New Perspective from Four Floors Up

I am not going to lie, these past several months have been rough – as I’m sure we can all attest to. Many of us are trying our best to hold it together and searching for ways to keep our minds, and the minds of our loved ones, off all the uncertainty and negativity.

The powerful thing about reading is it can whisk you away to an alternate reality. For a few precious hours, problems melt away and are replaced by curiosity, intrigue, and wonder. I also feel that way about people-watching. So, in the spirit of both these pastimes, I hope you have a similar experience as you read this short, silly story from my recent trip to the ocean. And hopefully you won’t judge my people-watching too harshly. As a writer, I look for inspiration everywhere. And, well, people are pretty fascinating.

Recently I took a trip to the Oregon coast – just me, my sister, and my mother. I needed to find a place to hole up and write (it’s getting into crunch time if I want to release my fourth novel this year); and the three of us needed a restaurant that served food indoors and not just curbside. So … girls’ trip!

My mom scored us a beautiful, three-bedroom condo overlooking the ocean and promenade. During the four blissful days of our trip, we ate delicious food (countless pan seared oysters), shopped for souvenirs (coming to a yard sale near you), went for long walks (or long “sits”) on the beach, but best of all, we spent countless hours people-watching from our beachfront view from four floors up. We saw a shirtless, elderly man lathered up with coconut oil; we saw two young parents getting in more time on the swings than their young son; we even saw a runner stop to do push-ups between a bench and the wall surrounding the promenade (oh, to have that level of confidence). But my favorite experience was ripped from the pages of my work in progress…

Currently I’m working on a romance novella coupled with a collection of short love stories. One afternoon, while we gazed out at the waves, my mom and sister graciously listened as I read aloud unedited excerpts from my latest project. One of the passages included a young gentleman enjoying his book and coffee all by himself and alluded to the appeal of such a man who was not only comfortable being alone, but who actually knew how to read. And enjoyed it! Mr. Perfect, right?

The morning after, while the three of us were enjoying our breakfast and coffee from the condo and making up background stories about the unsuspecting tourists on the beach below us (all in good fun – and all flattering tales, of course), we saw a tall man, early thirties with an athletic build, walking down the promenade. He had a book in one hand, a coffee in the other, and a full head of luscious hair. We sat up straighter in our chairs and leaned way in to view this Adonis who materialized from the unpublished pages of my manuscript.

He strolled down the sidewalk, all confidence and swagger, before taking a seat on the bench directly below us. By now we were giggling like preteens and our faces were all but pressed to the windowpanes. Then, when the man sat down, he crossed his legs. I’m talking, tightly crossed, one leg dangling over the other as he swung his flip-flopped foot up and down. I know it wasn’t nice, but we all groaned at once. The position was just not … not … well, let’s just say it looked uncomfortable. Impractical, even. But, as I reasoned aloud, he still had a full head of hair and knew how to read, so we made an allowance and continued to watch.

Leg crossing preferences temporarily ignored; we switched our focus to the book he was reading. No matter how hard we strained, we couldn’t read the title but could almost make out the author’s name. One of us (I won’t say who) took out a phone and used the zoom feature to take a picture of the book, which we then googled to learn more about. I won’t list the book, but let’s just say, none of us were impressed by his choice. Poor guy, little did he know how far he’d fallen in our eyes from just a few moments prior.

By now my sister had lost interest and wandered off to take a shower. My mom returned to her breakfast, which I imagine had grown cold. I continued to watch. I even snapped a picture (for writing inspiration – truly). As I was doing so, as if he could sense he was being watched, the mystery man leaned his head back and looked straight up. I waved (a bit horrified). He didn’t wave back. Whether he could see me from my perch four floors above him remains a mystery.

I watched him for a few more minutes (okay, thirty?). I saw him gawk at a few young ladies as they jogged by. But in his defense, he did wave sweetly at a little girl with a mop of adorable curls; and he also said “hello,” to (or at least appeared to politely acknowledge) a couple of older women who may or may not have paused directly in front of him to do some bending and stretching. I’m talking, directly in front of the bench where he sat. Man, I love people-watching.

Okay, so fast-forward past however long I watched (insert sheepish, semi-evil grin). Somewhere during this time I went to my room and retrieved the faux leather black notebook I use to jot down story ideas. While I don’t quite know what story he’ll fit into, I did enjoy the intrigue. When he stood to leave, I smiled to myself, realizing he would never know the intrigue (and laughter) he brought to our girls’ trip. And if you see this excerpt below (or something close to it) in one of my future books, you’ll know where the inspiration came from. 😉

You learn a lot about a person when they think no one’s watching. Having observed him for only a few, fleeting moments, she knew more about him than she could derive from a month of dating him. He was kind to small children, appreciated nature and a good book, was rarely distracted by his phone, was comfortable enough with himself to be alone … and he had a glorious head of thick, wavy hair that he raked his fingers through when he was lost in concentration.

Thanks for reading. And remember, if you’re looking for creative ways to keep your family entertained during these trying times, check out one of my recent blog entries. Stay safe everybody. And don’t forget to crack open a book this summer.