Slice of Life: A Safe Secret

  On Tuesdays, Two Writing Teachers hosts the Slice of Life. Everyone is welcome to share writing and comment on others in this special community. 

  

A lot of people had morning coffee on their agenda this morning, making a quiet spot at The Coffee Spot a tough spot to find. My friend and I ordered our drinks and peeked in various rooms on a quest for a place to sit and discuss some ideas for research and work. We settled on a corner table. 

For a while, the corner table was perfect. Several other coffee-drinkers chatted and worked around us, and we were able to focus on each other and our conversation. But things got a little trickier when she wanted to record my responses to her questions for a research project. The women next to us weren't exactly monitoring their volume. 

After perusing the room possibilities, we gathered our bags and coffees to head into the back room where two men were settling in, clearly with similar intentions. It was an almost perfect place until we realized that our corner, out-of-the-way spot was directly beneath the speaker...and the music was loud. 

"Do you think you could reach that volume button?" I asked my friend. 

She didn't need any encouragement to step on a chair and hit the "-" button. The volume decrease was far from gradual, and the room was suddenly silent. The two men looked at us. We weren't sure what they'd say. 

Then...

"Thank you," the one said. "What a better way for a conversation."

"Maybe keep this a secret," I said. 

"That's part of my job," he said. 

I hadn't noticed the black and white color around his neck. 

Our secret was safe, and both our conversations were had with a quieter background. How lovely.