A Smile and a Wave: No Translation Required

Starbucks was crowded that day.  Evelyn and I were rewarding ourselves with lattes and hot chocolate and a few lunchtime treats after a busy morning of trains and school shopping.  We stood with our loaded tray looking awkwardly around for an empty space in the bustling cafe.  We had already made the mistake of moving toward a seemingly empty table, only to discover its future customers were holding the coveted spot with their smartphones.  (Isn't it cool that you can do that?) "Well, this is embarrassing," commented Evelyn.  

And then.  

A wave.  

From across the room.  

A mom with a young son was clearly smiling and beckoning us to their table, wasn't she?  We jostled our way through the maze of smartly-dressed 20-somethings on their lunch breaks.  "We'll be leaving soon," she explained.  Thinking it polite to wait, we stepped aside.  "No, please join us at our table."  So we did.  And that was that.  I have a new friend! She is eager to work on her English, and I am eager to work on just about everything. It's a win-win.  :-)

That was Tuesday.  By Friday we had our first play-date - a trip to a play park where the kids ran and played until their faces were pink.  As you can see, Evelyn had a ball!