Other people act like discretion is a foreign concept. While this is sometimes an annoyance, other times it makes great inspiration for books. This is especially true if a second party shows up and you can hear both parties speaking.
Recently I had the good fortune of finding myself in this exact situation several weeks ago. Parked at a coffee shop with my laptop for a few hours, the gentleman next to me seemed rather surprised when an attractive female showed up. Here's their conversation*, per my live-share with some friends on Skype.
Jack: What are you doing here?You don't have to be a writer to speculate where this might lead. My group of friends on Skype enjoyed speculating - was she an ex-girlfriend? A former co-worker? A kissing cousin? A current lover? A super friendly person with no respect for personal space or social cues?
Diane: I just wanted to surprise you.
Jack: But what...are you doing...HERE?
Diane: I told you (kisses him) I wanted to surprise you.
Jack: (still in his seat) Um...
Diane: Are you surprised?
Jack: You could call it that.
Diane: (shoves forward and kisses him on the mouth) Be right back, I need coffee!
Jack: (furiously texting someone)
Diane: Are you available?
Jack: Not really, no (furiously packing up laptop)
Diane: (sits down)
Jack: Did you park by me?
Diane: YEP! (very happily) I knew by the dry cleaning in the back.
Jack: Oh.
Diane: It was a dead giveaway.
Jack: I miss ironing. I should iron my shirts more.
Diane: How's Marybeth?
Jack: She's good, showing. Everyone's asking when she's due.
He just got up. She got up. She's following him outside.
How might you spin this story? I'd love to hear about it in the comments, along with anything else you'd like to discuss. And in the meantime, here's a video where someone finds another fun use for eavesdropping.
Until next week, happy writing!
*Names changed to protect identities, should they ever read this blog article.
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