Un encuentro en Madrid

"Hello. Are you Elena?" he asks. His face is a little red. He is embarrassed. "Yes, I am Elena. Are you Pablo?" she responds. "Yes, it's me. Nice to meet you. Sorry about the chair." He seems embarrassed. "Nice to meet you too. The chair is fine. Sit down, please."

Pablo sits down carefully. He puts his bag on the floor. He is thirty years old. He works in a bookstore. Sometimes he reads while he walks. That's why he bumps into things. Many tourists come to his store. He gives them bad directions because he is terrible with maps.

"How are you?" Elena asks. "I'm fine, thanks. And you?" Pablo adjusts his glasses. "I'm fine too. But I'm a little nervous." Elena is honest. Pablo laughs. "Me too! I've already attacked a chair!"

The waiter comes to the table. He seems tired, or bored, maybe both. "Good afternoon. What would you like?" he asks. Elena looks at the menu again. "I would like a coffee with milk, please." The waiter writes very slowly. "And you?" the waiter asks Pablo.

"I would like a black coffee, please." Pablo speaks clearly. "Would you like to eat something?" the waiter asks. Elena is hungry. "Yes. I would like some toast, please." She points at the menu. "I would like a sandwich, please. A ham sandwich," Pablo says.

The waiter writes everything. He writes very slowly. "So, a coffee with milk, a black coffee, some toast and a ham sandwich. Is that correct?" Pablo and Elena say yes. "Perfect. It arrives in... a moment." The waiter leaves slowly.