I met a stranger today, while sitting at the counter in my favorite local diner for breakfast..  🙂
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When they sat down right next to me it was a bit of a surprise… You see, I was there really early ( just after 6:00 AM ) to avoid the crowd that I know will eventually fill nearly every seat…
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I am still working up the nerve to being comfortable near people unknown to me, especially groups…. it tends to make me anxious and feeling urgency to leave wherever I am.  Even if previous to their arrival I am feeling relatively relaxed and at ease…  Could this be a curse of living in a relatively unpopulated area?  Being alone makes dealing with depression hard… especially when I am more than a mile from the closest neighbor…  I have become too accustomed to being alone, not that I like it, just that it feels “normal” for me.  So today I drove nearly forty minutes to get here, so someone else could cook breakfast for me and I can relax with my current book and several mugs of coffee  This diner is one of the few public spaces around here familiar enough for me to feel comfortable in.  A big plus is that they sometimes let Bob inside with me ( Because he is so well behaved, what a good boy.)  🙂  I am well known here, despite being shy, even by all three of the cooks who return my wave and calling out a casual “Morning”, to Edward, Anthony, and Ramirez.
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I was taking my second sip of coffee of the morning when the bells on the front door jingled.  I looked up when they walked in and I smiled, waved and called out, “Good morning”, it seemed polite at the time.  They repeated my greeting as they walked over, seeing every other stool was empty, they still paused and asked me two questions, the first is “Is anyone sitting here?” pointing to the seat right next to me. I was the only one there, except for Bob, who was napping in the sunbeam coming through one of the front windows…. The morning waitresses had just walked in…
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Seeing as I was alone it was uncommonly quiet, the radio volume so low it is just a murmur…  I could actually hear the sizzling from the grill in the kitchen and the quiet gurgling from the closest coffee maker.  Still a few steps away they pointed to Bob and asked, “Are they friendly?”  I answered with a nod of my head and motioning toward him, saying  “Bob” and letting my voice trail off…  Just then the back door swung in, Diane coming through with a tray covered with bottles of honey and bowls filled with patties of butter.
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They squatted down and extending a hand, saying “Good Morning Bob, nice to meet you.”  Bob sat up, took a few sniffs of his hand, raised one paw to shake and started wagging his tail.  What can I say, Bob is better at meeting new people than I am.. :- )  After a sniffed greeting and a few scratches on his head they stood up with a one word response, “Frank”.
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My reserved response is yet another nod of my head and trying to get back to reading.  My habitual shyness kicking in.  Diane approached and asked, “Do you know what you want?” He he shook his head  with an accompanying, “Not yet.” and picked up the closest menu…
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Sending all of you a smile of relief and anticipation for what is to come – Iris