Say Again

There was this guy I crossed paths with on the way to the library. I'd realized I had to return a DVD, and so I dressed in some unclean clothes to hurry over there and hurry home. I barely put in contacts instead of wearing my woefully outdated glasses or going without entirely. I was halfway there when I saw this guy. Just ahead of me was this woman and her overactive son. He seemed to look at her, then I thought he addressed a statement to me.

I thought he asked me the time, and so I reached to my pocket for my phone. Before I could get it out, he said something more that made me wonder if he was speaking to me at all, let alone asking the time. It sounded first like he said "Do you have the time?" Then he said something that seemed to include the word "Tampa". Admittedly, I don't have every single word he uttered straight, so maybe it's a fools errand trying.

Still, my mind worked at filling in the rest. Did he say "Do you have the time in Tampa?" I don't know why he'd need it, but there could be reasons. I could have worked it out for him, but then he could have worked it out for himself given the time here. I could have supplied that, but I just wasn't sure of what he said anymore. He even might have said said "Do you have the time, something nickel Tampa". I'm sure I heard a word that sounded like "nickel".

That doesn't make any sense of course, but then why should I assume that some seedy character on the street would say something that makes sense. People say nonsensical, incomprehensible things all the time, so why should I assume that he said something reasonable and I'm the one who didn't get it? Anyway, I did not reply or look him in the eye, and he let it go at that, so it was clearly a matter of no importance in any case.