I often eat alone.

Not because I like to, but because I regularly travel for work, and have to. 

Laptop open. Book in progress. A glass of wine or coffee beside me.

Around me, the tables are full. Couples. Friends. Business associates.

And every now and then, I notice something strange.

They’re not talking.  They’re scrolling. Each locked into their own glowing rectangle, their own curated feed, their own distant world.

And I wonder: Am I the lonely one? Or are they?

I see the slight glances, the sighs. The forced small talk.

The moments when one person stares into space while the other taps out a message to someone else. Maybe someone they wish was sitting across the table.

Funny, isn’t it?

That solitude can sometimes feel fuller than company. That a table for one, with a story in progress, can be richer than a table for two, where no one is truly present.

So, here’s to the quiet observers. The writers. The thinkers. The ones who dine only with their thoughts and find them good company. Cheers boet. :-)