In the end, I decided to enter the Coffee House. Second floor of Metrocentro. I waited for a lady who was completely unknown. I positioned myself in front of the glass walls of said premises, through which I watched people pass by. Businesses along the corridor waited for their customers, while the crowd moved in different directions. He was adrift, turned into half man and half cell, there was no middle ground.
The waitress walked past me, giving me a commercial smile. I have not ordered anything. I fancy a very hot coffee, without sugar, but so bitter as to make my tongue numb, right here, in this air-conditioned place. murmurs. All clients are strangers to me, they are here, close, but so far from each other. No. I have no doubts, I don’t know anyone. Waiting for another totally unknown person.
The waitress left me the menu; I start a stubborn fight. The coveted coffee cost no less than three dollars. three dollars! I worried. He wasn’t there to consume, but to wait for a woman who didn’t know if she would arrive. To ask for coffee I was left on foot. But, if I don’t ask, the young lady won’t stop smiling at me or suggesting that I order as soon as possible.
“Look, don’t worry, please. I’m waiting for someone who will arrive soon», I tell the pretty waitress, who answers me, to my peace of mind, that there were no problems. That is, there he could remain waiting for the unknown woman. Since he smiled at me in a more friendly way, I asked him for a glass of water, I needed to give him more time.
New faces entered the Café, new skin colors, new murmurs that sweetly accompany my sips of ice water. And time continued to fade. With my eyes, discreetly, I went through all the tables, hoping to run into a face that was looking for someone like me. Someone who recognizes me, who gets carried away by my intellectual beret. I consumed my peace in a glass cup, longing to consummate the negotiation and return to León. Here, despite so many people, there is a lot of loneliness that hides under the tables.
I see my watch and, suddenly, eyes on me. I felt that every word from so many mouths was directed at me. What do I do? I asked myself. The young waitress was in a corner watching me, no smile on her face. Perhaps they caught your attention, there is a client who has not ordered anything for a long time. The main one concerned was me, of course. Time was advancing and a trip of a little over an hour awaited me. I looked around the place again. Tables, faces, eyes… Voices, gestures, crossed glances… I take the last drink of water, my throat was dry, I was beginning to despair.
A woman enters. Seeks. He sits at a table across from me. She is white, about fifty years old, with glasses. He extracts the Note Book from his wallet, with his pen he checks. I watch her very carefully, but my cell phone rang. I answer, it immediately turns off. “That’s too much! What I needed… to discharge the battery…” I felt worse than at first, I was waiting for that blessed call, because it would give me the name of the person I’ve been waiting for a long time, here, sitting, pouring out a drink from a glass of water , with the look of the waitress all the time. “Enough!” I told myself.
I called to the young woman, beckoning her to come closer. In front of me, he supposes that I will finally order. Disappointment was drawn on his face. I ask for another glass of water, apologizing that there has been a delay, that the person is soon to arrive. But, in addition, I beg you to provide me with a charger for my mobile… he gave me his, still kind.
While I was drinking the water contained in the glass, I checked how much the mobile was charging. Despair washed over me even more. I looked through the glass walls at the people passing in the hallways. I noticed that another person had entered the room. A white lady with huge black eyes, her smile is an invitation. I decided to continue with them. Something told me that it was her, the one I was waiting for. Getting up, I pushed the empty glass away and it fell to the floor, shattering. No way, I had to pay five dollars for the prank. And of course, the waitress began to reject my presence. I regretted not having coffee.
Again, my cell phone rang. It had enough charge and I immediately returned the charger to its owner, so she won’t get too upset. It was the woman, apologizing for not having made it to the appointment. I don’t know if I hung up on him. I left the Coffee House convinced that I would never return to that place. Less to wait for a ghost that never appeared. And I left there, getting lost in the corridors. The woman with the big black eyes had been seated at one of those tables.
“But since I drink my bitter coffee, I drink it,” I said to myself with a certain good humor, while I asked the lady who sells it at the UCA bus stop.
(from the book THE ENIGMA OF THE LIBRARY AND OTHER STORIES)
Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash
