COFFEE & BISCUITS

Every morning at around 7:30 am, a dozen or so of residents of Sea Cove would gather around the dock to catch the first boat to Central, the business district of the city.  This is usually a time when residents would comment to each other on the weather of the day, discuss the results of a soccer game, or comment on the news from the previous night.  Always, quietly standing by the stairs of the dock would be a figure whose face is hidden behind a book, with a partial view of a bush of fizzled hair sticking out from the pages.  Today this figure is wearing a wrinkly gray business suit with flat heels.  She again is standing quietly by the stairs of the dock.  Her head along with its bush of fizzled hair is concealed behind a small book titled “Conversational Italian;” on her left wrist dangled a large duffle bag, and on her right hand holds a half-eaten sandwich.  Her face would occasionally emerge from the pages to check whether the boat has arrived.  A tall sixty-ish, sandles-wearing man in a t-shirt imprinted with the image of a Salmon approaches. 

“Good morning, Hannah.” The man greets, in a rather fatherly tone, as he stands next to the woman whose name is Hannah.  Although the man wears sandals and a T-shirt, he has an authoritative air that demands a truthful answer, even to the most trivial questions.  He looks straight into the eyes of whomever he speaks to, at times piercingly.  But this imposing bearing is softened by his completely white hair.  He is not the image of a kind, jolly, old man that Father Richard Wilson projects, yet his tone, at least to Hannah, does soften his hard manner.

“Good morning, sir.”  Hannah’s face emerges from behind the book, and smiles as she answers.  She has an unguarded and generous smile, one that can only belong to someone young.  In fact, she is indeed younger than the other people who have gathered around the dock, but the time of youth when one is thoughtless and impulsive has passed her by.  She turned thirty two weeks ago.

The man continues, “Does the air conditioner still leak?”

“The security called up somebody to fix it.  It’s okay now.”

“And what’s that book you are reading today?”  Upon this question, Hannah hastily waves the book aside, then proceeds to stuff it in her duffle bag.

“Oh, it’s nothing.  Just something related to work.” 

“’Conversation Italian’?  How is that related to work?”

“There is a line of Italian designs coming in next week, so I just want to be able to read the labels on the bags.  You know, it does help to understand what material the bags are made of,” answers Hannah, and, a little breathlessly, adds, “and how is your fish pond coming along?”

“You know how it is with construction here, it is a hassle to transport the construction material here, and when the workers are not monitored, you can guess what will happen.  Moral hazards.  And the rain, well, it softens the soil,” the man speaks analytically, as if explaining to a business client minor nuisances that arise from the implementation of a project. 

At this time, their attention is shifted to an approaching boat.