“The Cafe` - Life As We Live It"
"Hey Ole Man..."
"Hey ole man, how’s your coffee holding up?” I paused my writing - just more of my scrawling, actually, and looked up. Her eyes were crinkle-squinched and her lips had that smile. “God’s gonna get ya…” I said, “Ole man…sheesh…” and motioned toward the empty mug.
”Well it isn’t like you’ve had your normal five or anything yet,” she quipped back as she poured, laughed, then continued on her customer rounds.
I like sidewalk cafes. You can pause a bit, think things over… and over again if necessary. Write if you like, watch - everything and everyone… and sip coffee. And HERE the coffee is actually good and Mary is cute as hell too.
University towns have that certain ‘feel’; so many enthusiastic highs beside the deepest darkest lows - the ones that the daytime soaps just can’t seem to get enough of, let alone get right. “Guys and Dolls,” I mumbled to myself as I watched so many ‘dreams’ meandering by. Well, back to the scrawling…
Time has this way of passing without notice when I write. Focus is seldom an issue regardless of background noise or events. Yet I sensed eyes looking over my shoulder. Then came the scraping sound of a chair being pulled up to the table.
”Hi” I said - without thought or pausing or even looking up, trying to finish the current line before it escaped forever. Then Mary came up beside me, “and you’ll have?” she asked.
The answering voice derailed the train. “Black coffee " and bring him another too, please.”
I looked up and into a place a man " no man " should ever wander into without malice of forethought - the absolute greenest eyes gazing back into mine. I could actually breathe but didn’t know if I wanted to… I didn’t even notice Mary writing down the ticket, then turn and walk away.
There’s pretty and beautiful and striking and then - there was her. I wasn’t at a loss for words - there WERE no words… to say or think or interfere, just the absolute greenest eyes gazing into mine. It took a moment… “Damn.” I said and shook my head lightly to break the spell. Such is the gestalt of captured attention.
”Pardon?” She laughed out loud… even I KNOW a woman realizes the effect she has on a humble target of opportunity. “I said… Damn,” I answered then chuckled, “You have quite a presence.”
This time she chuckled back, “Yeah, neat isn’t it?” as she reached and took my journal from the table, flipped a page back, paused and then began to read aloud.
”There are so many echoes
through our lives.
Moments beyond count -
though so few remembered…
each touch our nows
and our being -
and we?
Don’t even see
our present coming, because
our past shades our eyes,
our thoughts, our tastes of existence.”
....She paused looked into my eyes again… smiled. Then she turned the page and continued…
”I like the thought
of tomorrow…
the taste of it on my lips,
the smoothness of it in my mind.
There’s a FEEL that it has
to me
unlike any other thought
any other wish
construct
presence
desire…
unlike even the touch of…”
...and she stopped, looked up - seemed about to say something, but then just sat back and waited expectantly...
”The absolute greenest eyes
I’d never seen.” I said aloud -
without having to look at the page.
Chris
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