Cafe Abandonment

Barry's stuff: laptop on chair and scanner on table.

I've been coming to my neighborhood cafe for many years. You can find me sitting in the back with my laptop or iPad for a few hours on most days of the week.

Today, after sitting for about an hour, a young woman came over to me as she was leaving and asked me if I wanted to sit at the big table she had been sitting at. It's my usual spot but it was unusual for her to give me first dibs – especially since I had never seen her before. When I said, "Yes," she then asked me for a favor. She wanted me to watch the laptop and scanner at the next table. I had seen the stuff when I sat down, an hour earlier, but I never saw a patron sitting at the table.

The woman told me that the owner of the stuff, Barry, asked her to watch it for "about half an hour," but that was three hours earlier and now it was time for her to leave. I told her it would be no problem and took over guarding his gear. About half an hour into my watch, Barry returned. I said, "Hi, Barry," and he smiled. He figured out exactly what happened, "Oh, you're now in charge of watching my stuff?" he said as we both laughed.

A few minutes later, a buddy called me so I told Barry it was now his turn as I stepped outside to take my call.