The other day while having a coffee with my mom at a small cafe, we noticed a woman and her husband (they was both wearing bands) enter and take a seat. As they was preparing to order, you can see that the wife was trying to engage conversation with her husband. However, he briefly perused the menu, and spent the next eight minutes steering at his cellphone screen.
I automatically felt sorry for the wife as she spent the entire time gazing at her husband, laughing at her own jokes, tapping him here and there and fidgeting in her seat. Finally, the food came and suddenly there was a dead silence at the table while they ate. Mom and I was on coffee cup number two at this time, so my anxiety was high (lol). They was now finished eating their bagel, cream cheese and jam (one of my fav’s) and was on to their orange juice and tea. In the midst of drinking her juice, I overheard the wife say, “why aren’t you talking to me, and who are you talking to on your cellphone?” All of a sudden, I felt as though I was sitting in her seat. I felt horrible for her as she had spent the entire breakfast trying to prompt a conversation with her breakfast date. Instantly, I felt as though she needed my services and wondered how can I help her situation.
Of course, both my mom and I did our assuming, ultimately feeling sorry for the wife. However, later on that day, it hit me, was the couple, husband and wife? Was she his mistress? Was he planning a surprise for her and this was a part of the plan? Did she have an affair and was now trying to fix it? Was he having an affair? Did they argue before entering the cafe? Did he just lose his job? There was many questions as to why the husband chose to act as though he was alone while he remained focused on his phone the entire breakfast.
Which brings me to my next question. How many of us have seen something and have ran with what it appeared to look like? How many have overheard a partial conversation and have repeated it word for word adding to it? How many have ruined the lives or relationships of others based off of what the picture looked like? How many? Although I saw this behavior with my very own eyes, I haven’t clue where it stemmed from or how the breakfast ended.
Thankfully, it was mom and I, so who and what we saw at the table wasn’t something we would spend time talking about after we left the restaurant. However, for those of you who invest in other peoples affairs and have a habit of telling other peoples business, I am going to suggest that maybe, just maybe, there may be more to the story that meets the eye.
Signed
Cafe observer