by Courtland Low

Created on: February 23, 2009

"Jacob"

Jacob wanders the plaza at the intersection of Confederation and Central Parkway. He wears the same plaid trilby hat, the same dark brown leather jacket, the same khaki pants and the same warm, confident smile.

Jacob hobbles around the plaza. He doesn't use a cane like he should. Sometimes, he makes his way over to Christ the King Church across the street and watches the children from Bishop Scalabrini Elementary School play during their recess break. The younger children don't notice Jacob. The older children tell the teachers about him. The teachers send the children to play in the soccer field, out of his sight. The teachers look at him as they whisper to each other. Jacob smiles. The teachers turn and leave, herding their flock inside. Recess is over. He checks his watch, thinks, checks his watch again, thinks again, checks his watch a third time and decides it's time for lunch. He meanders back to the plaza at the intersection of Confederation and Central Parkway.

Jacob sits at the table farthest from the door at the Italian bakery. A waitress removes the reserved sign from the table and takes his order. He orders a sandwich: pastrami, salami and bologna with lettuce, tomatoes, feta cheese and olives. The waitress leaves, places the order and finds the sandwich already there, waiting to be served. She returns with a sandwich wrapped in wax paper with the name Jacob' written across it with a black felt-tip marker. She smiles. Jacob smiles back. She leaves, places an order for another customer and returns with a coffee. The cup has masking tape on it with the word Jacob' written across it. She apologizes. Jacob smiles back.

High school students from Father Michael Goetz Secondary School come in for their lunch break. Jacob smiles. They stare. He extends a hand and says, "Hi." They walk past him. The students order Jamaican beefy patty sandwiches, pay $2.50 each and leave. Jacob follows after them, asking them to wait. The students go back to school, a place where he is not allowed to go. He stops and watches the students as they disappear behind heavy red doors.

He returns to the bakery and sits back at his table. The waitress brings out a small bowl of tiramisu. The bowl has masking tape on it with the name Jacob' written across it. Jacob stands up, pays the bill and leaves. He wanders around the plaza once more before leaving.

Jacob will be back tomorrow.

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