Ought To & Can (A San Francisco Fable)

Part II: Can--Chapter 13

How do they walk like that?

The number one thing that puzzled Neil as he worked in San Francisco was the way people walked. They just walked so fast. Walking the concourses of the San Francisco Centre he'd walk at what he thought was a perfectly normal gait: two steps a second, basically. And yet people would just zip past him. Not running, or jogging, or seeming to be in a hurry. They just walk really fast.

In Sonoma, if you walked at that speed you'd probably get pulled over by a cop.

That wasn't the only thing about city life that seemed very different to the slower pace of Wine Country living. In Sonoma, everywhere he went the faces were familiar. People he knew, people related to people he knew. Even the tourists all looked like they could be related to other tourists he'd seen before. If you see someone in Sonoma, odds are you'll see them again soon.

In San Francisco, you look at another person, and that's it. They'll never appear again for the rest of your life. A face you find attractive, or friendly: you'll see it for one or two seconds, and that's all.

There's a world of deep connections to be made with other people, but the connections that can actually be made are few, and very shallow. Neil had met some interesting people at Sous Le Genou, but it pained him to know that the only role he'd ever play in their lives was selling them a pair of socks.

And he'd just got passed up by another fast-walker again.

###

"As soon as I looked over at the counter I knew it was you."

Sabrina was pleasantly surprised by her latest customer: Chester Kwok. She hadn't seen her old speech coach since she graduated. They spent time catching up. She told him about Stanford and Israel and her art classes. "I never knew you were an artist."

"Not officially. I'm kind of embarrassed. I wish you were able to see me doing something more productive than selling cologne."

"Sabrina, you're still young. And smart. You can do anything you want. As good a speaker as you were, you would've been a great lawyer, but I'm glad you chose your passion."

Chester explained that after Sloat-Bushnell closed he became a professional arbitrator. "You could've just moved to another school," Sabrina noted.

"I'd had my fill. Grading papers. Being gone to tournaments all weekend. It was time for a nice safe 9-to-5 gig. Especially, my husband always complained that we never spent time together."

The reason Chester was there was to buy a present for Warren on their three-year anniversary. "What cologne does he like?" she inquired.

"I want it to be a surprise."

Remember, gay men love dry woods. Dry woods. Dry woods. Sabrina found the sampler bottle for Gucci Pour Homme and gives him a scent.

He immediately wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "No, no, he doesn't like anything that smells like this."

"Hmm, that's interesting. I thought that men like you..." She caught herself.

"Men like me what?" pressed Chester.

She rescued herself: "Oh yeah, I didn't tell you: I'm roommates with May Waxman now. She's home right now. She'd be tickled if she knew you were here." Sabrina pulled out her phone and started called her.

Ms. Pieper was watching. She'd have to talk to Ms. Himmelschein about making phone calls while waiting on customers.

"Hey, May! You won't believe who I'm talking to right now!"