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hashtag "no revisions," #norevisions
Helga is managing the lingerie boutique on a lazy Tuesday. By noon she only had one customer, a woman about her own age who asked for help finding a sports bra because that’s what her friends are into these days. So, she flips the hanging sign from open to closed, locks the door, and with just a few steps to the left and she’s in the cafe.
“Hi, Ms. Helga!” Katherine, Newton’s daughter, calls from the cash register.
“Hello, Katherine,” Helga replies.
“How’s your day going?” unlike her father, Katherine makes small talk, which Helga likes.
“Slow. Only one customer today. Looks like you’re busy today, though,” Helga says referring to the dozen young adults with coats and backpacks hanging from their chairs. Some have a plate of toast resting on open textbooks taking up table space.
“Oh, it’s not too bad, it’s midterm season, so most come and camp out here and only ask for refills every now and then.”
“It’s not bad to be busy,” Helga adds lightly.
“Oh, of course not! I mean, I’m grateful. Any how, what can I get for you, the usual?”
“Mhm, please,”
“Sure thing, Ms. Helga, I’ll have that right out,” they exchange cash, and Helga spots an open chair next to a young girl and what must be her father on her other side at a long table with studiers on the opposite end.
“May I sit here?” she asks, directing the question toward the man.
He nods smiling with his eyes, and leans toward the girl and mutters something Helga doesn’t hear. The girl whips her head toward Helga, beaming, showing off blue outline around her mouth, and replies cheerily “Why hello, Ma’am! How about I wipe these crumbs off here, heheh.” With a tiny hand, she pushes the crumbs over the table edge to catch them with a napkin.
Helga chuckles light-heartedly, thanks the girl for making space for her, gives the man a look with a twinkle in her eye that says “what an endearing child,” and slides in.
“My name is Alexandria, what do you go by?” the girl asks. A child under the age of ten has never tried to open a conversation with Helga, at least not in years. She rarely encounters children, and when she does, it’s always a slow day when their mothers briefly peak in at the price of an item in the storefront or get a quick bra fitting in between errands, and the children are never happy to be there.
“Nice to meet you Alexandria, my name is Helga,”
“Nice to meet you too, Miss Helga! I don’t mean to offend by not shaking your hand, but my hands are sticky,” Alexandria bashfully opens her palms to show a coating of blue matching the marks around her mouth trapping speckles of lint.
“Aly, no no, heh, she doesn’t need to see your messy hands, heh heh,” the man gave Helga an apologetic look which she shakes off with a smile. He rumages around one pocket of a wool jacket hanging behind him, then the other, and pulls out a packet of Wet Wipes. She takes one, and as she’s working at her hands, Katherine brings Helga her coffee.
“Oh! Ms. Helga! I’ve been wanting to introduce you to Aly, this is my daughter! Her school’s on a half-day, so she’s out with Dad today, oh and haha this is my husband Travis,” Katherine leans her side on the back of Travis’s seat and props up her arm to rest on his shoulder.
Helga and Travis look toward each other for another introductory nod-and-smile but before they could say anything, Aly chimes “yeah, we already know Mrs. Helga, mom,” Helga blinks and Aly has already conjured a torn out coloring book page and is diligently filling in the hat of a garden gnome with a turquoise blue crayon.
“Yes, aha, it’s so nice to meet, I didn’t know you had a daughter,” Helga says cheerfully. |
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