A Slice of Human Cake
Expect the unexpected
Chapter 5
A Warm Smile
Every day I expect one thing for maybe an hour or two, uninterrupted tea time with myself! I’ll either have a cup on the balcony of my midtown apartment, take a travel mug to the park, or during the summer venture forty minutes to the countryside, throw a blanket down and enjoy a slice of pie and some homemade iced tea.
My obsession with herbal blends is ridiculous and combined with my own thoughts, a pen, or my laptop, it can be magical. My daily self-care and therapy consist of jotting down various thoughts while letting the aromatic herbs of a cup of tea enhance my imagination to expediential heights. On this particular day, however, I decided to visit my favorite coffee house during rush hour, what was I thinking? Hell if I know! No, that’s not entirely true, in all honesty, I was curious about a question that popped in my head while doing my morning workout, “Is society so lost in the hustle and bustle that they miss the simplicities of truly living?”
I wanted to take a gander at society in the heat of the “hustle and bustle” and take notes for my next article, so I sat down thinking I would not be disturbed. I guess my assumption was wrong. I thought for sure after the puffer jacket guy was dismissed and the crowd dissipated, it would give me my moment to engage in not only my thoughts but my passion. However, as the deep vocals echoed in my ear of someone once again interrupting my intentional mental escape, I instantly regretted my choice in coming to this usual piece of heaven during this time.
“Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?” The voice came in like a mysterious drum that instantly gave a reaction to my left eyebrow. The voice had bass and had I not been irritated I may have thought of the tone to be quite tantalizing.
“Dear lawd not again!”, I said this very obviously pointing out how irritated I was. I placed my red cup of a future-predicted cold beverage on the table, took a deep sigh, and turned to face a specimen from out of the pages of GQ magazine. He wore a grey V-neck sweater with a crisp white button-down shirt and cranberry tie underneath. The dark denim pants and rustic tan boots paired well with his upper attire adding more emphasis to the GQ reference I made earlier. His grey tweed coat was draped over his arm while he held a to-go cup and a small coffee branded paper bag.
As my eyes left me on the scene and ran a muck taking in the slice of human cake, I met his eyes looking at me puzzled with an awkward smile. “Shit!”, I thought. I realized my previous reaction may have come across to him as “sorry buddy but go away!” Scrambling to figure out how to counteract my impulsive blow, I said the first thing that came to mind, “Um, sorry, I thought you were another scammer.” I smiled hoping to add warmth to his puzzling grin. “Scammer?”, he asked, then he chuckled a bit and gave me a more magazine-worthy smile. It was pleasant and gave off an easy appeal. I smiled even harder, then dropped my eyes as I can become nervous when I’m intrigued.
Déjà Vu
There was an awkward moment of silence between us, but it somehow seemed familiar. He shifted his free arm underneath the coat that was draped on the other and cleared his throat. He then asked if red was my color? “Sorry”, I replied, a little confused as to what he was referring to. He pointed to my red mug sitting on the table. Still lost by his question, I looked at him as to unspokenly say, “huh?” He smiled and continued, “The last time I saw you, you were drinking from a red mug similar to that one, so I was wondering if red was your favorite color?” I slightly laughed at how corny his ice breaker was but ironic enough there’s a story behind this red porcelain mug.
Wait, did he say “the last time”? My brain scanned its caverns wondering if we met before. I looked at him a little closer hoping to jog my memory but nothing.
As I was about to question his reference to “the last time” he abruptly said “Fuck!”. His eyes displayed an impending sense of frantic then said “I am so sorry but I have to go!” With that, he made a break for the door.
“What the hell was that?”, I thought and watched him disappear from my view out the coffee shop's window.
I sat there in a whirlwind of confusion and wonder. His mention of “the last time”, ruminated in my mind that I found myself lost in a loop trying to retrieve a connection. Needless to say, I became more and more frustrated. I expelled a deep disgruntle sigh, “Ugh!” Who was this guy and where did he need to be in such a hurry? I felt a little upset by that brief meeting but on a positive spin, it adds to my notes for my societal hustle and bustle article.
I picked up my lukewarm cup of tea and began to sip. “Order up for a slice of red velvet cake!”, a barista shouted and I almost choked. Flashes of that rainy nostalgic day appeared at the toll of red velvet cake. The image of a man in a three-piece suit and a trilby rushed in as the sip of tea I took in rushed out.
“Holy shit!”
To be continued…
To catch the beginning portions of this story, check out Nostalgia at the coffee shop, A sip of morning tea, An Unexpected slice of red velvet cake, and more under the saved tab located here.