Coffee with a Stranger

Daniel sat at a red light, windshield wipers on full blast as the bottom poured out of the sky. He had a lot on his mind that morning; the gloomy day matched his anxious mood. The day Daniel had been looking forward to was upon him, and he was eager at the prospect of starting a new adventure despite his nervousness. He tried not to think about it as he made his way to his favorite breakfast spot on Kneeland Street. 

Daniel just graduated last week, top of his class at Harvard. He was accepted for the fall semester at Seattle University for a masters program, and even received a generous offer for an entry-level position at a renowned company headquarters in the area, to which Daniel eagerly accepted. He was prepared to leave town for The Rainy City later that morning, but not before stopping at his favorite dive in Boston one last time. 

Carol’s Diner was the place that Daniel and his friends frequented after many a wild night out on the town during their college years. The rowdy boys would stumble in early in the morning where Carol - the owner, who also happened to be Daniel’s favorite server - would be expecting them. Daniel had known Carol ever since he started coming to this place, and she became a maternal figure of sorts over the years that they knew each other. She would always take care of them, bringing out fresh stacks of pancakes and rounds of strong coffee before leaving the boys to their hangover cures and their excited ramblings about the fun night they had. 

Turning on his blinker, Daniel put his old Range Rover in reverse and backed into a parking spot across the street. As the rain continued to pour, Daniel realized he forgot his umbrella. He pulled the hood of his jacket up over his head and jumped out of the car, sprinting to the diner entrance. He managed to catch the door just as someone else walked in ahead of him, and his wet shoes squelched with each step as he made his way to one of the two vacant seats at the counter. 

The diner was busy this time of morning. Daniel took in the familiar sounds of clinking silverware against plates, the ambient chatter of the customers, and the chiming of the service bell in the kitchen window as orders were being prepared. Scanning the restaurant, Daniel saw that there were a few new faces among the sea of regular customers. He let out a sigh as he took in the scene, realizing that this could be the last time he ever set foot in his favorite place. Daniel was really going to miss everything he had come to love about the place, and his hometown. 

At that moment, Daniel looked up to see Carol emerging from the back of the diner, tying her apron on as she scanned the room. Her face lit up as she met Daniel's gaze, and she waved. She held up a finger, gesturing to Daniel that she would be over to take his order momentarily.

In the meantime, Daniel pulled his backpack around his shoulder so he could reach the zipper. He opened his bag and pulled out a handful of brochures and a map. Laying them down on the counter, Daniel read the titles on the pamphlets in front of him:  Seattle University: College of Science & Engineering, Top Places to Visit in The Rainy City, and I-90: The Boston to Seattle Road Trip Guide. Today was the beginning of a new adventure for Daniel. 

Lost in his brochures, Daniel hardly noticed when an elderly man squeezed into the last vacant stool next to him. He was snapped out of his reverie when the old man looked over, saw the brochures and said, “Seattle, huh? That’s quite a long way from here.” He chuckled as he added, “What’s a young boy like yourself doing driving cross-country on your own?” The stranger did not ask unkindly; he seemed like a nice old man, just making casual conversation. Daniel was used to chatting up the regulars in the diner when they passed through. He couldn’t help but notice, however, that he had never seen this man before. 

Daniel smiled as he said, “College, work, self discovery, all that jazz. I’m Daniel by the way.” He held his hand out to the old man in greeting.

“Edgar,” the old man replied, reaching to shake Daniel’s hand as Carol approached the counter. 

“What can I get for you lovely gentlemen today?” Carol inquired as she flipped to a new page on her notepad and grabbed her pen, which was currently tucked behind her ear.

“The usual for me,” Daniel said to Carol casually. She jotted down coffee, cream and sugar, and a Sunrise Special in a scribbled shorthand. 

“And for your friend?” Carol looked up at Edgar intently, pen in hand and at the ready. 

“Coffee for me ma’am, black,” Edgar replied before adding, “And I’ll have the steak and eggs.”

“Coming right up,” Carol said cheerfully as she smiled and turned to Daniel. “Big day, huh? Well, we’re sure going to miss you around here,” she laughed to herself as she said, “Oh to be young. I wish you the best in all your life travels.” Carol smiled a sweet smile and added, “It’s on the house today, sugar.” 

“Thank you so much Carol,” Daniel replied, pleasantly surprised at Carol’s kindness. Though he had come to expect it from the sweet woman, her generosity was always greatly appreciated. “You’re the best,” Daniel added. Carol gave him an endearing wink in reply as she hurried off to put his and Edgar’s orders in. 

While they waited, Daniel told Edgar about his plans and upcoming travels. 

“After I got accepted into grad school in Seattle and landed an entry-level job there, I knew it was a sure thing. So I decided to load up my car and hit the road to The Rainy City. I plan on taking the I-90 transcontinental freeway, which happens to be the longest interstate highway in America. It spans over 3,000 miles long across the continent. There are fourteen major stops I want to make along the way, and I’m going to spread my cross-country trek over the entire summer as I travel to all my bucket list destinations, and I’m going to spend a week in every place. This should put me in Seattle by mid-August, just in time to get settled into my new downtown apartment before I start school and work in the fall. I figured it would be a good chance to see the world before I have to buckle down to study and work hard for the next two years.”

