He had a bulge growing out of the side of his head. his face was distored and his left hand was all bandaged up. His rough brown skin was broken up with patches of scars, bubbles and patches of scabs.

"Hello. Are you a doctor?" he asked me.

"No, maybe a lawyer," I said.

"I thought those were medical books. They are thick."

"Yeah, they are. They are LSAT books. I'm taking the test tomorrow," I said.

He takes a sip of his Starbucks. His bandaged hand carefully cups the brown stripped wrapped around the fat hippie known as the Starbucks trademark lady.

I go back to my thick, but surprisingly light LSAT study book and try to figure out if Andy has to sit across from Beth when Dave is sitting in a position adjacent to George and his gay friend Harry. I take a sip of my ice coffee.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" he asks, scratching his head, to the left of his bulge.

No studying is getting done today. I didn't want to be a lawyer anyway.

"I love this weather," I say.

"This is what it is like in Jordan."

We watch the sea of people moving up and down the street, with wives, husbands, kids, teens making idle chatter and people with dogs licking melted ice cream off the street.

"Does it get cold?" I ask.

"In Jordan, we have everything. The mountains have snow. The beach is warm. We have deserts. It's nice. We have seasons too."

"How long have you been here?"

"A few months. I'm here for surgery." He holds out his bandages hand and points to the bulge on his hand and make a masking motion over his face. "The doctors say they can fix this. I was in an accident, but I am lucky to be alive."


To be continued