Joyful Reunion

As I approached the coffee shop, I had trouble finding a spot. I found a spot outside and began observing two people at 1:30 in the afternoon. This was not your ordinary coffee shop such as Starbucks. It was a small, but colorful shop in which apparently many people were fond of. I found it odd that so many people would want so much coffee in the afternoon. I guess my thoughts of it being a predominately morning beverage were wrong. Since there were so many people there getting coffee I decided to try some. So I ordered an iced coconut Frappuccino with Carmel. After my first drink I understood why that place was so popular.

Out of the many people outside I decided to observe two men, one around the age of 19, well call him Bruce, and the other around 24, we will call him Cal. I concluded that they have had a friendship with each other for quite some time before this because they shook hands and hugged upon greeting each other. They were both wearing hats and Cal had a shirt that read, “I Love My Church” in big letters. As the conversation went on I came to the conclusion that these two men were of the Christian denomination and had gathered to talk about Jesus. They began by talking about the struggles and temptations they were having and Cal gave him some advice on how to handle these temptations. They spent the majority of their time speaking of a book, not the Bible, but a different book that the older man had read and he recommended it to Bruce. They also talked about friendship and dating relationships. Bruce expressed that he was ready to grow up and live a better life but was scared that his friends might not accept him. The two men also talked about a church and a campus ministry that they were both in and how wonderful it was. As the two men talked, I noticed nothing but pure happiness from the two of them. There was smiling and laughter consistently throughout the conversation. Joy was radiating from the two of them as if something wonderful had happened earlier that day. The talk of relationships came up and the Bruce stated how he would very much want a girlfriend but didn’t think he was ready for one. Cal then began telling the story of how he and his girlfriend or wife had met and gave Bruce advice on dating. The main point he made was telling him to wait and that the right one will come when it’s the right time. Then one of their friends, a blonde girl carrying a trey of dirty glasses and dishes stopped and began speaking to the two men. She obviously worked there and they were talking about a retreat that was coming up in a couple of weeks. The girl seemed tired and stressed out. Her words were shaky and sorrow was evident in her tone of voice. As the girl walked away to get back to her work Cal told her to not stress and that he would take care of it. The two men began talking again but were soon interrupted by another friend of theirs, well call him Toby. He was a middle aged man around 40 and was wearing a shirt that said, “South West Sport and Spine” on it. Being that is a physical rehabilitation for injured people and that the two were talking about sports I figured they knew each other due to an injury Bruce previously had. Toby asked about Bruce’s younger brother and how his football season was going. The two made small talk for about a minute and then Toby went inside to order his coffee and food. At this time it was around 2:15 and Bruce and Cal began to wrap up their conversation. The two stood up, threw away their food and said their goodbyes. The two friends hugged once more and spoke of meeting up again on Wednesday. They both drove off with love, and happiness in their hearts and it showed all over their face. I’m not sure if they were happy to see each other or what, but just watching and listening to the passion and joy they spoke with put me in a good mood.