Um, Like, Yeah?

(A/N: So in my class we had to go walk around campus and write down snippets of overheard conversations (i know, potential invasion of privacy but it was interesting) and the conversation I overheard made NO SENSE without context. And the task was to continue that dialogue and write it into a story. So the first section from 'Dan was like, yeah?' down to 'yeah, she sighed' is from a real conversation! I didn't name the women as to make it feel more like the reader is overhearing it too, but if that seems confusing, let me know as i was thinking of giving them names instead) 

'Um, Like, Yeah?'

‘So, what happened next then?’ the other woman asked.

The two of them sat opposite each other. Sonny, the other woman’s son, was sitting on the third chair, between them, on the right. His mam’s handbag was on the floor, at his feet, and he kicked at it mindlessly. He didn’t look up from his phone once, not even when the waitress put his huge hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream, marshmallows and dustings of dark chocolate in front of him. He didn’t say thank you, just let out a sort of pig-like grunt and kept playing his game.

‘So,’ she said. ‘Dan was like, yeah?’ she paused, looking for reassurance. The other woman smiled politely, and she noticed the red lipstick that had rubbed off on her front teeth. ‘And I was like, yeah, there he is! And now I don't like, know what to do!’ She shook her head a little, then rubbed at her eyes with her slightly clammy hands. ‘But then, he was like, yeah I know.'

The other woman’s eyes widened. ‘I don't want to assume.'

'Yeah, I know.' They both stared into their coffees, the steam rising in little, twisting waves.

'Yeah.' she said.

'Okay,' the other woman said.

'Yeah,' she sighed.

'Yeah.’

‘So, I was like, just standing there, and then he just, like, came out of nowhere, and I was like, wait, what? And then he was like, 'Oh, hey’ to Dan. And I'm just, like, standing there, thinking, what now?’

‘I mean, wait, you actually talked to him?’

She nodded. The coffee machines whirred in the background. Someone ordered a tea. ‘Dan was like, ‘hey’ back, and well, he must know, now.’

The other woman was silent for a moment, leaning over and wiping chocolate from Sonny’s mouth. ‘So, he knows. Wow.’

‘But, like, what should I do?’

The other woman pondered this for a second. ‘Does Hannah know?’

‘Know what?’

‘That Dan knows.’

‘I don’t know.’

The other woman gave a cursory half-smile to the waitress who collected Sonny’s empty cup from the table.

The pretty young waitress asked, ‘Can I get you guys anything else today?’

The other woman and the woman said ‘No,’ at the same time.

‘So, you’re saying that you know about Hannah, but that Dan also knows, but Hannah doesn’t know that Dan knows. But Dan now knows that you know, and you know that he knows.’ The other woman took a sip of her latte. ‘Ugh, cows milk. I like, asked for oat.’

‘Mine tastes like oat, they must have, uh, like, mixed up our orders,’ she slides her cup across the table to the other woman. ‘You’re saying, um, does he know that Dan knows?’

‘Who?’

‘Him!’ she mouthed.

‘Yeah, you said they spoke, but like, that’s why I said I don’t want to assume. It might not be him.’

‘Who else would it be?’

‘Well, I heard it from Kathy in the first place.’

She scoffed. ‘Kathy isn’t-’

‘-not Kathy. Kathy’s husband.’

‘He said that to you?’

The other woman shook her head. ‘Kathy said that her husband said that he had seen that she, um, Hannah, was-’ She nodded her head at Sonny, who was engrossed in his game. The bright lights from the phone illuminated his chubby, red face. ‘-you know. Busy.’

‘I wouldn’t trust that from Kathy. Not from Kathy, no. Uh, have I been looking at this entire situation through Kathy’s lens?’ she sipped at her coffee. Noises from Sonny’s phone indicated that he had won whatever he was playing. He kept jabbing at the screen. ‘Did you have a good day at school today, Sonny?’ she asked.

Sonny looked at the other woman. ‘Mam?’ he said.

‘Go on, you tell her.’

‘Ugh. We like, did PE. And I like, don’t like, like, sports and stuff.’

She nodded. ‘Right.’

The other woman leant in, and in a hushed voice said, ‘So, what did he look like?’

‘Tall. Dark hair. I don’t know. Um. Manly?’

‘Mhm.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Should I tell Hannah?’

‘I don’t want to like, assume.’ the other woman smiled. ‘She might know.’

‘She might. Yeah.’

‘Mhm.’

‘But, then, like, does it matter if she does know, if she knows that Dan knows and that I know, and now you know, and she hasn’t, like, said anything about it?’ she asked.

The other woman said ‘I don’t know. Maybe she just doesn’t know.’

Sonny, without looking up from his phone, said. ‘Are you talking about Milo’s mum?’

The other woman laughed. ‘Don’t worry, it’s not for your ears.’

‘No, literally everyone knows Milo’s mum is banging the man from the Italian restaurant. His name’s Mario.’ His brow furrowed as he looked intensely at his screen. ‘Can I get some money? There’s a quest in this game and I literally don’t have enough diamonds.’

‘Only if you tell me what you know about this… Mario!’

He shrugged. ‘Ask Tom.’ he said, looking over at the woman. ‘He’s the one who told me about it at school. He said he can see right into their bedroom from his window.’ He licked at his thin lips, and then chewed at them, and then laughed. ‘Tom said, they literally, like, never shut their curtains, not even at night. He said that he’d charge anyone 50p to watch.’

Her face reddened. ‘My Tom said that?’

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Um, Mam? Money?’

Without a word, the other woman pulled her purse from her handbag, pulled out a shiny credit card, and handed it to her son, whose little fat face lit up with delight.