A Man Pedaled by, Alone on a Bike Built For Two

After the cafe closed, I walked the sidewalk and sat for a spell at our outdoor tables. Birds chirped and I savored the crispness of the late fall approaching evening. I sat and scanned the common, and the v of the two streets across the way.

Then a man came out of Graves St., pedalling alone on a bicycle built for two. I’d never seen one of these driven by just one cyclist, it was unnerving seeing that empty seat there. Like the riderless horse, or some sort of circus joke. He pedalled along, then swooped around the common, and then back and into the Cumbie’s parking lot. Was he waiting for the other half to arrive? Or did he just need to go to the store and the only bike he could find was this giant long one with seats for two?