The Talk II

The most painful hour in a cafe ever... and I wasn't one of the people breaking up. It seemed like they'd pull through right after I first posted, and I regret not listening harder (but it was so uncomfortable!) since it got dramatic and there was crying, and he raised his voice even louder and practically yelled "-fucking..." No one else in here was talking any more. She was pleading, he was unresponsive... it was classic and awful, and a half hour later he got up and left and she followed, walking the opposite direction, pissed off and crying.

Then the entire cafe-full of remaining patrons, mostly regulars, all looked up, made eye contact, breathed deeply, and started recapping. It was hilarious, but we all actually needed therapy ourselves after that session. It was amazing, we all concluded, what a jerk this guy seemed like, pansying around and saying things to make himself feel better, while this girl who was "way cuter than him," the barista noted, freaked out and got desperate. One older guy had had to leave and go outside and have a cigarette, and said he'd contemplated telling the girl to go home and find herself someone better on his way out, he reported. The barista said she'd contemplated walking over to open the window to gesture at the poor girl to save herself... the incident had been scarring and embarrassing for us all. Ah, to bond with strangers over shared catastrophe.

God help me, I hope to never have to go through something that painful in public like that. If I ever do, I don't think I'd be such a loud talker, at least.