Chance Encounters, 2

But for the sake of telling the story, I'll save those details for later.

Back in McDonalds, I am currently absent-mindedly chewing on a McChicken, staring at the small stack of books I brought with me to pass the time.  By books, I don't mean the thrilling novels.I used to read, and wished I still had time to. One was a  textbook for my engineering major; I hadn't exactly gotten started on the next lecture's assigned reading. One was an employment booklet (yes, like everyone else, I too am looking for a job). The last three were collections of piano scores, ky latest assignments from my university-assigned private teacher, Dr. Trappe.

"You're gonna go for the piano again, as usual," someone commented, interrupting my Zen-like state of empty thoughts.

I looked up to Shawn's smiling face, returning it with an elated sigh.

"Yeah, probably."

The best way to describe Shawn was that he was a cheerful kid, even if he was 27 years old, older than me. He worked the graveyard shifts MWF and Saturdays at this McDonalds joint, the only one in the city that really stayed open to "for here" customers for all 24 hours of the day, so whenever I pulled an all-nighter away from my apartment, he was usually at the register, and he was more than useful for keeping me awake. Shawn was a real chatterbox; though I've told him almost nothing about my own life, I knew that his parents were born in Nigeria, his mom passed away five years ago, his two kid sisters were going to graduate high school this Spring, and his 8th grade brother was a bad-mouthed squirt who secretly sneaks food out for stray cats.

Yep, Shawn was really something.

He sat down next to me, glancing quickly at the monitor behind the register for Drive-thru members. "So, what do we have on the table this time?  Gimme!" he demanded, reaching childishly for my piano books.

I smiled, appreciating his efforts to cheer me up, and handed them to him as I read each title aloud. "Bach, Preludes and Fugues... "

"I'm going to pretend I know what those are."

I laughed. "Chopin's Waltzes and Polonaises..."

"You always got one of his on ya, huh?"

"Well, what can I say, I love my Chopin," I grinned mischievously, confirming his observation.

"Girl, don't talk 'bout 'em like they're still alive!" he exclaimed in a mock-condescending tone.

At that moment, he noticed a car in the Drive-thru monitor. 

"Sorry, be right back, got handle this one real quick," he apologized before racing back to the counters.

I waved my hand carelessly, showing that it didn't bother me at all, and opened the last piano book I hadn't yet introduced to Shawn. Schubert's "Piano Sonata in D Major". It was a masterpiece of four movements... and a huge headache.