Coffee, Tea, and Sympathy

Arrival early for a meeting at a local coffee shop led to a study in human interaction.
Snuggled on the big comfy black sofa in the corner was a couple – oblivious to anything but each other.
The scene and the body language of the man and woman made me slightly uncomfortable.  Almost as if I were peeking through the front windows into their living room.
A laptop, two cell phones and two empty coffee cups littered the coffee table in front of them.  Her tiny black ballet flats casually dropped on the floor as she curled beneath his arm with her stocking feet drawn up beneath her.
Their voices were low and quiet, almost conspiratorial and perhaps even sad.  Their words heard only between the two of them as he routinely patted her knee as if to comfort her.
Perhaps I can be forgiven for noticing so much.  They were, after all, in a public place practically inviting voyeurism.
I like people watching – liking people in general isn’t as easy for me.  But, the whole scene made me wonder…is this a couple at the beginning of something, or one at the end?  Neither wore jewelry which would indicate a belonging to each other or someone else.  They were a mystery to me, but certainly not to each other.
As they gathered their belongings and left I found myself knowing I would forever wonder about their story.  After all, for a brief moment I was a silent witness to a few pages in one  random chapter in some obscure book.
Each day we encounter players in their own productions of the story of life.  Most of the time they are basically ordinary and unremarkable individuals.  But sometimes they are painted in a vibrance we find inordinately interesting and we find ourselves yearning to know more….to see how the story ends.