A Moment Of Shelter

A Moment of Shelter


I sat calm in a caf? along Valencia Street. The motor cycles
were the loudest vehicles on the street, closely followed by cars, then
mopeds, then bicycles, then finally people, but it wasn't that that I
noticed, rather it was the muddle of talk that you get from a mass
amount of people all saying something different. It was the protest
happening two blocks down the street about what, I wasn't sure. But I
could hear it and that made all the difference. I didn't care. I sat
calm. I read the Guardian, looking for any new shows that were coming
into town.

Chris came in, sat down after ordering his coffee and calmly started
reading the newspaper.

"What's up there, Jake?" Chris said.

"Oh, not much. Wasting the day."

"The day sure is wasting out there, I'll tell ya that." I looked up
for a moment to acknowledge Chris and noticed that they had changed the
art in the caf?. It was nice art. Simplistic and easy on the eye,
though it lacked depth.

"So. D'you see what was goin on down there?" asked Chris.

"Ahhggg?"

"Some rally against the war"

"What war?"

"In the Middle East"

"That thing still goin on?"

"I think so." Chris looked around. "God the art in here is so
minimalist. It makes the place look so white. Nice though"

"Minimalist? You know I hate it when you use big words."

"Oh whatever. You of all people should know what minimalist
means."

"Yeah, I guess." I chuckled a bit and caught the eye of a girl looking
in at me from outside. Across the street and down a couple of blocks
there was scaffolding in place to renovate the buildings. Someone owned
the entire couple of blocks and was trying to make the place look more
upscale. It was dark outside. Winter was coming.
"Anyways, I like the white."

"Yeah you would." Chris snapped back. "Whadyadoin tonight?"

"You know what I'm doin tonight."

"Nah. Actually I don't"

"Think really hard. What have been waiting for ever since I got back
from England?"

Chris thought hard while looking up the ceiling and slowly taking a
sip of his coffee. "I can't think of it. But what I'm gonna do, is I'm
gonna go to the bathroom and think of it. When I come back I'll have
the answer for ya."

"I'll be right here."

"Don't go anywhere."

"I'm not gonna go out there!" I pointed outside.

"You hold tight. I'll think of it."

"Can't wait."
Outside more protesters with posters and signs were walking down the
street to meet their fellow comrades in arms. One of them, holding a
poster board that was too big for her, tripped over the cracked
sidewalk and almost fell. I smiled to myself. It might rain I thought.
I could see that. And I took comfort in knowing that my coffee cup
could be refilled for only fifty cents. Just then Robert walked in, but
he liked to be referred to as Bob.

He sees me ducking behind the Gaurdian.

"Well shit. Whassup Jake!" His enthusiasm almost made my coffee spill,
the paintings to fall of the wall.

"Hey Bob."

"Howzit goin!"

"Ah ya know," the funny thing is, is that he never would.

"Did you see what was goin on out there?"

"Not really. I can hear it, but?"

"It's crazy shit. Exciting stuff."

"Really."

"Fuck man. I can't believe what this country does over in the Middle
East, I mean crazy stuff, But ya know what? A completely warranted war
in my opinion, I mean really, I'm all about justice for what they did,
I hope they're all found, but you should go down there, crazy, people
are shouting and screaming, drinking, it's like a big party, thousands
of people, I just came in to get some coffee actually to wake up so I
can get down there and check this thing out a little more."

Fuck man, is all I really caught or really wanted to listen to in his
small rant. I hated Bob. Well not really hated, more despised. I looked
at things differently. I knew it. And Chris definitely knew it. I
feared for Bob. Chris came storming up just then out of the
bathroom.

"I know it. I know what it is Jake!" Chris saw Bob. Chris didn't like
Bob either. Chris knew he wasn't one of us. "Well shit. If it isn't
Bob."

"Hello Chris."

"Won't ya sit down and have a coffee with us Bob? Perhaps a
Latte?"

"Nah I was just gonna git some to go. Have to get back to the
rally."

"Well shit Bob. The counter's right over there. And the rally? Well,
Jake and I don't know really where it is."

"Thanks Chris. Well it's nice seein you Jake.

"Yeah. You too" I replied. Chris glanced at me. Bob bought his coffee
and left. I watched him walk down the street. Then I lost him under the
blue tarps used to cover the scaffolding.

"Why do you encourage that guy?" asked Chris.

"He's a nice guy."

"He's not one of us ya know. He's just so friggin nice. I hate it. But
who gives a shit anyway. Your woman's comin today! I told you I'd think
of it."

"Yup. Good job."

"Shit you must be excited. How long's it been. Four, five
months?"

"Just about."

"How long can she stay on her visa?"

"Three months I guess."

"Whaddya gonna do with her tonight?"

I sighed. "Just be with her. In the same room. That's all I would ever
want to do at this point. Just to have her in the same room."

"Yeah." Chris looked sincere. "You guys are good. I'm jealous."

"Ahh whatever. You'll find someone."

"Well ya know? There is Julie. Now she's hot. I think I might see her
tonight."

"Nice."

"Yeah I think I'm gonna take her-" My phone rang.

"Sorry." Chris nodded his head as I answered the phone. A couple of
protesters with their faces painted red and with cardboard signs walked
in.

"Hello? Hey babe!" It was Jenny.

"I'm in Detroit," she said in her soothing English accent.

"Great. That means you'll be here in what, five hours?" I was excited.
She was one of the few things during the wasting day that made me
excited. The protesters started laughing loudly. I couldn't hear very
well and I had to cover one ear to hear more clearly.

"No." She was crying. "I can't come."

"What?! What are talking about?"

"They won't let me in the country."

"Why?"

"New visa regulations." I was fighting the blood that wanted to turn
my face red, and a tear streamed down my cheek.

"Don't be sad baby. We'll fix it."

"How?"

"I don't know." And a dump truck rolled by, empty, all its dirt had
been dumped to build the foundation of the renovated buildings.