The unofficial meet-cute

We came to Millenium Bridge because we wanted a place to just sit. We had walked all day, or so it felt, and so we rode the bus on 16th street till Union Station. Well, we might've gotten sidetracked because I saw some homeless guys playing chess and I wanted to watch. Oh the enthusiasm of the man when he knew he lost.

He had played rather quickly, with 3 minutes left of playing time. His opponent, hands unsteady, had only 46 seconds left. But the hare moved his queen to the very spot where it could be overtaken, and the match was done. He stood up with a shout. Not angry, but abashed that he'd been beaten again.

I sat on the bridge with Janelle and Lauren thinking about how quickly the game had come to end, and then I remembered that I had brought my juggling balls.

"I always forget that you juggle," Janelle was saying when he walked up.

I was working on making the throw behind the back and had successfully caught the first attempt. It was while picking up the next ball that he entered.

"You're the first person I've seen in this city juggling," he said.

"Oh, I'm not very good," I said. "But if you start juggling, I'll steal it from you!"

So he starts juggling, but then basically throws the juggling balls at me. I reassured that he didn't have to force it, and then we successfully passed to and fro.

"Show me more though," I said.

And boy did he have a lot of tricks up his sleeves. He showed me some things I've seen before, but then quite a few more I'd never come across. He started to teach me, and told me about his roommate who has taught him a lot of tricks so far. It was quick conversation back and forth. The brief history of how we had learned and what we were trying to figure out.

"It's true," he remarked. "It's so hard to learn new tricks on your own. Even slowing down all the how-to videos doesn't work. I've tried."

We commented on how it helps to know someone to teach us.

I asked Janelle what time it was and realized we had to go, but it was nice to meet..

"I'm Luke," he shook my hand. "What's your name?"

I told him and walked off. I couldn't stop thinking about the new things I have yet to learn.