An Open Letter to the Staff at Smile Tiger Coffee

Dear Marco,

We have known each other for three years. Every Tuesday and Friday I sit at the corner table by the window and order the same oat latte. You have my card on file.

And yet, every single time, the cup says: Adrianna.

I changed my order name to “Smith,” and last Tuesday you handed me a cup that said “Smith Adrianna” as if I were a business card.

I am asking only for the fundamental human right to be addressed by a name other than one’s own.

I will see you Friday. (The oat latte. You already know.)

— Andria N. Bobbig