People who want to be alone, but in the company of others

Even if we want to be by ourselves, totally alone, often we want that solitude while in the company of strangers. Coffee shops are havens for those who wish to be alone while in the company of others. I imagine, they are the ones with laptops open, newspapers or the utensils of pen and paper seated at a single table or their favorite cushioned corner chair, or simply sitting alone. There they become absorbed while the hours pass, or they rush in with their utensils to be undisturbed briefly while they spend time with their inner selves and a warm or cold coffee beverage.

Late Sunday evening on 4-July, I drove to a coffee shop thinking it might be closed. It is one of those places easily overlooked on a weekend due to the location, large lightly tinted windows and soft lights inside. There was one customer seated with a newspaper, three barista staff and quiet music. I ordered a small coffee quartered with milk and thick foam and chose a seat at a six-chair double table by a window that had a view of the main street. Cars were few--as it were 4-July and late Sunday evening. The coffee shop atmosphere was cozy and I produced pen and paper to paragraph something short. Within a span of no more than fifteen minutes a car slowed and pulled to the curve just outside the window where I sat and a couple came inside. Minutes later another car slowed with five girls inside taking view inside the coffee shop and they parked their car behind the car of the first couple. Next, a man came in through a side entrance with a newspaper under his arm and occupied a cushioned chair. And the visible bodies inside the shop caught the attention of a few other cars that slowed on the street looking inside the shop. Soon the five-chairs at the double table where I sat were politely asked for use at another table.

Whether alone as a group, alone as a couple, or individually alone, there is something fulfilling, shared and ethereal to be in the company of others.