Cafe Woman

It was a Thursday. I got to the cafe just before 10am for a late breakfast and a coffee and to do some writing on my laptop. 

It was a quiet morning, genteel, still, not many people around, the kind of Fitzroy morning before the tourists turned up and spoiled it.

10am. A clearly hassled woman with a large pram and a kid came clanking through the cafe door. She sat at a table away from me.

No sooner had she sat down that her kid started to cry. And cry. And cry. And cry.

Half an hour later, I considered leaving myself, but I was enjoying the coffee and really wondered why I had to?

I kept expecting her to take the child away, but she didn’t.

Not long after 10.30am. It was clear she wasn’t going to do the decent thing and I decided all bets were off, as they say. And now it was me, or her.

As luck would have it, not long after I caught her eye. And it was time for words rather than action. “Do you think you could take that home?” Smile, be it nervous.

Her eyes 👀 grew abnormally large and her face flushed red. “Well!” (I could hear the winds of Kilimanjaro rush on the w) She got to her feet.

Oh, here we go!

“Thank you so much for being SO supportive!”

I wasn’t sure why I had to be supportive.

“That! You just don’t understand!”  She started throwing things in the pram.

I understand your sprog is splitting my ear drums, relentlessly.

“You just don’t understand how hard it is!”

No, I don’t have children. I chose not to have children. Even if I weren’t, I still wouldn’t.

“It’s people like you who make life difficult.” She pointed the pram at the counter.

I think you have that the wrong way around.

“I really… I just can’t understand.” She handed cash to the person behind the counter. “It is so hard being… and then people like you…” she struggled with the door. “Thank you so so much.” She shoved the pram through the door. “For ruining what time I…” the door closed and there was silence. Lovely, silent silence.

Well, that went well.

I said nothing through the whole exit.

I looked around the café after she had gone. The only other person had headphones on and was staring at his laptop.

I ordered another coffee.

I sipped my hot coffee and thought maybe I would leave if that ever happened again.

I sometimes think about that woman and wonder how she is going? I wonder how that kid turned out with such a strung out mother?

Funny the things you think of sometimes.