The world has been settled with a soft kindness. The sun glows with it. The pink tinge of the dawn lingers. We all feel a little tender. Our cups of tea steam up the windows, diffusing the whiteness outside into a gentle haze.
When I worked in a cafe in Montreal, we noticed that people were different the first morning it snowed. They would drift in off the street, snowflakes still falling from their hats and hair, looking around as if in a slight daze, the women leaning their heads a little wistfully, the men asking for their coffee in a quieter voice.
The atmosphere seemed to become a bit romantic and, when I could, I would put Ella Fitzgerald on the stereo and although we didn’t dance it felt like we were all yearning to – to slowly twirl each other around the pastries and croissants, and touch each other on the cheek, and melt a little…
Cwm Garw, South Wales
14th January 2024