CHAT NOIR

CHAT NOIR

This chair is a little
soft in the middle, and musty…
fits the book of Flannery O’Conner
short stories I’m trying to get through
here in the corner of the coffee shop.
There are, however, distractions,
a guy in jeans with a guitar and quiet

voice, the bells hanging from the door,

and the girl in the black dress ordering

something at the counter.

From the Chat Noir tattoo on her arm,
she must have been troubled by an angst
she wants everyone to know about.

How did I know?

She eyed the empty table to my left
with its tall stools and I could feel

her gaze when she sat down. It
made me uncomfortable,
had to shift my weight
so I lost my place..
A cigarette voice asked,
“Where you from?”
A hand dragged through the hair over

her left eye and dropped to her drink.
A carmine fingernail stirred the ice,
rose to her dark lips
and stayed there a little
longer than necessary.

I closed my book, glanced over,

and fell into a green eyed well.
“Texas.”

Reviews

[Lorry]

It isn't exactly the most discreet tattoo, is it? Maybe no one would see it and start up a conversation if it was somewhere covered, which is probably why there's never a queue to show you the sole of the foot tattoo.
CALL me old fashioned, but wouldn't it be easier to just carry the book around than have it painted on a limb?
With her and the quiet voice guy with guitar, I'm not so sure any more that people even enjoy coffee and just use them as an audition space for their tattoos and complex beardage.
It can put you right of your moccachocalattecino, when all you want to do is read a story and not be one.
I like your one word answer, but maybe it was the second syllable that made her think you wanted to chat. 😊
Did you enjoy your coffee creation from the person who was once called server? 😊

[Vol]

Dang, Lorry! Coffee is medicine. FruFru is not. Drink it strong, drink it black, and hide in the corner.
I once had a barista with that tattoo and attitude, she didn't sit by me, though. And she'll never know the story.

[Lorry]

Ha! Laughed at fru fru, despite the threat of being cancelled for it, which I couldn't care less about. But I know what it means, when you have the contents of a cake factory on top of your coffee and well, people should be ashamed of themselves and shout be forced to drink them with their pinkies pointing out, from a cup from a kids tea set and they should be on a kids seat too! Not a high chair though, as they'd like that too much, but a first grade chair that makes your knees stuck out to your chin! 😊

[Vol]

FruFru is expensive, too...