she has short, wavy brown hair
she wears dark, horn-rimmed glasses
she's hard to miss in her crimson sweater

even if she's not facing a corner
propping a newspaper against a wall
sipping a Red Stripe with every turn of the page

her friend walks in from the cold
wearing a gray bubble jacket and jeans
sporting a dark, spikey coif

she has a shallow face and a long smile
she sits next to Red Stripe
and they talk and laugh in a comfortable way

sitting at the bar across the room
is a slender man with short, fading blond hair
and round, gold-rimmed glasses

he wears a black turtleneck
the sleeves pulled halfway up his forearms
he cradles his Crown Royal on the rocks

he stares with curious intent at Shallow Face and Red Stripe
watching their laughter
drinking in their casual banter

Crown Royal's eyes bug every time
Red Stripe snaps the paper, almost as if he wishes
he could read over her shoulder