Distracted

I have a ticket to a movie at the film festival and Naomi decides to go too. She goes outside to smoke, while I shut down my PC. I stroll out onto the sidewalk, catch a glimpse of someone on the periphery and turn my head with a, ready to go?, look. I’m expecting Naomi, but it’s my neighbor Darien, heading inside. I plant my feet in the sidewalk and turn my head in both directions, trying to spot Naomi.

“How’s it going?”

“Good,” I crane my neck to look behind Darien.

“Where you headed?” He steps into the doorway and finds his keys.

“I’m going to see a movie.” I step closer to the curb and try to look around the corner of the building to see if she’s in front of the other entrance. But I’d need x-ray vision.

“What are you going to see.”

I’m not prepared to give the title and then rattle off a synopsis – so I answer vaguely, “A documentary at the film festival.”

“You going alone?” This is usually the case when we pass each other here.

At this point I must be spinning around in circles and looking up in the sky to see if she’s hovering above us. “No, I expected, . . . I’m looking . . . for my friend . . .”

I can see into Darien’s mind at this point: “Ah yes, his friend.” That’s what I’d be thinking anyway.

Just then, Naomi steps out from amongst the cars parked across the street.

“There she is. See you later, Darien.”

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3 comments

  1. Well no, Flag Day has been quite satisfying. Thanks for asking.

    Oh, I guess you’re referring to the oblique entry from this morning which stands alone without comment. It’s a story, “I stood there waiting . . .” and that’s it.

    But tell me – what do you think of movies & looking for people on sidewalks? That’s what I want to know.

  2. Actually I had a story quite like that today. One of those weird moments when 2 near-strangers share the same thought when passing on a street. Look for it on my website very soon… I would now like to deflect the hype I just put on a very boring anecdote.

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