Couples in glass houses

Like in any excessively priced coffee shop, the coffee was served cold or lukewarm, at best. Yet I was a regular there. I think I went for the ambience or perhaps for no justifiable reason at all.

Despite it being winter, there was a fair bit of sunshine outside that Saturday morning. My constant looking at the window eventually led me to observe a couple that sat besides the glass.

The boy seemed younger and more eager in the relationship. He looked at the girl with what can be only called a lover’s gaze. The girl on the other hand seemed passive, disinterested even. He seemed to be dressed smartly and looked crisp while she slouched in her grungy attire. Her hair wasn’t done up and she hadn’t bothered to remove her coat. Clearly, this relationship had jaded.

I turned to my table and sought a sip of my coffee. Did the lawsuit over hot coffee really scare these guys so much? I quickly turned my attention back to the couple.

He was trying to tell her something. He seemed a tad disappointed but yet his eyes unmistakably glittered with hope. His hand lay on hers. He was grasping, she was not. She avoided eye contact and when she did meet her eyes with his, they were filled with nonchalant perspectives.

Surely, I said to myself, he must know what’s coming. I gave them a few more months together purely because I was inherently optimistic about lovers. He would try and make this work but she would continue pointing the obvious. He would try harder, and in that, would be his downfall; their downfall. However, she would walk away and rise the next day. For him, I feared, the next day would only bring more despair.

It must have been an impromptu decision for them to get together. A moonlit night? Getting wet together in the first rains? Too many late Homeworks? Why did he not think it through then? And why did she agree?

I was so lost in thought that I startled myself when she touched my hand. I looked at her.

“What is wrong with us? You don’t talk to me any more! You hardly look at me these days… and why don’t you hold my hand anymore? What happened? Please say something!” she said.

I thought of taking a sip but the thought of cold skimmed milk coffee stopped me just in time. I looked at her and lied dismissively.

“Nothing is wrong, honey. I am just a little pre occupied…”

I wished I had bathed before getting out of the house.