The Lonely Hearts Bar. Конни Гранма

«No way! Connie?»

      «Duuuuude!» I punched him on the shoulder.

      «Oh my God, are you serious? Feels like I’m dreaming or something!» He laughed and hugged me, then stepped back to get a better look.

      «Can’t believe you recognized me.»

      «It’d be impossible not to!»

      «It’s so good to see you, like, in real life!»

      «Yeah, me too! Crazy, isn’t it? How in the world did you get to the city of lost angels?»

      «I told you I wanted to take classes here, remember?»

      «Of course! You were ordering books, right?»

      «Exactly.»

      «You’re never online anymore.»

      «Are these all new?» I glanced at the boxes, distracted.

      «Couple books from the philosophy section, and a few more from psychology. New novels, and I think I saw some crime novels somewhere, but you’re not a fan.»

      «And what’s the most popular one?» I began running my fingers along the dusty bookshelves, smelling the sharp scent of aging pages.

      «This one.» Larry handed me a book from the psychology section.

      «Read it?»

      «Yep. Total crap.»

      «Since when are people so obsessed with finding themselves?»

      «Since not too long ago.»

      «Isn’t half the planet’s population already in therapy anyway?»

      His pleasant laugh lit up everything around him. Handsome, polite, intelligent, inquisitive to the point of knowing everything about everything, tactful and just a decent friend. I’d always thought that chatting on social networks could never be all that sincere, that it was just a big waste of time. But Larry was an exception: he was himself.

      «Wait a sec.»

      He ran to a different room and pulled something red out of an iron box. He came back and kept his hands behind his back.

      «Guess what I’ve got.»

      «Um…»

      «Think.»

      «Comics?»

      «Cold.»

      «A book?»

      «Getting warmer. Like a cross between comics and an insane novel.»

      «Your red…»

      «A hunting hat, just like Caulfield!» he said, handing me the hat.

      «It’s the exact same hat in the photo you sent…»

      «When I found out what your favorite book was. Keep it.»

      «Aww, thanks Larry! I really appreciate it.» I put the hat on backwards and hugged him.

      «Oh and there’s something else,» he stood by a shelf.

      «These are special books. Close your eyes and take one.

      «Uh…» I approached the shelf, closed my eyes and pulled out On the Road, by Jack Kerouac.

      «You can have it.»

      «Thanks Larry.»

      «Glad you’re here. Come by more often.»

      «Will do.» I waved and went back to the car.

      Today’s classes took place on set. It was hot, but that didn’t stop me from wearing Caulfield’s red hunting hat all day. Mr. BB approved and even tried it on, saying it could be a sign that I was on set wearing an incredible main character’s hat from that classic novel.

      «Try to be clear, tell yourself what you need to get out of every scene. And after,» Mr. BB guided me by the arm and sat me behind the camera, «just have a look… and your thoughts will become reality. It all starts… now. Action!»

      Through that lens, everything really did look different. Even this empty movie set. Every day I came to realize more clearly how important that life, seen through the lens, was to me. I thought about it on the campus bus on the way back from the set, going over the day’s events.

      A guy with a long backpack and sky-blue eyes sat down next to me as I untangled my ear buds. He glanced at me from under his gray hood, which was thrown over a black beanie, partially hiding his facial features.

      «Sorry, do you mind if I sit here?» he asked.

      «You already did.»

      «Uh… yeah,» he muttered, embarrassed.

      And that was the end of our dialogue. Looks like I wasn’t the only one walking around in a winter hat…

      The shuttle took us to the university, and the weird guy and I parted ways. He had beautiful eyes.

      «David!» I shouted out the window on the way home, spotting a solitary silhouette.

      «Oh, hey Connie!»

      «Need a lift?»

      «Where you headed?»

      «Home. Classes are over already.»

      «Yeah, that’d be great!»

      «Hop in. Where do you need to be?»

      «Crossroads of the World.»

      «Ok.»

      «How was your day?»

      «We went on set. What’s new with you?»

      «Same as usual.»

      «What’s usual?»

      «Job hunting, arguing with that asshole Lee, and…»

      «And what?»

      «And just… the same, as usual…» David glanced at me and sighed deeply, «I actually wanted to apologize for yesterday. I shouldn’t have unloaded all that on you.»

      «You mostly unloaded yourself on me, as I was dragging you to the car,» I laughed.

      «Jesus,» David whispered, covering his face with his hands, «Don’t remind me. I’m terrible…»

      «Well don’t go fishing for compliments. You won’t be getting any from me.»

      «I usually don’t look too good when we see each other. I think today’s a first.»

      «Isn’t it all kind of stupid though? Life’s amazing, and yet we spend it lost in our thoughts.»

      «What do you wear to bed?»

      «What?» Julia Robert’s smile flashed across my face.

      «What do you wear to bed? I’m curious.»

      «Boxers, a T-shirt, sometimes a hat.»

      «Boxers? A hat?»

      «Yeah, they’ve got comics on them, and it’s a red hunting hat, like Holden Caulfield’s.»

      David’s face split into a winning smile.

      «Why do you ask?»

      «Just wanted to change the subject.»

      «Well, you succeeded.»

      Crossroads of the World came into view.

      «Could you stop there? I’ll walk the rest of the way.»

      «Sure.»

      «Thanks so much.»

      «See you around!»

      On the way back, I stopped by «Caioti Pizza Café.» The chef there had turned pizza into an art form. Your mouth starts watering the second you look at the menu. I ordered something like a New York-style pizza. The main thing, y’all, is more cheese! The first thing I thought after ordering was that I had to bring David and Lee here. They’d love it.

      You know the moment when you sit waiting for your order and you remember something? One time on vacation, I stayed