Brief Encounter.

Something nice happened at last to interrupt the current gloom today. I met a very lovely young lady called Belle in the coffee shop in Ashbourne. She was at the next table, the one by the window, and looked at me several times with soulful eyes. I admit to having been quite unable to ignore her, and I duly smiled back.

I wondered whether it was right and proper that I should cultivate an association on the basis of such a brief encounter, but decided to take the risk. I took some crumbs – the detritus of the butter croissant I’d had with my coffee – and placed them on the floor. The soulful look gave way to a bright radiance and Belle licked them all up in a few seconds. And then she placed her head on my lap and looked at me with eyes which conveyed more of expectation than expression of gratitude. I gave her the rest of the crumbs.

Her human, a young deaf and dumb man with whom Belle was employed to give assistance, didn’t mind a bit. He even waved and smiled at me when I left. Belle was asleep under the table by then.