Recognizing the Revelatory Detail
I have recently discovered that revelation is not only shocking, it is simplistic. In most cases, a revelation comes from preconceived details and is often overlooked because the details seem too obvious. But usually, it will be the very first thing you notice; so pay attention.
I watched a woman for a total of twenty seconds: the ten seconds she took walking into starbucks and the ten seconds walking back to her car. I was sitting at the window seat facing the parking lot. I first noticed her as she hustled between two cars separated by a single, muddy parking space line. Her head was down surveying the filthy mine field of mud and ice dropped by numerous cars occupying the spaces since early morning. Despite the difficulty, her stride did not change as she traipsed her way toward the door. Once outside of the minefield she looked up to allow her straight, blond hair to fall away from her eyes. Her gait did not slow even as she stepped up onto the curb and a blast of steam came pouring from her lips: breath vapor.
I almost passed it off, but suddenly I realized that that single breath meant something…something important. What was it? Frustration? Maybe. Exhaustion? No, she was walking too quickly for that. It was then that I noticed her eyes? They were pointed down as if in thought while her eyebrows betrayed an heir of annoyance, perhaps. So maybe she was frustrated or annoyed. Maybe it had been a long day. By all appearances, she seemed to have been recently at work if not still on the job. Yes, it was her clothes that gave her away: brown pin-stripe plaid pants, classy sweater, a scarf intended as part of her outfit, necklace, straightened hair, no extra winter clothes which suggests an inside job or a job that does not do any running. Perhaps a desk job? Possibly retail, but recently, retail had slowed. I took the liberty to assume business woman. It wasn’t until I made this assumption that the blast of steam suddenly made sense and fit the missing parts together. In essence it was a sigh a relief: no matter how hard her day was or continued to be, this woman found comfort in the familiarity of coffee and Starbucks. It was an oasis of relaxation amidst the struggles and frustrations of an imperfect job.
My mind was occupied by these thoughts as she made the last three steps to the door. She was about five minutes in the store and then I watched that familiar stride retrace its steps out the door, through the mine field, and back to the reality that existed within her silver 2011 Toyota sedan. Twenty minutes of sitting in her car talking on the phone only helped to solidify the possibility that perhaps she was still on the job. Then without warning, she backed her car out with the same gait and frustration I had seen in her stride. And then she was gone.
Of those twenty seconds, the first five seconds were the most revelatory. But not until after she was gone did I understand the irony of that blast of steam. Regardless of her job or way of life, I had discovered a hard worker; a woman who was not lazy and understood the importance of hard work in spite of the difficulties she may face. Just like any person, she appreciated a break. Starbucks was her getaway and the answer to what made her hard work worth it all. It was her hard work that paid for that break, and nothing is more satisfying than seeing hard work pay off, even if only in the small luxury of a cup of coffee.
(writing exercise from page 27 of Sherry Ellis’ book, “Now Write: Nonfiction”)
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