#CTC29 day 26 Dialogue without words

I'm fudging today's prompt. The actual instructions are to go somewhere you can watch a conversation, but not hear it. The idea is to pay attention to the "stage direction" of the conversation, rather than the words. Then, after about 10 minutes of "eaves-watching" to write the observed scene, dialogue and all. Between work, exhaustion, and an evening obligation, I don't have the energy to go out people watching. I do plan to do this exercise properly some other time :)

Chelsea tapped away at her laptop between sips of latte. The smells and sounds of the coffee shop blurred into a soothing background, more pleasant than her cubicle but more productive than her apartment. That her boyfriend often stopped in this particular shop, so close to his office, cemented her decision to work here. A familiar movement across the shop caught her eye - her friend Leah tossing her hair. Chelsea was about to call out to her, when she realized Leah wasn't alone. She couldn't see her companion, but could tell from Leah's slightly nervous slightly giddy laugh that it had to be some man. Chelsea smiled, remembering the signs of nascent romance. She'd laughed like that when she met her boyfriend here, almost 10 months ago. She hoped the good luck she'd had would work for Leah, too.

She glanced up at Leah from time to time, smiling more and more as Leah relaxed and laughed. Things seemed to be going well. Checking the time, she saw Leah going well past her usual hour lunch break. She remembered doing the same herself, when she really liked a new guy. She noticed Leah kept one hand on the table, stretched out enough for her companion to touch her hand, but not so much so as to look like she expected it. Leah and Chelsea had actually talked about that particular maneuver once, after several glasses of wine. Chelsea saw Leah's smile brighten as a strong man's hand covered hers on the table. Chelsea's smile vanished. For a horrible moment she thought it was her boyfriend's hand. But no - that couldn't be right! Just as she decided to put the thought out of her head, Leah's companion moved to the seat next to Leah. The man was, without a doubt, Chelsea's boyfriend.

I really did intend to write dialogue tonight. Honest! Then Chelsea's horrible coffee shop experience dropped into my brain. It seemed ungrateful not to use the story idea that came to me so readily.