Even the homeless have their romances

INT. Morning. City library. Dimly lit.

GRA is upset the file that was saved had turned out corrupted. A woman sits across, head down, trying to get sleep.

Homeless Man: Excuse lady, may I talk to you?
Homeless Woman: Yes.
Homeless Man: I just want to say you look lovely today.
Homeless Woman: I had an accident outside.
Homeless Man: What happened?
Homeless Woman: I peed myself.

Man seems uncomfortable; shuffles in spot.

Homeless Man: Uh, um ... What's your name?
Homeless Woman: Annette.
Homeless Man: Well nice to meet you, Annette. I've seen you around here and you never talk to me. Maybe one day we'll sit down and have a conversation to get to know each other better. How does that sound? Is that okay with you?
Homeless Woman: Yes.

Man walks away.

___

This is a true story. It happened just a few minutes before I wrote this, as I sit in my city's library where it attracts the homeless. They seek a warm, clean and dry place. It's quite - no one can disturb their sleep; the loud ones know they won't be asked to leave the premises. Often times the chairs they sit in  and desks they use tend to smell afterwards (I feel really sorry for the unfortunate person who later occupies the seat that Annette now sits in, unaware that its previous user was soaked in her own urine).

What humbles me is the sheer respect the Homeless Man had for the Homeless Woman for a potential "date." The only times I hear this type of respect is when someone addresses a man sir or mister or a woman miss or mam. Now the dialogue isn't exact, but dang, the Homeless Man was a gentleman. Straight up. If I hadn't turned around in my seat - since the moment I heard his voice I was sort of suspicious - I would've thought he was a well-dressed man wearing a suit and a fedora by just the way he talked and the timbre of his voice. But he wasn't well dressed - he wore a dirty old blue jacket, on his head was a dirty old blue winter cap - and that's okay: he was charming and courteous.

Compare this "getting to know you" with today's modern dating norms. It's worlds apart. It's old-style. This type of approach would be considered downright silly and pathetic, but it's neither one of those things. It's the complete opposite: manly and profound. This "getting to know you" was "friends first sex partners later." I'm not sure if the man and woman will engage in sex afterwards or maybe after two sit downs or so, but I'd wager, just the way he spoke and his demeanor, that it won't happen anytime soon, that such actions would be "off the list" so to speak. Of course, I could be wrong. 

I hope he eventually finds Annette again, in a much better state, and they have that sit down he asked. They're conversation has made my heart glow.