Who was she? I don’t think I knew her. It was quick, and I was curious.<\/p>\n
All I had really seen was the flip of her long red hair as it vanished around the corner, out the door.<\/p>\n
Should I go after her? No, I should stay here.<\/p>\n
No, I should go. Of course I should go. One never gets anywhere by simply staying here.<\/p>\n
A twenty dollar bill on the counter, no time for change.<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
Out on the street, the wind is whipping hard. I pull my collar up and face into the cold, rain slashing my face, tiny needles penetrating the skin.<\/p>\n
I squint, squeezing my eyes against the spray. There, turning the block. Did she just smile at me?<\/p>\n
I take off down the street.<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
I come to the next corner. Do I look around? Do I step forward boldly? Do I turn around and go back for my change?<\/p>\n
I put a foot forward, and hesitate. If she turns now, she’ll see a leg, from knee to ground, hanging in mid-air. I hope she’s gone around another corner before I finish this step, so that I’m sure she hasn’t seen me.<\/p>\n
I lean forward.<\/p>\n
She’s nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
I gaze down the street in disbelief.<\/p>\n
She’s gotten away.<\/p>\n
I turn and rest my head against the wall. The stone is cold and jarring, and I wonder if I will cry or laugh.<\/p>\n
It’s too cold to do either one. I step back, and turn to go.<\/p>\n
And there she is.<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
Standing across the street from me, she’s gazing into a window. Her lips are pursed together tightly, one finger pushing on her lower lip.<\/p>\n
Her other hand is on the glass in front of her.<\/p>\n
She bends forward to take a closer look. I feel myself taking a closer look.<\/p>\n
She straightens, and enters the store.<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
Standing outside the window, gazing where she was, I search for the object that held her attention. It is a toy shop, one that still sells hand-made toys, wooden and metal alike.<\/p>\n
How they survive in the heart of Chicago, I’ll never know.<\/p>\n
Movement catches my eye. On the floor fo the display, a monkey with cymbals sits. He is, perhaps, six inches tall, and he bangs his hands together at regular intervals.<\/p>\n
Some form of machinery is at work, but I cannot figure it out.<\/p>\n
I am startled when a hand enters my vision and plucks the monkey from the display.<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
I look up, and through the window I see the clerk, old, balding, but full of life. He is smiling.<\/p>\n
The monkey claps again, sitting relaxed in his hands. He offers the toy up, and I catch a glimpse of red hair.<\/p>\n
She is buying the monkey.<\/p>\n
The clerk takes it over to the register, and begins to press buttons. He makes small talk as he rings her up. She laughs.<\/p>\n
Her smile is infectious.<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
She steps out of the store clutching a paper bag, turning the corner without looking up.<\/p>\n
That’s when we meet for the first time. She knocks me down.<\/p>\n
She apologizes profusely. No, I say, it’s my fault.<\/p>\n
She blushes, and asks me to dinner. To make up for it, she says.<\/p>\n
Funny, I was going to ask her the same thing, if I ever managed to get the courage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Who was she? I don’t think I knew her. It was quick, and I was curious. All I had really seen was the flip of her long red hair as it vanished around the corner, out the door. Should I go after her? No, I should stay here. No, I should go. Of course I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,10,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-essays","category-short-musings"],"yoast_head":"\n