WHO: Monika & Jonathon Black WHAT: Random run in & chatting WHEN: Saturday afternoon WHERE: Random cafe WARNINGS: None STATUS: Closed / Completed gdoc
Jonathon walked briskly down the sidewalk. It was cold out and while invigorating for a short while he wanted to get inside and warm up somewhere before heading home. His newly strung acoustic guitar was slung over his back in its case. It was one of two guitars he used at the club where he worked so upkeep was important. He was looking forward to getting home and tuning it up properly.
He spotted a cafe ahead and quickened his pace. A nice hot cup of coffee sounded perfect. He entered and walked up to the counter. There were a couple of people ahead of him so he took out his phone to check messages while he waited.
Monika had been working at the library all day and was starting to feel a bit weak. Glancing at the clock, she suddenly realized it was lunch time and that she was probably getting hungry. Guess she must've lost track of time, which only really happens when she was super busy. And she had put more books back in their rightful places than usual.
After putting on her jacket, hat, and mitts, she headed out the library and walked into the nearest cafe. She got in line, behind a guy who had a guitar slung over his back. "What kind of songs do you play?" she asked curiously, after getting his attention. She figured he did play, so she didn't bother to ask that question.
His turn at the counter came and he ordered a coffee with hazelnut syrup and a splash of creamer. It wasn’t how he usually took his coffee, but he was a fan of hazelnut and some flavor on this cold day sounded good. Jonathon paid, then turned, pausing when the girl behind him asked him what kind of music he played. It was a pleasant surprise and he smiled at her. “All kinds really. Rock, folk, some country, pop, anything I like. I write music tto, but it’s been a long time since I’ve done that.I work, I mean I play at the Electric Lady two days a week.” He loved playing there. He felt like getting a job there was part of what helped him settle into Madison Valley a little more.
“Do you play?” He asked out of curiosity.
"It's good to have variety." Monika always thought it was a bit restricting to stick to one genre, whether it be music, books, or movies. "You do? I'll have to come watch you play sometime. Have you ever played at the Arts and Music Festival? Although I'm not sure if that's going to happen this year since I heard the person who organizes it got sent home." She was pretty sure her name was Kate, though she couldn't remember her last name.
Monika shook her head. "Not guitar, but I do play a bit of piano."
"Variety is the spice of life," Jonathon smiled. "Especially when it comes to music. There's so many great songs and genres." It surprised him when the woman said she would come watch a set some time. "Thanks, that'd be nice. I have. I played last year and it was fun. Oh! It's going to happen. Alyssa is taking over running the festival." He was glad it was going to continue after Kate went home. Not only had he enjoyed playing, but checking out all the other music and art.
Jonathon smiled. "I play the piano too. I wouldn't mind hearing you play sometime." He paused a moment. "Would you like to get your drink and sit and chat for a bit?" He hoped that wasn't too awkward or weird to ask. Meeting a fellow musician and someone who liked music was cool and who knew, he might make a friend.
"Exactly," Monika returned the smile. "Same goes for books too." She never really understood why some people just stuck to one genre. It seemed a bit restricted, to her at least. "You did? Guess I must've missed your performance. And that's great to hear Alyssa will be taking over." She had always enjoyed the festival and hearing the music acts or looking at the art.
"That can be arranged. Though to warn you, I'm not great." She practiced as much as she could, but sometimes she was simply too tired after work and all she had the energy for was dinner and reading until she fell asleep. "I'm on my lunchbreak, but I can sit and chat for a bit." She grabbed the coffee and bagel she ordered then found an empty seat for both of them, heading over.
"Oh, I'm Monika, by the way," she added as she sat down.
Jonathon smiled and nodded, following her. He put his coffee on the table then carefully sat down his guitar followed by hanging his coat and scarf over his chair before sitting. He wasn't ignoring what she'd said while they were still in line, he wanted to get situated first.
"Nice to meet you Monika. I'm Jonathon. He took the lid off his coffee to help it cool more quickly. "I'm not much of a reader, but I would say variety is important there as well." A little grin pulled at his lips. "How long have you been playing the piano? What kind of music do you play and like?Have you played at the Art and Music Festival? Oh, I promise I won't talk your ear off and make you late getting back to work," he joked. "Where do you work?"
"Nice to meet you too," she smiled, taking the lid off her own coffee and blowing on it to cool it a bit before taking a tentative sip. There was a little wince as it was still too hot, so she set it back on the table. "Oh, I love literature. I try to read as many genres as I can, though the one I read the least is probably horror. My friend loves it but I guess she's just braver than me."
