I was running very late this morning. It seems to happen every Wednesday because I go to see classic films at the Market Arcade on Tuesday nights and I always get in after 10. I know that doesn’t seem like very late but I’m the kind of person who is always wound up when I return home from being out, especially after seeing a phenomenal movie. It’s a big reason why I don’t go out much on weekdays. It took a few hours to wind down and get sleepy enough for bed. In fact I think it was after 1am when I finally fell asleep.
As a consequence when my alarm went off at 8 this morning I woke up only briefly. Something that is a blessing and a curse this time of year is my comforter. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have some expensive high quality comforter. I probably have what would be considered a low end one but on these winter mornings when the temperature is always below the freezing point and that first arm or leg pops out of the covers and catches the chill I turtle back inside of them. Half asleep and in between two worlds I think it’s so warm and lovely inside why would I ever come out? Then I remember I have to get up, that’s why there was an alarm sounding. So I sneak an arm out from under the covers to grab the TV remote. Once I have it on and at the right volume I return the controller and my arm disappears back under the covers. That was a close one. There’s such a frosty chill in the air but it’s nice and toasty inside this comforter. I really begin to fixate on how great it feels to be so snug and comfy.
Before I know it, it’s an hour later. Oops! I swear I could get up if I really wanted to! This is something that happens to me every winter. If I don’t HAVE to be somewhere by a certain time, watch out! My work schedule is so flexible and the air is so chilly… it truly is a recipe for oversleeping.
I get out the door and catch the bus to work. As I approach my stop I begin to think, well I’m already late and I haven’t eaten anything yet, maybe I should pick up something on the way there. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Then once I get to work, I’m there the whole time until I pack it in for the day. On an afternoon where the weather may get annoying, one less trip in it is fine with me. Plus there are 2 little restaurants right at my stop. There’s a sandwich place and a Chinese place. Since I stopped at the sandwich place on Monday, I was leaning towards Chinese food today.
I went in and waited 3 minutes or so for someone to come out to the counter like usual. Once he came out I ordered and sat down. I sat facing the window so I could look out at Main Street and the big snowflakes drifting to the ground. I had to wait about 15 minutes for the food so I found myself staring out at Main Street watching the traffic and I drifted into dreamland. I was staring at one particular spot but then again I wasn’t looking at anything because I was inside my mind thinking about my day, planning things, imagining things and probably looking pretty dopey. Do you ever just stare at an object or in a direction and daydream? Do you wonder what your face looks like when you are drifting like that? I don’t. Unfortunately I was making that face for at least 5 minutes before I noticed the movement almost directly in my line of sight.
As it turned out I was staring out at the street and maybe a foot beneath where I was blankly focused (or unfocused) was someone in the passenger side of a car who was now looking in my direction. I immediately turned my head away. I began to feel embarrassed and quite ridiculous. I was staring right above where this person was sitting for 5 minutes! Did they think I was staring at them? It must have looked like it. Did I freak them out? Oh man, why didn’t I notice the person sitting there sooner? That car was there the whole time!
I wanted to get another look at this person just to see what they looked like but I was also mortified that I may have just made them very uncomfortable by staring at them for so long. How long did they know? I took several seconds and thought of ways I could look over there without looking over there. If only I had my black sunglasses. I could have looked in a nearby direction but semi-secretly looked right over at them. I had to figure out a way.
I began to think of ways and this question came over me… why did I need to look again? Why does that matter? Why do I need confirmation? What’s done is done I may as well go on with my day. Besides my food would be ready pretty soon and off to work I would go. Why did I need to look over there one more time? I couldn’t quite place it but something told me that something was off. I mean sometimes our eyes play tricks on us. After a few minutes of yes/no I should/I shouldn’t I finally looked over there casually.
The window was kind of fogged up and it wasn’t easy to see inside, at least not as easy as I thought I would be. Combine that with the now increasing flakes of snow coming down and it was not ideal visibility. I could make out that the person was not an adult because they were a little on the small side and only came up the seat ¾ of the way. Is it okay for an 8 year old to ride up front? I don’t know when it is but I’m pretty sure I rode up front from an earlier age than that so maybe it is but why wouldn’t the kid go inside with the adult? The person had been inside the restaurant next door for at least 5 minutes. Would most people leave a child in a car that long by themselves?
I snuck another look at the kid. The kid had long black hair that came down on and framed her face and peach colored skin but it was difficult to make out anything more than that with the light being brighter inside the restaurant I was in, the snow and with the windows of the car being fogged up a bit. While making that last look she looked right at me and I spun my head and eyes in another direction. Something wasn’t right about that kid. I waited a few seconds and took another look and now the kid was gone! I closed my eyes for a full second and opened them looking to refocus my gaze and the seat was empty. I began to run down all the possibilities. It’s a kid so maybe she’s crawling around the floor of the car. I used to do that. Sometimes you could find neat stuff down there. I remember finding loose change, lost toys and candy that I’ll never admit to eating when I was little and searching the floor of the family car.
I could hear the cook scraping the side of the pan meaning that my food was ready and they were making the transfer from pan to container. Soon I would be leaving and I had to walk right past the car so then I’d know for sure about that kid. I took another quick look over there and still no signs of life from the windows up. The man at the counter called for me and I got up to get my food.
As I headed towards the door of the restaurant I got excited about unraveling this mystery. Let’s not mention that this is a silly mystery of my own making. I live in the moment and this was an important moment. I saddled up and went outside. As I did two women came out of the restaurant next door. Would they be the owners of that car and/or the kid? I stopped and went into my pocket as if I had some urgent thing to do. I pulled out my phone as I stood there and acted like I was checking something as they did in fact move toward the car!
I looked up and still could not see anyone inside the car. Where is this kid? They reached the two front side doors of the car and I thought, was the kid supposed to be in back? If the kid was now on the floor, sleeping, searching, hiding or whatever they would react to it and I would know for sure. The passenger side female opened her door first and let out an “awwwww”. What?!? What’s the kid doing? I wonder if the kid is going to mention the creepy guy who was staring at her the whole time they were inside. I thought maybe I should get a move on and as I started to walk I took one last look at the car and saw the mid-sized dog now on the passenger’s lap.
So the mystery had been solved. It was not a kid sitting in that seat it was a dog. The dog was a black colored dog but with a peach colored face. Through a blurry fogged window, a steady snowfall and with the dog sitting upright in the seat I thought it was a little kid. As I began to make my way down the street I chuckled a few times. I thought to myself “Never a dull moment Ed”. I’m glad I found the answer to the mystery and my instincts informing me that there was something weird about the kid served me well. I’m glad I didn’t leave not knowing if I had accidently scared some kid and made them uncomfortable with my mindless staring out the window of that restaurant but strangely my curiosity grew so significantly that it drowned out my embarrassment. In the end, I had nothing to be embarrassed about. I stared like a zombie for 5 minutes in the direction of a dog without realizing it. The dog didn’t say anything so I think I’m good.
As someone who likes to try to read the signs and react appropriately when it comes to life I wondered what sign life was giving me this morning. What was the meaning of this mistaken identity mystery that wasn’t? What would I have learned from this? I’m thinking that I learned that I’m an idiot. I say that lovingly of course.
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