Coffeeshop Chronicles #1: Ronald & The Green Oxygen Tank

Reunited with his wife of 27 years — Ronald held the door as they walked into their favorite restaurant in Tuscany, Italy. Sitting at their usual table, they held hands, staring deeply into each other’s eyes.

Ronald began to think about how refreshing this was — to be seen by the one he loved.

As he refocused his attention on his wife, she began to stare blankly at him.

Ronald said her name softly but she didn’t react.

This time — more firmly — he called her name. Still there was no answer.

Ronald continued to call her name with each time becoming louder and louder. Yet, each time he called her name, she progressively seemed further and further away.

As Ronald’s voice reached a full yell, tears began to drop from his eyes.

Suddenly, his voice was no longer heard in the restaurant. Ronald was now sitting alone in Tuscany, Italy.

He whispered his wife’s name one last time.

• • •

Ronald’s eyes shot open. Looking to the left side of his bed, he was met with a pillow and empty space. Remembering his dream, the weight of loneliness came crashing upon him. The aches and pains throughout his body began to remind him of his old age.

He breathed a heavy sigh and remembered: Today is Saturday.

Slowly, he exited his bed — joints cracking at each movement. With a last effort, he began to proudly stand full height. Almost immediately upon reaching peak height, he felt a sharp tug on his nose and heard a crash behind him.

He forgot about his green oxygen tank.

With blood dripping from his nose, he shuffled to the green oxygen tank on the floor and groaned as he picked it up.

Holding the green tank close to his face, he grumbled a curse. Every time he saw the oxygen tank, he was reminded of his wife’s death and that his was soon to come.

Letting out another sigh, he shuffled to his closet to put on a handsome suit — one that he used to wear proudly to work before his wife died.

Getting into his car, he drove to the local coffeeshop to occupy his time and read the newspaper. 

When he arrived he saw that his usual table was occupied by three young boys — all of which looked related.

The youngest of the three began to use the eldest brothers camera to take photos. Finding angles, he began to stand comfortably on his chair. After seeing this for 10 minutes, Ronald couldn’t hold in his frustration anymore. All he could think of was his wife falling from the kitchen chair, landing on her head and dying within seconds.

Ronald erupted in frustration at the boys. “How could the eldest allow the youngest to stand on a chair and take photos,” he thought to himself. Tears began to stream down his face as he grabbed his oxygen tank and began to argue with the eldest who was clearly offended.

The conversation ended and Ronald was left with his crossword puzzle writing lonely.

Excerpt: This post was written based off an encounter with a coffee shop customer. It is an attempt to allow the writer to see the perspective of the character of which he felt offended by in real life. It is an attempt to assume the best and try to maintain an attitude of understanding other’s perspectives.

Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash