Shopping

Shopping is great. Not only do you get to buy things (!) but it's a great excuse to people-watch. I usually stop and take stock in a coffee shop whose windows face on to the street. Last Saturday I went shopping and all I wanted was a belt. I wandered in and out of many shops looking for just the right belt and as I was one shop away from giving up, I was stopped by a (really cute) guy who waved a leaflet at me, and asked me to attend some rap/hip-hop/RnB evening at the local pentecostal church. I said no, it's not really my thing, thank you very much, and explained how, even though I had been brought up as a Catholic, in a Catholic family, in a Catholic country, the faith I had as a child was lost when my father died. We chatted, outside on the high street, for what seemed like ages - it was about -2^oC with intermittent snow showers, my fingers felt as if they were about to drop off and he looked absolutely frozen and so I asked him if he would like a coffee at Starbucks to warm up a little. The smile he gave me then lit up his entire face and we sat, having coffee, for about 2 hours.

I don't really remember what we talked about, but I know that I was able to open up to this complete stranger more than I have ever opened up to anyone before, and when I left I felt as if a great weight had been lifted. Strange. As much as it pained me, I had to go before all the shops closed. We exchanged cards and he called me on Easter Sunday, inviting me out the following weekend. That's this weekend, as in, 3 days from now. And I'm stressing about what to wear. Lame.