Sunburnt Speculations

In this exercise, I had to write a set of three paragraphs – each from a glimpse of a scene in a cafe that held the possibility of a story. Here’s a couple of of them. You can find the full set of three with our Craft Notes over on Substack.

“Untitled”

You don’t often see that these days. He’s pulled the chair out for her. She settles herself. Then there’s a shove and jiggle as the chair legs scrape across the wooden floor. She’s in. Perhaps just a bit too close to the table to be comfortable. He walks around to his side as she adjusts her chair. She seems to be hoping he won’t notice. He doesn’t. They’ve chosen a table for two. It’s tucked behind a pillar, mostly out of view from the other diners. It’s cramped. I suppose you could call it intimate. But there is a view through the cafe window across to the harbour. They look – nervous? That’s not quite the right word. Maybe this is new for them and they’re just a bit unsure of themselves. After all, they seem very young — but then they all do, don’t they?

“Out of Order”

“Looks like he’s serious with this one,” thought Chelsea, as she took the order for the young couple at Table 19. It was a small table for two, tucked in a corner and partially obscured from view of other diners by a pillar. You might have called it intimate, but it was an awkward space. Still, it had a view of the fishing boats moored behind the breakwater. “He’s gone for the Sea Perch. Pretty fancy. The Mullet would have been a better choice,” Chelsea thought – clean sea-run Mullet fresh in off the boats that morning. That’s what she’d recommended, when he’d asked. Still, she mused, “if you wanted to make an impression, the Perch was mostly what you’d choose — round here anyway.”

A.C. Wood.