Stephanie

I was standing at the counter, waiting for Mario the barista to refill my cafe latte and listening to him telling me how he communicated by telepathy with his sister in Mexico, when I noticed in the large mirror on the wall behind him a woman approach my table by the widow, say something to my companion, who pointed his hand toward me, but she didn't turn around, and by the time I got my latte and returned to the table she had disappeared.   She was medium height, wore a colorful sweater, and skirt, a shawl, might have been a gypsy.

-  What was that?  I asked my pal,  Collecting funds for starving orphans in Botswana?

-  No, she said, "Tell your friend that Stephanie says 'hello'" I asked, "Are you Stephanie?" and she said, "No, I just carry a message".   You know, she sat over there in the corner the whole time we've been here, looking at you, and apparently waiting for you to step away.  Who's Stephanie?

- Which way did she go? I asked.

- Southward  Downtown!

- I ran out of the cafe and proceeded in the south direction toward the center.  No signs of the woman. I looked inside the stores and restaurants.  I reached the subway station and asked the regular panhandler I knew sitting in front of the entrance there if he had seen her, describing her the best I could.

"Went down in the station a minute ago," he said. "Looked like an Indian gypsy".

I ran down the escalator to the ticket level. Still no sign of the woman.   Looking over the railing and into the platform. Not there.  I returned to the cafe. My cafe latte was cold.

-  Who's Stephanie? asked my friend.

- I've only known one Stephanie, 20 years ago, when I worked in the City. She was in the marketing department.  I don't remember how we got to work together and on what projects, but we did, and we went out several times, but then it all ended,  I left the company which went out of business a short time later, and we lost contact.    I don't know why she would try to contact me now, and here, I thought she had settled in Silicon Valley.  It must have been a case of mistaken identity.

-  Wait to see what happens, said my buddy, whom I've also known to be a practical joker.