Le Café Deux Magots

Created 1981

I soon became aware of the morning arrangement of the tables and chairs outside the cafés. The chairs were paired, side-by-side, facing the street. I had become used to seeing two chairs arranged face-to-face in the States, sitting across a table with a companion, facing each other in conversation. Here they are close for discrete comment, shoulder-to-shoulder, mouth-to-ear as each regards the people who pass by on the sidewalk. I prefer this arrangement because it is honest and practical. Face-to-face one must be mindful of glances over the other's shoulder, quickly, for fear of seeming disinterested in the conversation. But I like to watch.