Imagine.

Imagine having a pleasant Sunday brunch with your best girl friend. Let's say her name is "C." We're having a beautiful meal on a cold December morning at Brasserie Montmarte. Across the street from the restaurant, there is a tall building, with shops on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors. My brunch date, looking out into the street, exclaims "Oh! There's a little face in that window!" Her voice is surprised, and she points upward. I turn to look and sure enough, several floors up in the building across the streets is a red curtained window, open at the bottom, with a face peering out into the street. We let out a nervous laughter and remark on the creepiness of the face and the staring. We discuss whether or not we would be creepy spies if our apartment were located in such a busy place. Discussion continues and we decide it would be far less creepy just not to have a curtain and stand at the window, staring, like you mean it. The face goes away, the curtain completely drawn.

Throughout the meal C continues to notice when the curtain opens up and the creepy little face appears again. Sometimes it is the entire face, and sometimes it is just half the face. We make fun, and I beg my companion to photograph the face, to which she gleefully complies. (It took many attempts to not get a blurry photo from all the immature laughter). Our imaginations run wild:  Perhaps they are waiting for someone? I suggest: Perhaps he is a sniper and is sitting in that dark apartment room with a sniper rifle! C seems distracted at this point of the story, and is rummaging in her purse....I continue and say "When we leave here, we are going to have to run. We will have to zig zag so he can't get us...." I notice she is distracted, so, with some urgency I say "C, did you hear what I just said?! Are you even listening to me? What is the game plan?" She stops rummaging long enough to look up and say, (to my total delight) in a serious nonchalant tone "Zig Zag."

We make friends with our too formal, frigid, and slightly nervous waitress, by asking her if she has noticed the face. Her professional waitress facade comes tumbling down and now she's just a girl, in her 20's with a clear and just-pleasant face. She is both intrigued and creeped out by the face story. We show her our photograph, and after she sees the photograph, the face appears again, so now she sees him first hand. She runs and tells her other waitress friends, and now all of these girls, dressed in black, walk up to the front of restaurant to peer out and up, looking for the face. When he appears (which is right away) they all step back. Caught. Staring. One waitress visibly jumps and grabs her chest, exclaiming "Oh!" C and I laugh at them. Silly girls. 

We end our meal, I pick up the check, and leave a good tip. C goes downstairs to use the restroom before we head out. When she comes back, we put our heavy winter coats on and sling our purses over our shoulders, ready to leave. We say goodbye to everyone, now that we are friends sharing a creepy secret. When we step out into the street., C & I break out into a run and zig zag up to the end of the block, hoping not to get sniped!