eccentricity and predictability

Coffee shops are good places for people watching. I've been haunting one such shop for a few months now because of its proximity to my apartment and the free wifi. Their chocolate croissants aren't bad, either. Ever since I've been coming, there's been another regular person. In fact, I've never been here without seeing her. She is such an odd-looking bird altogether that I haven't the cajones to actually talk to her. Then again, she also gives off the vibe that she just wants to be alone.

The apron that she always wears indicates that she works at the grocery store close by. I don't know if she drives or not. She always wears tennis shoes and stockings, but sometimes the rest of her uniform varies. She has mousy grey hair with bangs and long, chunky strands loose over her ears. The rest is pulled up in a bun, and it is this, which draws my attention today. The bun looks like it might be in three parts, at least one of which is braided. And I think she's put every hair decoration in it that she could get her hands on. I see a pen right through the middle, a pink bow that would look appropriate on an infant, and a black velvety "thing," that has strings attached to it, with yellow, blue, and pink beads attached to the ends of the strings. She also wears pink tinted glasses, and today, she is sporting a long-sleeve pink shirt.

Every time I've seen her, she sits in the same chair watching tv without sound - always the news. She always buys food, but never coffee or coffee shop-type products. Until today, I've always seen her eating a salad and drinking ice water. Today, she has a bowl of ice cream and what appears to be a banana nut muffin. A moment ago, she got up and came back to her seat with what I thought was a pepper shaker, sprinkling liberal amounts on her ice cream. I then remembered that we are, in fact, in a coffee shop and that the shaker probably had cinnamon instead of pepper. Then again, you can't be too sure. Occasionally she'll doze a bit, but mostly just sits there watching tv. Nobody talks to her except the staff, who bring her food.

I've often wondered what her story is, but I think I'd be wholly disappointed if I ever found out what it truly is. Something tells me she's probably just a lonely old woman of the crazy-cat-lady variety with no fashion sense and who can't be trusted with her own stove for fear of burning the house down. She obviously a creature of habit. But what if there's more? Perhaps this is just a really good facade, and she's spying on the coffee shop for signs of communist activity? Maybe she's escaped an asylum and is keeping a low profile? Maybe she's the pink bunny reincarnated? Or maybe she's a martian. It's so hard to tell.

In any case, I can't imagine life at the coffee shop without her. I shall continue to keep an eye on her and ponder her history.