Have You Ever Connected the Dots Only to Draw the Wrong Picture?
I had no idea what that young couple was going through.
Do you ever sit on a park bench, or in a bar, and make up stories about people passing by? I do it all the time. It’s a mental game of connect the dots.
This time it was a young couple in a beachside bar. I was on vacation with friends. It was getting on toward evening with a good mix of tourists and regulars starting to fill the place.
We were at one end of a long table. The couple sat at the other end. She wore a stylish black leather dress, dangling earrings, a pearl necklace, tall black platform shoes in the latest style. He wore a blue polo, khaki slacks, loafers. She was upbeat, a toucher — hand to the arm, leaning in to talk, that sort of thing. Confident. He had a shy smile, not a leaner, not a toucher. A little timid.
She ordered a gin & tonic. He had a beer. She did most of the talking. She’d lean in, tell a story, laugh. She was trying! He didn’t say much back.
There was a band, and the music was good. The woman waved her arms in the air, stood up a few times to sway to the music. The man stayed seated, smiled, looked at his phone, sipped his beer. I thought she wanted to dance. Not a chance.
