Missed connection

4/22/26 Missed Connection: wfm : To the man who looked exactly like Ari Melber at Oddfellows Café yesterday morning—I was the woman sitting a few tables down, writing in a notebook.
You were dressed sharply but casually, completely absorbed in a thick stack of printed documents and legal briefs. I wouldn’t have thought twice, but you had that distinct, focused energy you see on The Beat. For about an hour, we just shared the same quiet space while the morning rain came down outside on 10th Avenue.
At one point, the café’s background music changed to an instrumental 90s hip-hop track. You paused, looked up from your paperwork, and looked right at me. We caught eyes for a long, quiet moment, and you gave a small, genuine smile before looking back down at your papers.
I wanted to walk over and say hello when you started packing up your briefcase, but I didn’t want to interrupt your workday or cause a scene. After you left, I walked down past Elliot Bay Book Company and through Cal Anderson Park, completely kicking myself for staying quiet.
If you actually happen to see this, or if you’re just traveling through Seattle and check these boards: I’d love to get a drink at the Smith Tower observatory or just a quiet coffee where we can actually talk. Tell me what color notebook I was writing in so I know it’s you.