"Open your mind a little."

☆

The big window. That was where it all began. 'The window to the souls of many' he had once said. For the longest time, Ben had never understood what he actually meant by that. But it must have had significance to him, as at this time, every day he would come in. Order his crusty white baguette, with either a chicken or tuna filling, with an ice cold milk on the side. And there he would take his place on the metal stool, two in from the left and he would just gaze out of that window, watching the world go by.  

His elbows would be resting on the long table ledge, a hand wrapped around the tall glass, as his lips surrounded the straw. 

Tully Johnson. The mysterious man. They had called him…

***

"What is he actually looking at?" Ben wonders, as he gazes at the back of the man's chestnut brown hair. He side glances his work colleague, refilling the salad bar. 

"I don't know?" Malroy replies, glancing up. "If you're that bothered, go and ask him."

Ben looks at Malroy in surprise, sputtering out a laugh. "I am not doing that...besides, he looks like he doesn't want to be disturbed, like he's spiritual or something." Ben adds. 

"A weirdo you mean." Malroy says, raising an eyebrow. 

Ben rolls his eyes at the comment. "Just because someone isn't exactly like you doesn't make them a weirdo. Open your mind a little." 

"Hey, I was just messing, geez!" Malroy raises his hands in defence.  Ben just looks at Malroy before returning his gaze back to the man, whose eyes are still fixed on the window. "Anyway, are you gonna stare at him all day or are you actually gonna do some work?" Malroy adds as he finishes his salad replenishment.

Ben finally pulls his eyes away and heads for the cleaning station to grab the table spray and a cloth. As he begins to wipe down the used tables, he finds himself continuing to glance up at the man. It seemed to be a pull of intrigue, a curiosity which wouldn't leave his mind. Ben felt like he wanted to get closer, like the man was a magnet of sorts. He then sees an opportunity. The man has finished with his meal…

Ben edges closer.  Glancing at the man's profile, as he wipes down the table one along. He notices a long slim nose, slightly arched, a messy fringe covering the profile of his eyes. Lips slightly parted, full and pinkish brown. Ben even found himself looking at the ear poking through the mess of hair with a tiny silver stud in it. 

Ben had never been this close up to him before without the perspex barrier in between. He already knew what the man would most probably order. That he possessed the most captivating brown eyes with a slight green fleck but now it felt more personal. The shield was removed and for some reason, Ben seemed to lose all thought as to why he was standing there.

A noise, a clattering of plates somewhere else in the place instantly brings Ben around. But the man seems oblivious to the commotion, eyes still trained on the window to the world. "Excuse me, can I take these?" Ben steps a little closer, gesturing towards the used plate and empty glass.

It's only now that the man seems aware of Ben's presence. "Oh, yeah I'm done, thanks." He says with a smile as he leans back a fraction in order for Ben to reach for the used crockery. 

Ben leans forwards, collecting the items onto the tray. He sees the hands of the man rest on the table, adorned with rings, all silver, sitting perfectly on slender fingers. The unbuttoned cuffs of an oversized shirt sat loosely around his wrists. Ben finds his eyes following the trail up the buttoned centre of the shirt. With maybe one too many buttons undone near the top. Collarbones exposed, sun-kissed skin, with a silver pendant sitting on a black leather lace. The man by the window was not only a mystery to Ben, but it would seem an exotic mystery, as Ben finds his mind wanting to wonder what the man would look like with just one more button popped open. 

"Ben. You're needed!" The call from Malroy comes from behind the counter, again making Ben pick up his pace and snap out of his own fantasies about a customer he barely knew. 

He makes his way back with the tray, slotting it into the rack with the other dirty trays. "You finished staring?" Malroy says with a slight curl to his lip. 

"Staring at what?" Ben says as he heads around to the serving station. 

"You know what!" Malroy says looking over at the man by the window, who was now getting up to leave. Ben looks over the counter to see the man head for the glass double doors, pulling one open and heading out into the street that he was once captivated by. Ben had been staring, he knew he had and also knew that anything he would imagine about the man by the window, would only ever be a fantasy.