Today I found my public-persona soulmate.

Today I found my public-persona soulmate.

I'm sitting at Stone Soup Kitchen stuffing my face with an egg sandwich when I look up and see a young woman squinting intently at me from a few tables away.

I wave my hand and smile.

She drops the squinty look, smiles and mirrors my actions. I say, "Good morning, how are you?" I'm sure I've met her a million times in the neighborhood, and I'm sure hearing her next couple of lines will jog my memory.

"Good, how are you?"

Hmmm... I keep going.

I say, "Doing great. What have you been up to lately?"

She says, "Oh, you know, same old stuff. Just thought I'd come in and get some breakfast this morning."

Still no clue who this is.

So I take a risk and assume there's another human being in her life, and perhaps knowing something about that human being will give me the clue I need, so I say, "I hear ya. I love this place. It's kind of like my second office. Do you guys come here often?"

And she tilts her head slightly, smiles, pauses, and then says in some strange way no smiling face should ever be able to physically form this word, "No."

I just sort of stare, a bit embarrassed that I might have been caught in my own game, when the waitress comes up to her and asks if she's ready to order. She turns to me again, squints in the same way, and I can now see her gaze is slightly focused just over my shoulder...

"Sure, I'll have the... ginger and cantaloupe soup special and..."

I turn to the wall behind me, see the specials written barely an inch above my head, and I quietly go back to stuffing my completely red face with my egg sandwich.