The People You Do Not Speak To

Right now I’ve got so much work to do, I barely have time to miss my favorite coffeeshops. Even more than ol’ Sweetwaters though, I realize I miss those anonymous people who populate it; the ones I never talk to, but know in a strange, intimate, coffee-and-space sharing way, like the couple who comes in late with their books and perhaps some knitting, or the grizzly-haired man who loves the window chairs as much as I do.

These are the people who surround you and confirm the routine, comforting part of your life. They’re home, in a way, though you may never break the politeness barrier enough to actually talk to them. That, in fact, might ruin a little of the mystique. On a certain level, it doesn’t matter who these people are or what they do. Only that they’re there, and that you know each other, or are at least familiar with each other’s faces.

Now I miss them. But I’m looking forward to meeting the new Seattle coffeehouses, filled with their comforting, anonymous regulars. I’ll be drinking my chai tea beside them soon.