Eliza watched the young man take a seat across the coffee shop. He walked in at 7:15 every other weekday morning and left at exactly 7:45. But today was Saturday, and it was lunchtime. She didn’t normally work this shift, but she hadn’t had a photography booking since the last set of Thanksgiving photos she took, and she needed the extra hours.
“Does he always come in on Saturdays?” Eliza pointed to the young man who had just taken the lid off his cup and set it aside.
“I don’t think so. Why?” Andi looked up from the cappuccino in her hand.
“No reason.”
“Oh, I see,” Andi whispered, leaning close to Eliza on her way to grab a pastry from the toaster. “He’s cute.”
Eliza rolled her eyes. “He’s new. And he’s always alone.”
“Maybe he likes it like that. Or maybe he likes you.” Andi elbowed her as he looked up from his table and smiled at them.
Eliza turned to Andi, blushing. “He can’t hear us over there, can he?”
“Anything is possible.” Andi grinned.
Eliza shrugged it off and took the next order, thinking about how quickly Christmas was approaching and wondering how angry her parents would be that she could get only three days off this year to visit them. It was better than not visiting at all like last year. Nothing was more important to them than family, and she hadn’t been able to afford a ticket. This year, her photography business had doubled, and she had promised to do everything she could to see them.
“Speaking of handsome strangers, has your mystery man texted you lately?” Andi asked as she walked by.
Eliza wiped the counter in the thirty seconds she had before the next customer approached. The lunch rush was trickling in. “I have no proof that he’s handsome…or a man…and no.”
“Why don’t you text him?”
Eliza shook her head. “No.”
“Why not? It’s been a couple of months, and you admitted you like talking to him.”
Eliza smirked and addressed the next customer before Andi could continue. She wasn’t wrong, Eliza did like talking to him, but it was still weird.
She thought about it more on her way home from work that evening. She strolled under the setting sun, taking in the scents and sounds of the city. There were people bundled up everywhere she looked, hurrying to their next destination. She stopped at a street corner close to her building, the corner of Thompson and Buckley, and joined the throng of people crowding around a performer. The woman took a moment to climb onto a hollow tube and get her balance before inviting her companion, a small, gray dog with blue eyes and pointed ears, to jump onto her back. Eliza took out her phone to snap a few pictures of the performance and made sure she had a few dollars to drop in the tip jar before she walked away.
A couple of hours later, she clicked through several television channels from the couch, not paying attention to what was on the screen in front of her. Dinner sat on the end table, half-eaten, and her laptop was open nearby, displaying the website she was working on. She was tired of the website, tired of frozen dinners, and even tired of reading books. Her one complaint about the holiday season was that it pushed her inside more, away from gardening, away from red and gold autumnal walks in the park where she watched people go about their business, oblivious to her watchful eyes or pointed camera. The winter blues. She couldn’t wait to get home for Christmas.
She pulled up the pictures she had taken of the performance earlier and began to edit them, fidgeting with the saturation and brightness until she was satisfied. She stared at her favorite photo, a close-up of the dog, and thought about how nice it must be to have such a trusted companion. She’d never had a dog but always wanted one. The only other person she knew would appreciate it as much as she did was Cooper. She attached the picture to a message and sent it to him.
Saw this today. Not a lab, but a super cool dog doing super cool tricks. I thought of you.
She wanted to know how he was doing and if things were any better for him. She thought about asking, but instead, she continued flipping through the channels while she waited for a reply. Her phone buzzed a minute later.
That is super cool. Ideas for a weekend job?
Eliza laughed and muted the television when she received a second message.
It’s a nice picture. Let me guess, you took it?
Thanks. I did.
You must have a knack for that.
Eliza pursed her lips and looked back at the original picture. It was a very good photo, one that captured the community she moved around in and the whimsical environment she loved so much in this part of the city. She sent the picture to her email for further editing and hoped to add to her collection of photos dedicated to capturing life in the city.
I guess I like to take pictures. It’s a favorite pastime.
Wait, did you just tell me something personal!?
Eliza leaned back and smiled, an inexplicable warmth spreading through her despite the frigid air infiltrating her small apartment. She did just tell him something personal, and she wasn’t sorry.
Merry almost Christmas.
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