A sliver of sunshine lit up the hardwood floor of the cafe as a thirty-something brunette pushed open the door, dragging a laptop stroller behind. She was dressed in business clothes — crisply pleated dark trousers, a collared shirt and a navy blue blazer. She looked out of place in the hippy café with its multicolored chalkboard menu listings, ads plastered over the walls, and local paintings for sale exhibited all over the seating area.
She paused and looked around the café. Her eyes briefly met mine, and I settled deeper into my couch, trying to blend into the upholstery. It was the middle of the afternoon, and most of the tables were empty. She moved towards one next to the large window and settled down. She leaned over to check out the view from the window and then looked at her watch. In a few minutes her laptop was out, and she was typing away furiously.
The silver bell hanging by the door ran again. A man in jeans and a linen shirt strolled in and made his way towards the brunette.
“You are late,” she said a little loudly and then looked around self-consciously.
“405 — the usual”, he replied, settling himself in a chair right across her. He gave her a small smile.
“LA needs more trains.”
“I don’t know…. I like the flexibility of my car. Too old to wait for trains and run my life on their schedule.”
“You are just lazy.’’
“So they aren’t here yet?” ignoring her comment and pointed to her beverage. “That looks terrible. Why is it so red?”
“Pomegranate iced tea…it’s healthy. No, they are not here. We said three-thirty, so that’s, uh…any minute now”, she replied while her finger continued to move on the keyboard.
“Do you think he is fine?”
“Of course he is — they would have called us otherwise. He needs to socialize.”
“He is only eight months old!” He said, throwing his hands in the air.
“Doesn’t matter…” she muttered, barely audible.
“Can you at least look up from your laptop while talking to me?” His voice rose a little.
She let out a sigh and looked at him above the screen of her laptop. A long silence followed as he held her gaze. She turned her head and stared out of the window for a few minutes and then went back to typing on the keyboard.
The man shook his head and pulled out his smartphone and started swiping.
