## Stranger Voices Walking to Trader Joe's. A woman is yelling at someone. I'm walking uphill wearing a black hoodie. It's raining lightly. Not a lot, not enough to feel it, but just enough that I'll probably be wet when I get home. Calm night, no tourists. An uber eats pulls up in a dodge minivan just ahead of me. Four ways on. He crosses in front of me, eyes on his phone. He has a pizza, rings the doorbell. Smells like that weird ground ham stuff they put on meat lover's. Hope it's good but I somehow doubt it. I continue up the hill. The woman is yelling in Spanish. Her boyfriend? Yeah there he is. They're both in front of a doorway, lit by the porch. He's facing mostly away from her, downhill, pointing slightly towards the wall. He looks shameful, self-conscious, mostly hiding it though. At a glance nothing obvious. Drugs? Cheating? Maybe something less exciting. Late? Forgot something? As I pass between them and a tree she switches briefly to english. *Do that to me again and you'll be homeless, you bastard! You wanna be homeless?* Yeah he did something alright. Perhaps she figured, correctly, that I don't speak Spanish. Passing stranger like me gives a little guilt leverage, maybe enough to crack him open a little, let something in. I think he feels it. Hope he learned something I guess. Tiny episode. Right time and right place for a marginal role in stranger drama. Neutral deed of the day. Sounds like they went downhill, I continue uphill. The rain increases perceptibly. The air is pretty warm, so I feel it on my skin. Crisp droplets hitting my cheeks. Few enough that they are distinct, but too many to count, like freckles. It makes me think of the sparkling water I like back home. Nobody sells them here. LeCroix is alright, but it tries way too hard. *Beach plum? Cherry blossom?* Piss off. The blackberry one is fine I guess. Still, even the cans are way too jazzy. If I wanted something exciting I wouldn't be drinking a fucking sparkling water. Who is buying these? Do they know about diet soda? A lot of things are like that here.