"Secret Spot" Vignette

I love getting off work in time to slip across town and pretend I live somewhere else. I really only discovered Luci’s rather recently, but it has become my little oasis in this ridiculous summer heat where I am surrounded by asphalt and buildings and noisy cars. I used to drive past it often and wanted to stop in, but never really had the time. I’m glad I eventually found the time.

I pull into a parking space on the corner and put up my window shades. Fumbling around in my car I pull a book from under my seat and reach in the back for my laptop. Once I dash into the air conditioning I scan the room for a booth seat. Two old ladies in the corner are just gathering their things and saying goodbye, so I casually stand nearby until they leave. I scoot into the corner and fill the table with my things. I flip open my wallet to help me decide what to order. Still unsure, I get up and head to the counter to stare at the menu for a minute like I always do. Distracted by the black and white film playing on the TV hung on the wall, I stare in a daydream wondering what movie it is and what’s going on. I love old movies like this. Luci must love them, too.

Luci is here today, I saw her down an aisle of the miniature grocery store paired with the coffee shop in the corner. She’s stocking shelves, chatting sweetly with customers, probably about the new baby she’ll have at the end of the summer. Every time I see her I wish I were her friend. That’s probably part of why I like it here so much.

I snap my attention back to the menu and am surprised that I’m drawn to a special of the day. I thought I was set on coffee, but it looks like I’m giving in the to description of a Kiwi Strawberry Lemonade; I see a few people around the room have made the same choice and just the visual is refreshing, so my choice is made. While I’m waiting for my drink I wander around the store. Something about this place lets me pretend I live somewhere else for an afternoon, somewhere with big green trees and mountain bikers and people who eat organic granola. This is of course because I’m in Luci’s Healthy Marketplace, it’s an organic grocery store.

The wooden shelves, old coke crates, and mason jars filled with coffee beans on the tables make me feel like I’m in a simpler time, a small town, where you run into your neighbors and people know who you are. For some backward reason, that seems to be part of why I don’t tell anyone about Luci’s; I want this secret window to a different place kept to myself.