Hidden In Hiding

The next day, after the most exhilarating odd encounter of my life, it was the only thing my mind would focus on. The images, words, and sounds of the day all flooded my head, sometimes mixing together, sometimes calling themselves out distinctly. It seemed that this was a trick of my mind, almost taunting me into a guessing game of which images blurred together and which ones were crystal clear.

Sitting on my stool behind the counter at work, I lazily flipped through the next Superman issue that followed the one I’d read only...yesterday. The comic didn’t hold much interest for me, though, so I flipped shut it just and just let my mind give into the daydreams and memories.

”So, tell me about yourself, Gerard.”

I glanced up in a sort of disbelief at Frank. He sat across from me at the table we’d chosen shortly after he’d asked my name. I continued to gawk at him, squinting and widening my eyes, opening and closing my mouth, furrowing and raising my eyebrows, willing myself to say something, to actually allow words to come past my lips. Astoundingly, all that came out, though, was a resounding “Uhh...”

Frank gave a short giggle (that resulted in my holding back a gasp as my heart faltered), and smiled encouragingly at me. I returned the gesture slightly, still kind of put off by his giggle. It was cute different. I still failed to give an answer, and he didn’t fail to realize that.

“Are you...okay...?” Frank asked hesitantly, his face screwing up slightly and giving away his tentative disposition. I quickly averted my eyes down to the table and grabbed my coffee cup, taking a drink.

I nodded to Frank after I’d set my cup back down, figuring he expected an answer. “I’m fine,” I told him. “I just don’t...talk...much?” I shrugged my shoulders slightly, hoping this would suffice as a good enough answer to his question.

I watched him carefully for his reaction. His face screwed up again, but after a moment a smile graced his face, and I guessed that he accepted my answer.

“That’s okay, dude,” he confirmed my thoughts. “But, listen, I’d better get going now. Things to see, people to do, you know.” He smiled cheesily. I returned the smile and didn’t let on that I was sort of hurt that he had to leave. He stood then, but I remained seated.

“Well, I’ll see you around, right?” Frank asked in a hopeful – or what I perceived to be hopeful – tone, smiling slightly and raising his perfectly sculpted eyebrows a bit.

“Yeah, sure,” I told him, giving him the most heart-felt smile I could muster. He smiled wider and bowed his head quickly.

“Awesome. I’ll see you around then!” He waved and made his exit.

Well, that hadn’t been awkward for everyone involved...

This part of the day remained one of the only clear ones, not mixing with the others. I couldn’t very well remember what I’d done after that, or for the rest of the day for that matter. These were the images that whirled together in their game of “Let’s-Mindfuck-Gerard,” never allowing me to fully understand what else had occurred.

I’d come to the conclusion sometime during the day that the reason my memory of Frank in the coffee shop was one of the clear ones was because something that odd doesn’t happen to me every day. I’m used to living my life in a sort of routine, no spontaneity, and very little change.

Was that what this was, though? Change?