Joe and Dianne Through The Looking Glass

Chapter 2 - Jive Week

Alice hadn't expected to see the two of them again and certainly not together, they were just two in the crowd of many customers who filled her mornings; people passing through who she would never know and who would never really remember her apart from as a hazy idea of an old women in a duck blue striped apron. Mainly Alice liked it that way, she enjoyed being slightly inconspicuous as it gave her the anonymity which made watching people so much easier. As the nameless women who worked behind the counter she could watch out of the window and revel in the joy of two old friends meeting up for coffee; or perhaps listen in and feel the excitement of a couple hearing from their solicitor that their house purchase had finally been agreed or even feel the force of anger and passion jolting between an arguing husband and wife conducting their disagreement in whispers. These little snippets of life she was temporarily allowed to be an uninvited part of had prodded her awake again these last few months, reminded her that life was about happiness and sorrow, love and anger, to be waded in, splashed about in, dived into....to be lived, not just let to trickle through her fingers the way she had been wasting it these last few years.

She liked watching all her customers but some, especially those she saw more than once, peeked her interest just a little more and she found herself wishing she could follow them beyond the coffee shop. Unexpectedly the beautiful red head and her scruffy haired friend had become a part of this special group for Alice over the last week. Most days that week had seen them pop in, either just after nine in the morning or on a few occasions to eat lunch. Alice couldn't help but be fascinated by them, it was difficult to put her finger on just what it was about them but it had probably started with the mystery of just what they were doing together every day. At first she had thought it must be some kind of workout, after all they both dressed for the gym in tracksuit trousers, leggings, t-shirts and hoodies but Alice just couldn't fathom why they would be meeting up every day to do that, especially in work hours and when they appeared at lunchtime still dressed in gym clothes she was totally mystified. Often the girl would appear first in the mornings, Alice had learnt to keep an eye on the window watching for the flash of red bobbing into view at the end of the path. She found her compelling to watch, there was an air of grace about her in the way that she moved as if she was just that little more in touch with her limbs, but also she seemed to be too real somehow, almost like she had jumped straight out of the screen of a movie - or perhaps a cartoon would be more fitting with that hair. More often than not she would have to wait for him to appear, punctuality didn't seem to be his strong point, and sometime in the past week she had started ordering both hers and his drink at the same time. She would sit facing the door, scrolling through her phone, feet placed neatly under the table next to the enormous bag she often carried, seemingly quite content to wait until he arrived.

Just when Alice had resigned herself to never knowing quite what mysterious activity they were engaged in, a second curious feature of their relationship turned up out of the blue – the camera. It was the boy's and initially Alice wondered if he was actually a little unhinged. The first time she saw him with it was that first lunchtime they had unexpectedly appeared. She hadn't of course been looking out for them, busy dealing with the rush of city workers wanting anything from healthy rainbow coloured salad bowls to heart attack inviting sausage rolls and she didn't notice he had even arrived in the shop until she heard his voice. Looking up she thought she had missed him speaking to her as he seemed to be mid-sentence already but she was astonished to find him holding a strange contraption up in the air on a kind of short tripod and seemingly having a conversation with it. Alice prided herself in her discrete observational skills, but on this occasion she was sure if anyone had looked at her they would have seen her standing staring with her mouth hanging open like a goldfish. She just couldn't imagine what this floppy haired boy could be doing. She pulled herself together and busied herself with the last of the takeaway orders whilst continuing to keep an eye on this latest strange behaviour. As he came to the counter to purchase his wrap and weird green juice (honestly Alice couldn't understand the stuff these young people poured into their mouths sometimes, that particular drink looked exactly like stagnant pond water) she got her chance to have a proper look as he continued to hold it out in front of him, now pointing down towards the ground. It was an old fashioned looking camera, bulky in a way Alice hadn't seen for years but with an extra mini screen sticking out and most strangely of all a fluffy hair-piece perched jauntily on top. He seemed to be quite at home deftly juggling wrap, drink and debit card in one hand and holding the camera in the other and he retreated to their usual table where he proceeded to continue to talk to his imaginary friend inside the camera. It was all most odd. Soon his flame haired training partner joined him and to Alice's astonishment she too joined in with this extraordinary behaviour as they companionably munched their lunch together, the camera perched against the wall between them on the table. They seemed quite at home the two of them chatting away to each other and occasionally addressing remarks directly to their strange mechanical companion.