She grabbed her bagel and took a bite, pausing to think for a moment. "Just a couple years, off and on. I try to play all kinds and yes, I even wrote a song before. Just the one." She never wrote another one yet. Not sure why, maybe just lack of inspiration. "And I have! I can't remember what I played, though." It was probably some easy classical piece.
She laughed. "I'm sure you won't. And I work at the library and I also study literature at one of the local colleges."
“You’d get along famously with my boyfriend, Quentin. He loves to read. I’m pretty sure the library and book shops are among his top favorite places here.” He picked up his coffee and blew on it then smiled. “Practice makes you better. I know it’s not easy finding time to do so.” He could really relate. “You write songs?” His face lit up with a bright smile. “Me too. Well, I used to a lot more, but I’ve recently taken it back up. I enjoy it, but it can be a little frustrating sometimes and I don’t always have the time for it with work and all.” He was hoping this weekend would change that.
“Are you going to play at the Art and Music Festival this year? I definitely plan on it. I don’t think I’ll be as nervous as I was last year when I was still relatively new here.” He’d even had to borrow a guitar because his own had not yet shown up.
"Maybe I've seen him at the library and didn't know." At the moment, Monika couldn't recall if anyone named Quentin had been there. She shook her head. "No, it's not but you're definitely right." Considering she was now taking college classes, she might not be able to find the time now. But she was good at scheduling things, so she might be able to fit in a few hours. "Yes but just one song so far. I haven't written anything since then." Mostly due to her not writing poems in awhile. She'd been a bit iffy about it, but she'd been trying to write more often. "I'd love to hear some of your songs sometime."
She nodded. "I probably will as well. And I was pretty nervous my first time too. Hopefully it won't be as bad for the both of us." Monika can come across as confident and having it all together, but in truth, it was just an act. She could be just as nervous and anxious as anyone. "How long have you been in town?"
Jonathon sipped on his coffee as he listened, nodding a few times. “Some people say song lyrics are just poetry put to music. I can agree with that in a way. I wrote some poetry when I was younger, but I don’t think it was very good,” he laughed. In fact he thought it was terrible when he’d looked over it years later. “When I write a song it’s usually about something I know, something that happened or something that touches me.” He knew why he’d stopped writing them years ago, but he was feeling the call once again and had taken it back up when he had spare time. “Yeah? I can make that happen. If you wanted to come over sometime. Or we could meet up somewhere when the weather is nicer if that’s better for you.”
"Playing at the club has helped smash any nerves, but once in a while I still get nervous." He supposed a lot of musicians and singers did. "It will be a year I've been here in April. It doesn't feel like that long and some days it feels so much longer. I miss home, my family. How long have you been here?"
"Oh god, I don't want to remember the poems I wrote when I was younger," Monika laughed, taking another bite of her bagel. Her poems back then were cringe, to say the least. "Same here - I only write things that have happened to me or what I feel strongly about. And great! I'm fine with either. Whenever is good for you."
She nodded. "Playing over and over probably helps, but I think I'd still get nervous too." Even if she knew all the notes and words to the song and practiced a lot, she'd still worry she'd mess up. "I've been here for about a couple years. I miss my friends too." But she didn't miss home.
Jonathon laughed with her. "See, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Those angsy teen and pre-teen years. Definitely not my best writing." Some of his in twenties weren't as bad, but the older he was the more his writing seemed to improve. At least in his opinion. "How about you come over to my place the last weekend of the month? I work all week, so weekends are better."
He finished off his coffee and nodded. "I just think it's normal to get nervous sometimes. I think even the biggest singers and bands in the world do so sometimes." Jonathon had been meeting people who had been in Madison for years. It brought home the fact that he was stuck there. He couldn't leave and go back home. "If only there was a way we could visit them." He sighed knowing that was wishful thinking. "Well, I don't mean to rush off or anything but I need to get this girl home and tune her up before work tonight. It was nice meeting you, Monika."
"We probably thought we wrote something amazing back then too," she grinned. She certainly had, but if she had reread them now, she'd probably thought 'what was I thinking?'. "That works. I don't work on the weekend either."
She was probably one of the few who didn't mind being trapped here. Here was much better than where she had been. "Well, sometimes there's portals to other worlds. Even if they are temporary." And one had to be super lucky to get one to their world. "I actually should get back to the library myself, so no worries. It was nice meeting you too."