Running Errands

Martina had just parked the car on a side street in the city.

"You can wait here while I run to the bank," she said. "If you want, you can look around...there's an antique store here."

I had noticed the antique store. There were old books in cardboard boxes out front. 

"Yeah, OK," I said. "Sounds good."

We both got out of the car, and Martina crossed the street and headed for the bank. The antique shop was basically right by the car, so I just moseyed on up to it. 

There were about 10 boxes, all filled with books, at the entrance to the shop. A cardboard sign propped up against one of the bins said "1 EURO." I was happy when I saw the old books, happy because it showed that stores were reopening and the act of browsing was again possible. 

The books themselves didn't really interest me. They were virtually all in German. I did have one interesting thought, though, standing there. I thought, "Every book here was someone's dream. It's sort of a shame people's dreams wind up getting sold for a euro." Still, I concluded, that's not a reason not to pursue one's dream.

After I lost interest in the books, I decided that the other side of the street looked inviting. I was cold and it was sunny.  I crossed the street and immediately felt a little better. The sun was warm and I felt revived. I had my sunglasses in my pocket and I took them out and put them on. I just stood there. In the reflection of the car window, I saw myself. I looked a little funny. I guess I looked like a guy who liked sports, there in my shorts and Nike pullover. But the whole outfit looked kinda weird with the sunglasses. Still, it was nice to be in the sun. 

Eventually, I decided to go back into the car. It was even warmer in the car. When Martina got back from the bank, we made our way to the next place on our list.