After Daniel explained his plans to Edgar, the old man let out a short laugh before he said, “No kiddin’. I just went on a long road trip myself, in the opposite direction. I’m from Tacoma, and I decided to go on an impromptu road trip on a whim, to travel while I’ve still got time left.” Edgar grimaced as he continued, his face growing somber, but only momentarily. “Stage four. Doc said I don’t have much longer. So I packed my bags and hit the freeway with no particular destination in mind. That’s how I ended up here,” Edgar said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly as if the fact that he was terminally ill was of little importance. 

Daniel looked at Edgar with wide eyes, realizing he just spent the last fifteen minutes blabbing about all his plans and his whole life before him while the man sitting next to him was dying of cancer. 

“Oh god…I’m so sorry,” Daniel said, mortified at how he had rambled on so carelessly. “I had no idea. I—” 

“Oh don’t you pity me young man,” Edgar said indignantly, chuckling to lighten the mood. “Don’t you worry about this dying old geezer. You’ve got a whole life ahead of you. You should be excited to spread your wings, to be young and free while you have the chance.” After a long pause, Edgar added, “‘Sides, I did everything I set out to do before my time ran out. I don’t have any regrets. I’m happy with where I ended up.”

Carol rushed over with two mugs and filled them to the brim with fresh hot coffee, hurrying off to top off the other customers’ cups, informing Daniel and Edgar that their orders would be up any minute.

When Carol brought their meals out, Daniel and Edgar ate in mutual silence as they pondered on their lots in life, considered life and death. Two strangers chanced a meeting in a diner one rainy morning in Boston, crossing paths at completely different points in their lives. Any spectating stranger wouldn’t think upon a quick glance that a young man was at the start of his journey as the old man that sat next to him was at his journey’s end.

Daniel was a young boy full of life, the world his for the taking. It was easy to feel like you had it all figured out when you didn’t know any better. Edgar was an old man who was not afraid of what came next, who had made peace with his place in the universe and his life well-lived. When a man reaches the end of his life’s journey, he hopes to have something good to look back on, to know that it wasn’t all a waste. It’s easy to see that you didn’t know everything like you thought you did when you were young.  

It was all just bittersweet and unusual, the way life ebbs and flows in different directions before fate brings everyone to the same inevitable crossroads, the place every man is destined to come to at the end of their life’s journey. The thought was beautiful, but also unwelcoming for a young boy with his whole life ahead of him yet. It was comforting for an old man who had seen and done it all. Daniel decided that whether we accepted it or not, life and death were intertwined; one could not exist without the other.

A boy and a man would take the same road from different directions and would end up in completely different places and circumstances. They would take different life paths and would end up in the very same place in the end. Whether they are fulfilled or filled with regret when they reach this crossroads is uncertain, revealing itself only at the end of the road. Life was funny like that, ever fleeting and full of so many wonderful and horrible things all at once.   

After finishing their breakfast and a second cup of coffee, David informed Edgar that he had to go. He gave Carol a final wave, and she waved back excitedly, her smile tinged with sadness as she bid Daniel farewell for the last time. As she waved, she put her other hand on her heart, a sincere and endearing gesture, before blowing him a motherly kiss and watching him go.

Daniel turned to Edgar and asked, “Are you hitting the road too?”

“Oh, might as well,” Edgar replied as he slowly stepped off the stool, straightening up stiffly. 

The unlikely friends stepped outside and stood under the awning of the diner, looking out at the busy street before them. 

“Well, I guess this is it,” Daniel let out a shaky breath. His nerves had caught up with him. Whether it was his nerves or the second cup of coffee that brought on the jitters, he couldn’t really tell. But either way the moment had finally come, the moment where the next chapter of his life truly began, and he knew he had to face it head on.

Edgar chuckled and said, “You’re gonna be great kid. From where I’m standing, I think you’ve got a decent head on your shoulders. But if you want a word of advice from a dying old man? Don’t worry so much about the destination that you miss out on the journey. It’s all part of the fun.” He gave Daniel an encouraging slap on the back before putting on his hat. Giving Daniel a stern nod, a smile and a wink, Edgar headed off down the sidewalk, disappearing from view, into the fog of the rainy and gloomy morning. 

Watching Edgar disappear down the street, Daniel didn’t move until the old man was out of sight. Deciding that it was now or never, he pulled his jacket hood over his head again and sprinted to his car, hopping in quickly. He put the key in the ignition slowly, hesitating after he did so. With shaking hands, Daniel started the car and gripped the steering wheel, trying to ready himself for what lay ahead. He remembered what Edgar said, and he relaxed a little as he decided to take the old man’s advice, to enjoy the journey. The young boy decided he would do it for Edgar, for the memory of a wise old soul who had been around the world and who probably knew a thing or two after a life well lived. 

Smiling to himself as he put the car in drive, Daniel said goodbye to the life he once knew and set off on his new adventure. There wasn’t a moment to waste. Life was short, Daniel knew, and he was going to see and do it all while he still had all the time in the world. As Daniel pulled out onto the busy street, he heard a familiar song on the radio; he turned it up and hummed along to “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac as he drove out of the city and merged onto the freeway. The song said it all, and once Daniel embraced the notion of seeing where the wind would take him, he turned the volume up even louder, drowning out the rain and the road noise as he drove past the city limits, no longer afraid of the journey and no longer worrying about the destination.