Zither or Guitar

Verble holds up the canvas of the new Picasso he has just purchased at auction in the Netherlands. "Isn't she beautiful?" he asks.





"What is it?" says Niall Carter, sitting a few stools down, warming his hands around his steaming mug.





"It's called 'Woman with Guitar or Zither' - Picasso, circa 1911," says Verble proudly.

Steppenwolf snorts. "You mean even he couldn't tell?"

"He got lost!" shouts out Lucky Moran, sitting at table four with Otis Redwing.





"Philistines!" growls Verble, as Steppenwolf and Niall burst into laughter.





Verble picks up the painting, somewhat roughly, and begins to start toward his office, when the Barista says to him, in a rare serendipitous moment, "Come on, Verb, why don't you put it up here behind the counter? There's a good spot by the espresso machine."





Verble stops. A pause. A smile begins to pull up at the corners of his mouth. "Why, my dear," he says with true amazement, "surely there IS indeed one of you who can appreciate art."





"Sure, I have a good eye for art," she says. "Plus, it'll go just right with the colour of chalk I'm going to use on the board to advertise the new cherry mocha grande!"