Cafe, Bow. 30th January

The waiter puts a bottle of water and small glass on my table. It has a thumbprint on it. He says he will have to change the music, the slow jazz is making everyone fall asleep. I laugh.

Sitting opposite are two women in their early 20s wearing hijabs.

“That’s because mothers treat boys like GODS. If you were a boy it would be different…”

“They said they were going to marry me off.”

Her friend laughs, “They sound very old-folky.”

A woman comes in and asks the waiter if there’s wifi but he doesn’t hear her. He’s on the phone and looking out at the street. She sits and unwinds off her scarf while looking confused. When the waiter comes over he recognises her. She remarks on how the counter has been moved to the front of the cafe.

“But we switched it around six months ago.”

“Yes I’ve been away.”

He calls to the chef in the kitchen at the back of the cafe.

“Hey - when did we switch it around? Six months ago?”

The chef looks up, flips a towel over his shoulder, “No, not that long.”

“Huh? Six months? Six months ago?”

“Yeah sure. Six months.”

“Yes it was six months.”

“Ah ok. Well you see, I’ve been away… It’s very nice”

The women opposite are laughing as they rail against tiresome parents. The music changes. A wistful horn drifts over ‘Windmills of my Mind”.

I’m on Twitter @theroryjohn