The suit was well made, well tailored and worn well. The man inside the suit, was also well made, or he probably wouldn’t be wearing this type of suit on a Saturday morning. He was different from the other men that would be wearing such a suit on such a beautiful morning. The others would be on their phones, talking loudly to someone on the other line, who would probably be wearing a similarly nice suit on their way into the office…on a Saturday.
This young man took in the place, as if he wanted to stay longer than what he was allowed to stay. He could have went to dozens of other coffee shops on his way to the office downtown, but he chose this one. He chose this particular coffee place that maybe he knew would take a long time to prepare his coffee. He chose this place because it would allow him just enough time to see what “the others” are doing with their lives, to see what his partners would say are “the sheep” during with their lazy time.
He took his time getting to an office he didn’t want to be at.
The man in the well made suit could have went anywhere, but he chose a place that helps him remember who he really is. He may be climbing up a ladder that everyone expects him to climb, but the look in his well groomed face says that he would rather be here. Sure, he probably vacations somewhere nice, someplace expensive, someplace the partners would approve of, but somewhere in this man’s being, he doesn’t want to be anywhere but here.
He is like a little boy wanting to play hooky from school.
He stands patiently, perfectly still, as if he is a soldier waiting for his orders. He doesn’t check his watch, nor his phone, he just turns his head from time to time to see the people enjoying their day, enjoying their lives.
When he gets to the office, the one that is open on Saturdays and Sundays, because money never sleeps, the others will note his coffee cup. They will talk about how much of a coffee snob he must be that he take his time and go out of his way to get coffee from such a place, the place where the artists and the homeless gather.
He will say something quick and smart, allowing them to think that he has rich taste in coffee even if the place he goes serves those that aren’t. He won’t tell them that the ten minutes he spent in the coffee place that morning will be the best ten minutes he has all day.
He won’t tell them that the simple conversation he had with the barista was the most honest words he will utter that day, or when she asked the simple question of “what can I get you?”, he wanted so badly to say “out of this lifestyle”. But instead, all he could say was coffee.
Life on the ladder up sometimes leads to hell, and maybe a few minutes in a coffee shop is all you have to remind yourself that you aren’t there yet.
***********
Her skin is as dark as coal. Smooth and flawless. She comes in and sits at the table by herself. She looks around and sees the place, but no one in the place really sees her. After a few minutes she gets up, her clothes are old, and somewhat ragged, but clean. Her hair is not as flawless as her skin, but pulled into braids, something easy to keep up with when you are not sure when your next shower will be.
She will head to the counter, and say something. She will offer the barista money but the barista will tell her to put it back into her pocket. She will need the money later, but not now, not at this place.
The young lady will return to her table, the one she sits alone at and wait. Her hands start to touch her face, randomly and quickly, but somewhat poetically . She moves her fingers around her forehead as if her forehead were the keys of a piano, but she is moving out of sync with the music that is playing overhead. This isn’t something she wants to do, just something that she does.
The coffee comes in a real porcelain mug and a real plate with a cookie on it. They could have easily given the girl with the awkward hands a to-go cup and a bag, but they don’t. They allow her to sit, and be warm and in this gesture, show her the warmth of the people here. She knows the rules, we all know them, the rules that allow her and the others the ability to stay in this place with these people. And she abides by them.
We are all one here. We are all safe here.
Time passes, the young lady sips her coffee and finishes her meal. She will linger for a bit, keeping to her self, even though her hands continue to move randomly around her face. The others don’t seem to mind, she is not new here and the others that come here often know her, even if they have never spoken to her personally, nor her them.
Much can be said about silence, and in this moment, in a coffee shop full of people talking loudly to each other, this young girl is invited in to the party, and though she isn’t asked to dance, she feels part of this place, part of this small part of life.
She will move on to other places that aren’t as inviting, but for now, she enjoys this place that lets her remember she is still a human.
A homeless person is at home in a place where the man in the suit feels foreign, how is that for life?
***********
The couple is in the corner. They walked in together, but they don’t know each other, at least not well. She is smiling and giggling. He is friendly and smiles back. They are on a date, a first one it seems.
A coffee shop, yes, that is the perfect place to meet, that is the safest place to meet up for the first time. She chats more than him, but he is kind and offers words when he is allowed to. She is in finance and he in the gas business. She is wearing a cute outfit and he is wearing jeans and boots. They are complete opposites, and it is working.
She talks about family and her dog and her career. He listens, adds his take on his own family and dog and career.
She keeps playing with her hair, she keeps leaning in. He sits still, arms crossed. Things don’t seem to be going well, until they start to be going well. There is no real part of the conversation when he goes from slightly interested to very interested, but he is there now. He is talking more, he is engaged more. He is leaning in.
She continues to play with her hair.
He tells her about what he wants to do, about how he only wants to do this job for a few more years and then move on to something more. He tells her that he hates the corporate world and doesn’t want to be stuck there like some people.
Perhaps like some people wearing suits on Saturdays?
She talks about how she loves her job, how she was worried about moving to the “big city” after college, but now she can’t image moving back to a small town. Her parents were worried about her moving here, how they ask if she is doing okay and going to church.
They order a muffin and split it. She only eats two pieces, as to not look too hungry, even though she probably hadn’t eaten anything lately because of her nerves. He gladly eats the rest of the muffin, but only after offering her the last bite. He is a gentleman of course, his boots tell her that, but she has probably been burned by a guy in boots before, she did grow up in a small town you know.
But he seems different she thinks to herself. He is different she will text her friends later.
He checks his watch and says that he needs to get on with his day. She seems disappointed but knows that this moment had to come to an end eventually. They are more friendly to each other than when they first came in to the coffee shop, perhaps a second date will occur, no one in the coffee shop will know the rest of the story, unless the rest of the story involves the coffee shop.
**********
Maybe a year from now, the young couple will come back here, back to the place where it first started. Maybe he will have a ring in his pocket and propose to her, at the same table where they met, where they started their story. Maybe not.
The coffee shop will be there, waiting for them, waiting for the man in the suit. Maybe in a year he will be back dressed in shorts and on his way to someplace that isn’t an office. And perhaps the young lady will be there, getting more coffee and paying for it with the money from a place that gave her a chance to earn it.
No one knows what the scene will be a year from now, what old players are still there, what new ones show up. We go to places we go and hope for the adventures desire.
Welcome to MarkBrownPT 