I entered the trendy and local Seattle coffee shop alone.
The cafe was a bustle of energy, not just because of the coffee, but the amount of coffee consumer.
I sat down at the only available table. I then noticed the table next to me. It appeared to have lost it’s owner. A jacket hung lazily on the chair, while steam floated from the cup. A collection of graphing paper sat next to both with figures scribble on it.
It was then the owner of curious belongings returned to his table. He was in his mid 20s and scruffy.
Scruffy, not in an intentional way. He appeared to be clean shaven, and put together, even attractive. Still, he seemed scruffy to me, in a way that only life could give. Maybe it was the premature lines on his face or a certain chip on his shoulder, but it was apparent that whatever life he had been living, he had been living it hard.
He made brief eye contact with me as he sat down and began telling me a story about his day. He spoke as if we were old friends, as if he had already introduced himself and knew that I would be interested in the story he came in with. He was not flirty nor suggestive, just matter of fact and sincere.
I found him strange, but was intrigued by the sincerity of the interaction and found the situation humorous and odd, all at the same time. I didn't know this guy's name, but was now in the know, of the why and the what of his whereabouts. I giggled to myself as I wondered what life would be like if people treated strangers with an assumed friendship; joining in random conversations, telling people about their day, asking for bites of sandwiches, giving heartfelt hugs, promising to see them again...
I decided I liked the idea of his approach to life and would play along, responding with the same sincerity. His blueish-green eyes met my gaze, I could tell he was a bit surprised he had my attention but equally as pleased with the friendly response.
John, would turn out to be his name. And, John had a lot to say about John. It was as if I had accidently pressed the play button, unaware how to make it stop. On and on... he went, barely taken breaths between sentences. Luckily, John was pretty interesting.
He was pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering. Even more, he was articulate and had an extensive vocabulary.
His favorite activities included building, fixing things, drawing and physics. In fact, John loved Physics Laws and Theories so much that throughout our conversation he would recite different principles verbatim, creatively correlating them with the current topic of conversation. John talked as though he was being timed and I listened in the same way, filtering his words into two categories: things I was interested in and things I was not.
He was unemployed but had recently inherited money from a deceased father. He said his father had died of cancer and he was able to spend his last months by his side.
"I don't know if this was good or bad, it just was," John said about his time with his dad.
I thought it was interesting that even now, John was unsure if spending his final days with his dad was good or bad.
John was also quite a pool shark and would apply his favorite equations every Wednesday night at a nearby bar where he would hustle games for money.
Prior to enrolling in school John had spent six months in jail for selling pot in his hometown in Pennsylvania. He blamed the system and said it was within their best interest for monetary reasons to keep him on the inside. He explained that this is why he also ended up getting a longer sentence than he was supposed to.
I know nothing about this type of thing, so all I could respond with was an interested head nod.
Which was good enough for John. Actually, with the amount of words he was already firing, I think he preferred my responses short.
Then, mid-sentence John pulled out something from his backpack. It was a Rubik's cube. He tussled it in his hand like an old friend. And then just as comfortably solved it, without breaking conversation.
He then looked up at me waiting for my reaction. I was impressed. He smiled, equally proud of himself, but only for a moment.
"This stupid toy actually saved my life in there," he said.
John's ability to solve Rubik's cubes spread quickly throughout the jail. This impressed the security guards. So much so, that in exchange for an extra hour of yard time, he would perform for them. He said that everyday, he would play their own game of stump the inmate, as they would take turns rearranging the cube in attempt to make it unsolvable. John said he always found this ridiculous, as the secret was not in how the cubes were arranged but in a constant formula he would apply.
"The equation is always the same, no matter the start or the finish," he said, as if he was declaring the obvious.
I found a small bit of wisdom in his words and wondered how many other simple "constant equations" John applied to the hardest of his own life problems.
John said the extra yard time was worth "feeling like a circus monkey" and kept his days short. I have to admit it was a good story.
It was then that I caught sight of my friend opening the door to the coffee shop and was thankful to see her. Her eyes first darted towards me and then moved to John. I could see her face light up, as if she had just heard a juicy secret, and the way it used to when we were kids and I was caught standing next to my crush.
I shook my head and shot her the best, "I know what you are thinking but this is not my future husband" look I could muster.
She seemed to understand my bff sign language and shrugged her shoulders. John continued to talk, barely noticing the silent conversation that had taken place across the room.
Finally, a stop button. I bid my friend John farewell and we introduced ourselves for the first time in the same breath.
I told him to stay in school. Knowing my advice sounded parental and strange, because we were the same age. And while I don't know if all of what John said was the truth or if our interaction was good or bad...as John would say,
it just was.
and as it is: two strangers colliding in life for a brief moment, assuming friendship with a stranger and then finding it.
.