the joy of touch
notes from the coffee shop
I have developed an almost perverse obsession with physical touch. Not even in the sense that I must be an active participant, but rather an acute awareness of when it happens around me. In the coffee shop today, and I am surrounded by touch.
A young man sits next to a girl about his age. At random intervals, he will reach over and run his fingers over the nape of her neck and the tops of her shoulders. Her face always illuminates subtly and her eyes find his for a brief moment
Two women sit across from each other, entranced in conversation. Tears well in the eyes of one of the women, yet refuse to spill onto her cheeks. The other woman will occasionally reach over and stroke the near-crying woman’s hands, rubbing her calloused fingers over her knuckles, muttering '“this is not the end”
Two young boys play a video game together. The older (though maybe just bigger) brother plays ferociously, his tongue stuck between his teeth in concentration. The younger (though maybe just smaller) brother stands tip-toed behind him with his arms thrown over his brothers shoulders, keeping a keen eye on the progress of the game.
Two young women, probably college aged, reunite after what appears to be a lifetime apart. They embrace each other ravenously, and sway on their feet to the rhythm of an unheard metronome.
A barista inexplicably wearing climbing gear delivers a hot cup of coffee and a muffin to a young father and son. The barista pats the toddlers head all the while exclaiming that the boy has grown so big. The crumb faced child beams up at her and hugs her around the thighs. The father and barista share a knowing look with one another and she returns to her post behind the counter.
When I ordered my coffee, the barista, in a shirt from my home town, located on the opposite end of the country, brushed her fingers over mine when handing me my mug. When she handed my my scone, our thumbs kissed briefly under the plate as though daring our colossal bodies to notice each other.
A baby, just barely learning too walk, leans down to pet a small dog. The dog seems too small to be true, and laps up the child’s affection greedily. The boy gracelessly lifts the dog, and drops it abruptly, startling the tiny thing. Despite this transgression, the dog immediately forgives the boy and tries to leap back into his arms, starving for his love.
I hope these simple acts of love continue to follow me where I go, and bless me with their warmth, with their sweetness. I hope to embody that feeling some day.