter. Let me tell you, coffee grounds are hard to swallow.
One cup of awful coffee simply wasn't going to help. I need at least two cups, and they have to be something I can actually swallow.
I messed up big time - more than once.
There is now a shipload of gourmet Dawvar Beans sitting on a lifeless planet, and lush Vuluxia has received a shipment of terraform equipment.
Worse yet, I sent a load of weekend vacationers to Glowverina. It's a beautiful, vibrant world. Unfortunately it's ten light years away...
"I'll just talk to Lenaxia, she'll understand. At least I hope she does," I thought.
I zipped through the stunning canyon landscape in my cruiser, struggling to keep my eyes open. In this case autopilot was a literal lifesaver. I woke up in my hangar, to Lenaxia's beautiful magenta face.
She knew exactly what was wrong, and looked at me sympathetically. "It was the first day. It'll be better tomorrow, you'll see. And isn't it nice waking up together?"
I forced a smile. "I love waking up with you. But I don't know if it's going to be something I can do every day. How about just on the weekends?" I suggested hopefully.
"Don't be ridiculous, I will learn. And I have a surprise for you." Smiling, she proudly produced the biggest travel mug I'd ever seen.
I gulped. Seriously? I could barely get one cup of what she called coffee down. How could I possibly use that? It held at least ten cups, maybe more.
Lenaxia presented it to me as if it were the Galaxy Cup itself. "Well, what do you think? Now you can have your extra cup on the way to work. And it keeps it hot all day too, you can enjoy it whenever you need an extra boost."
"It's the perfect solution," I lied, before taking it. To be fair, it was the best mug I'd ever seen. I would just have to find a way to fill it with something I would actually want to drink...
I went to bed early, despite Lenaxia trying to convince me to stay up long enough to watch the newest episode of Gulgulgar. I was exhausted, and just wanted to sleep.
I woke up at my regular time the next morning, but I kept my word. I stayed put, waiting for Lenaxia. I was reading Fequistion's newest bestseller when she opened her eyes.
"Good morning, Dear. Are you up already?"
I nodded, hoping she wouldn't be disappointed. To my relief she got up without further discussion.
Today she asked me tons of questions as she prepared my coffee. Even about methods of adding things she knew I wouldn't touch.
"I hope you aren't thinking about adding any of that to my coffee?" I asked warily.
"Of course not. I'm thinking about giving it another chance, but as you know I don't like the taste of it, at least the way you drink it."
"You might want to use a much darker roasted bean too. It'll give it a different flavor," I suggested.
"Was yesterday's alright?" she asked.
"It wasn't quite the way I make it," I admitted. Using her question as an opportunity to guide her through the steps as she worked, I stayed right beside her. This time, she welcomed my guidance.
I took an experimental sip. "You've got it! This tastes delicious," I said, putting it aside to thank her properly.
With the help of the travel mug, I not only got through the day, I managed to correct yesterday's mistakes too.
When I got home, I found Lenaxia on the tablet. She was looking at something coffee related. I pretended not to notice, because she had never liked the way I focused on coffee.
The next morning, I woke up early as usual. But Lenaxia was already out of bed. As soon as I opened the door, I smelled it. It was almost overpowering.
Mixed in with coffee were strange fruity odors, and even something savory. My stomach lurched at the thought of what my taste buds might be subjected to.
When I went into the kitchen, I saw two coffeepots. Old faithful and some shiny new contraption, full of knobs and tubes.
Before I made it to the table, a cup was placed in my hand. I sniffed. It smelled the way it should. I took a sip.
"This is the best coffee I've ever had," I told her. And it was true. I'd have to ask her how she did it, but later. I had time to enjoy two cups, and put the rest of the pot into the travel mug!
This story was inspired by a prompt by the 
Cover image made in Canva Pro using their gallery