004. The Arch (on Befriending Random Strangers)

I was out furniture shopping and had just gotten off of one of those frustrating phone calls with someone I've been casually dating / sleeping with where his idea of apologizing for himself was "I'm sorry you feel that way" when I passed by a cafe with a boy and a dog out front.

"Actually, I could go for a coffee right now", I convinced myself.

(Okay. I really just wanted to sit on that stoop and pet that damn dog).

I approached the steps where the boy was sitting.

"Is this your dog?" I asked.

"No, it's the cafe's dog", he responded.

I looked up at the cafe that read "Arch Cafe" then down at the dog's collar that read "Archie".

Right. Got it.

As we got talking, I noticed this boy had some pretty sweet style that bordered on the line of "cool Gen Z" and "could also be homeless".

While he wasn't actually, he acted like it.

"I spent 8 hours the other day collecting beer and wine bottles to return them to the liquor store – and I made $10 bucks, so that's not bad!" he exclaimed.

He was so proud. My mama-instincts kicked in, now noticing his super cracked old iPhone to add onto his chic homeless look.

"Let me get you a drink. What do you want?"

He goes to grab a menu and points to the fruity, tootiest, caramel-frappe of a $20 cocktail.

"Bro, no. I meant like coffee or a tea".

(We had already gotten friendly at this point)

He settled on a more time-appropriate mango peach green tea. It was 1pm.

"Where do you live?" I asked.

"In Burlington with my grandparents. My mom passed away a couple years ago and I never met my dad".

"I'm so sorry" I expressed.

"Yeah, she went crazy"

"Like, commit suicide?" I asked.

"Yeah ..."

I paused to take in this boy's reality of being then 21, and now 23, having lost his mom in such a way at that age.

"Do you feel her around you?" I probed.

"All the time. I see certain numbers all the time and it seems that people just constantly give me stuff".

I smiled, knowing fully well of what kind of magical sorcery the universe gets up to in situations like this.

We sat there for 2 hours going in and out of conversation, surprisingly super comfortable silences and belly rubbing Arch the puppy.

It was not a 2 hours I previously knew I had free and available.

It was a Saturday afternoon and there was a lot I "could have" or "should have" been doing:

I should have been furniture shopping.

I should have been mixing and recording more different style sets for my soundcloud.

I should have been reading the book on my bedside table I've been wanting to read.

I should have been meeting up with my friend who's leaving the country in 2 days.

I should have been hanging out with friends in general.

(The last one is often hard for me because as much as I love making plans with friends, I love spaciousness in my calendar to allow the potential for magic like this to happen).

But, yet, somehow, despite the piled high self-induced shoulds, I was right where I was meant to be.

On a cafe stoop,

With a cup of green tea, a 23 year old kid and a dog,

Talking about nothing,

Doing nothing,

And yet,

Feeling like,

"This is everything"

[I want to live for]