Past Lives Chasing A Mouse

Yowls And The Art of Relationship Maintenance

It was a chilly March day with strong hints in the air that spring was on its way.

Elsa had traveled by train every couple weeks to go to the Film Forum to see some classic cinema. Going to see films, especially foreign ones, was something she and her husband Michael did regularly when they lived in the city. After he died, ten years ago this April, she retired to Ocean Grove, New Jersey. She was entering her 70s and needed a bit more quiet, perhaps a few more stars overhead, and she so loved being near the ocean.

She met Zach that day—on line waiting for an Aki Kaurasmaki matinee double bill. A conversation began over the image of the man with a bandaged head on the the poster for A Man Without A Past. Neither of them had seen this film and were looking foward to it.
Zach was Elsa’s age, had arrived by himself, and so they chose to sit next to each other in the theater. He had smuggled in a big bag of peanut M&Ms and shared them with Elsa.

They chatted in the lobby afterwards, exchanging their delight with the films. She surprised herself when she suddenly asked him if he’d like to go for some coffee. He smiled—and suggested Rocco’s Bakery on Bleecker Street.