Some Friday Night Magic...
The cafe is full of Friday night personalities, you know the ones I am talking about, the ones with the shiny, glazed look, the ones with the best jumpers, newly polished shoes, coiffured or sleeky hair, immaculately done nails and sexy after-shaves, the ones with the works. Somewhere as the weekend progresses, the clothes and the heady perfumes start to lose their gleam and by Monday morning, everything presents itself in various shades of grey.
Modulated laughter hangs heavy in the air, romance lurks in the shadows cast by the candlelight and the ambience is charged with the sparks that come from the promise of new relationships and new beginnings.
They sit there in their own little world, smiling shyly and stealing coy glances at each other as the waitress hands them their menus...there is the whole "oh but what would you like to have?” concern, there is the gentle ribbing about the choices made and the palpable excitement of being together with a magical night just unfolding. He tells her about his day, she asks the right questions and adds her own bits, the awkward pauses are soon replaced by easy banter...they have so much to tell, so much to hear, she educates him about the menu, he drinks it all in and reaches across to hold her hand. He lifts a solitary rose out of the tube vase and hands it to her, she accepts it with a smile and laughs with her head thrown back over something he has just said. As she does this, the small pendant at the base of her neck glows seductively. He is trying and she is trying to make the magic last, to build a lasting relationship but mostly they are trying to share a nice part of themselves. The table is clutter free, except for her sequinned handbag.The waitress arrives with their food and the romance continues, this time over the food. It is all about them and the night really, with no one in between.
They don’t even notice the family on their far right which is as much a part of the surroundings really, except that they do this by standing out and not blending in. She is dressed in her work clothes and so is he; it is the kids that are dressed up in their Sunday best. There are no witty conversations or even consultations here about the menu, it takes them a couple of minutes to decide what they need...there is no lingering over the decisions but a mere enactment of a course chosen by both. There is talk, brief but friendly and warm. They seem to be sharing the evening without saying or hearing much. The baby throws his rattle down and the little girl asks for her stuffed bear. An assortment of stuffed animals and drawing books appear on the circular polished table. Sippy cups and bibs appear out of nowhere. There are no beaded handbags and pashminas on the chair rests here, just well used vinyl shoulder bags with cartoon characters on them, even the tube vases have been cleared to make way for dog eared books and crayons. They eat their dinner that way, there is much mirth and cheering when the baby gurgles over something and the little girl manages to read by herself from her book.
He gets up to pay the bill and for a brief moment in time, they observe one another, before the evening lures them away. They don’t know it but they are not all that different...on a basic level it is all about travelling together. For a split second the young parents see themselves as the romantic couple they once were and for a split moment, the young couple sees themselves a few years down the line, a bit jaded and worn around the corners perhaps but still in love - a different kind of love but love nonetheless.
Relationships grow and evolve and branch out and as they do so, they change your persona and expose your true self as you give in. For every relationship you are in, there is the baggage you accumulate and carry, whether you are aware of it or not, whether you acknowledge it or not. There is no such thing as travelling light, all you can do is hope the other person will accept your baggage and maybe even give you a hand; and even more importantly, it is what you take with you, not what you leave behind, that will ultimately decide where you go.
Modulated laughter hangs heavy in the air, romance lurks in the shadows cast by the candlelight and the ambience is charged with the sparks that come from the promise of new relationships and new beginnings.
They sit there in their own little world, smiling shyly and stealing coy glances at each other as the waitress hands them their menus...there is the whole "oh but what would you like to have?” concern, there is the gentle ribbing about the choices made and the palpable excitement of being together with a magical night just unfolding. He tells her about his day, she asks the right questions and adds her own bits, the awkward pauses are soon replaced by easy banter...they have so much to tell, so much to hear, she educates him about the menu, he drinks it all in and reaches across to hold her hand. He lifts a solitary rose out of the tube vase and hands it to her, she accepts it with a smile and laughs with her head thrown back over something he has just said. As she does this, the small pendant at the base of her neck glows seductively. He is trying and she is trying to make the magic last, to build a lasting relationship but mostly they are trying to share a nice part of themselves. The table is clutter free, except for her sequinned handbag.The waitress arrives with their food and the romance continues, this time over the food. It is all about them and the night really, with no one in between.
They don’t even notice the family on their far right which is as much a part of the surroundings really, except that they do this by standing out and not blending in. She is dressed in her work clothes and so is he; it is the kids that are dressed up in their Sunday best. There are no witty conversations or even consultations here about the menu, it takes them a couple of minutes to decide what they need...there is no lingering over the decisions but a mere enactment of a course chosen by both. There is talk, brief but friendly and warm. They seem to be sharing the evening without saying or hearing much. The baby throws his rattle down and the little girl asks for her stuffed bear. An assortment of stuffed animals and drawing books appear on the circular polished table. Sippy cups and bibs appear out of nowhere. There are no beaded handbags and pashminas on the chair rests here, just well used vinyl shoulder bags with cartoon characters on them, even the tube vases have been cleared to make way for dog eared books and crayons. They eat their dinner that way, there is much mirth and cheering when the baby gurgles over something and the little girl manages to read by herself from her book.
He gets up to pay the bill and for a brief moment in time, they observe one another, before the evening lures them away. They don’t know it but they are not all that different...on a basic level it is all about travelling together. For a split second the young parents see themselves as the romantic couple they once were and for a split moment, the young couple sees themselves a few years down the line, a bit jaded and worn around the corners perhaps but still in love - a different kind of love but love nonetheless.
Relationships grow and evolve and branch out and as they do so, they change your persona and expose your true self as you give in. For every relationship you are in, there is the baggage you accumulate and carry, whether you are aware of it or not, whether you acknowledge it or not. There is no such thing as travelling light, all you can do is hope the other person will accept your baggage and maybe even give you a hand; and even more importantly, it is what you take with you, not what you leave behind, that will ultimately decide where you go.
posted by Scarlett_OHara at 10:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home