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Why I come out of my way every morning for instant coffee is still a mystery to me. If I wanted instant I could have it at home. Still, instead of going straight down Bleecker I always hung a right and stopped at Han's Deli before getting on the 6 train. That's why I happened to be there when Brave Dragon ran into Laughing Leaf. If I hadn't had some odd affinity for instant coffee prepared by other people, I would have missed the whole thing.
It was freezing outside but a small Mexican man was showering water onto the glass doors of Han's Deli with a hose. He paused as I approached; I pushed the glass with the tips of my fingers, not wanting to think about what he could possibly be washing off of them. Inside some boy band music was playing, which I could only figure was the new Backstreet Boys album. I had heard they got back together but I guess you had to hear it to believe it. The smell of bacon was in the air as I poured instant vanilla flavored coffee into a large paper cup, adding skim milk and one Sweet and Low. As I approached the counter a man in a construction hat, with a breakfast sandwich and coffee jumped in front of me. Glancing back he smiled apologetically, and I accepted his smile, as it was too early to begin throwing punches for bad behavior.
"Laughing Leaf?" the construction guy asked, removing the stirrer from his mouth and using it to point at the man behind the counter.
The man looked up from sorting cigarettes and frowned.
"Yes it is you! I knew it man, how the hell are you?" the construction guy stuck out his hand.
"No, I think you are wrong. I'm Han. Not who you say." Han said. He looked around uneasily.
The construction guy looked taken aback, but he shook it off. "Nah man, you are Laughing Leaf! It's me, Brave Dragon. Come on, from Spirit Group!"
Han looked around again, shaking his head. "No." he said curtly.
Brave Dragon dropped his hand. Laughing Leaf looked over at me, and I shrugged. This was more exciting than work. I was in no rush.
"Is that all, sir?" Han asked, moving to bag the sandwich and coffee.
Brave Dragon placed his hand over Han's. "I know it's you," he said. "Don't be ashamed of your earth name."
Han grabbed his hand back. There was an awkward silence as a suited man stepped behind me in line and coughed. I opened my coffee top and took a sip.
"Look, sir, you are mistaking me with someone else. My name is Han; that is the only name I have. I don't know anything about your group, so please you are holding up the line. That will be five ninety." Han held out his hand, palm open.
Brave Dragon frowned. "Laughing Leaf, why are you so afraid? I know you man. We kissed Mother Earth together just last weekend! We danced upon her soil!"
Han shrugged. The suited man behind me laughed suddenly, then turned it into a forced cough. Brave Dragon looked from us to Han, and dug into his pockets, pulling out a wad of money and what looked like a pinecone. He slapped the money into Han's open hand, and placed the pinecone on top. It was small and covered in silver glitter. It had two googley eyes pasted on top.
"Here." He said. "Keep the change. You should be ashamed Laughing Leaf; I thought you were a true brother of the earth language."
Brave Dragon gathered his stuff and stormed out of the deli, shaking his head sadly.
I moved forward in line, gently placing my dollar fifty on the counter, watching Han as he stared at the pinecone, his eyes watering.
The suited guy behind me stepped up to the counter. "What is that? An art project or something?"
Han didn't respond.
"You okay man?" the suited guy asked.
Han closed his hand around the glittery eyeballed cone. With his other hand he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a bizarre wolf t-shirt shirt underneath. Looking determined he excused him self and ran out from behind the counter and out the door, meeting the spray from the hose head on and not stopping. Through the glass you could see the Mexican man yelling as he ran off.
The suited guy and I stood in silence as the Backstreet Boys sang the chorus of their latest hit.
"That was weird, huh?" he said to me, leaving his money on the counter. "Well, see ya."
Alone in the deli, I sipped my powdery coffee. I took my money back and gathered the few dollars left by the suited guy, and stuck it all in my pocket. I exited and walked down the street to the subway. This was shaping up to be a really good day.
