Loose Change: A Short Story

“The universe is always speaking to us… sending us little messages, causing coincidences and serendipities, reminding us to stop, to look around, to believe in something else, something more.” – Nancy Thayer.

Megan (I)

Eighteen-year-old Megan has a coin jar in her room that’s full of loose change. On top of all the change is a two-dollar coin that has a unique design on its tails side. Seagulls fly around a sun, which sits at the coin’s centre. At the bottom, in plain, bold lettering, are the words Two Dollars.

It’s warm and sunny outside. Megan’s supposed to be practicing for her music exam, but she can’t bring herself to do so. All she wants to do is go out and enjoy the nice weather. But she can’t think of what she could do. Go for a walk, maybe? Lay on the grass in the backyard and soak up the sun?

She realises that she hasn’t been to the Salamanca Market in ages, so she decides to go and browse the stalls.

She reaches into the coin jar and takes out a handful of coins, including the Two-Dollar Coin. She pockets the coins and leaves the house.

She catches a bus into town, walks down Davey Street, and then turns the corner into the Salamanca Market. It’s bustling with people. Vendors are selling people a vast array of things: food, clothes, hand-crafted items, second-hand books. Megan walks through the crowd. She smiles, loving it all: the buzz of activity; the colours; the atmosphere.

She approaches a busker who’s playing a guitar, and stops to listen to him for a moment. He’s good – really good. He looks around her age, and has a mop of black hair with a thick, brittle beard that has a ginger tint to it. He’s obviously got Irish blood in him. His guitar case is open in front of him for people to toss money into. It has a fair amount of coins in it already.

Megan reaches into her pocket and pulls out the Two-Dollar Coin. She tosses it into the busker’s guitar case, which

“Thanks very much!” the busker beams.

Megan smiles back before moving on.

James

The busker, James, finishes playing his guitar twenty minutes later.

His uncle taught him to play the guitar when he was a kid, and he’s kept at it ever since. He’s never earned a fortune busking, but every dollar that people give him goes towards groceries or other things that the family needed. His family is only living off one income at the moment because his dad is dying of lung cancer and is permanently confined to the house, so every dollar helps.

He gathers all the coins in his guitar case and starts putting them in a small plastic bag. He’s about to place the Two-Dollar Coin into the bag when he notices its unique design, which he hasn’t seen before. Intrigued by it, he examines it for a moment.

He eventually pockets the coin before placing his guitar in its case, which he clips it shut. He picks it up and starts walking through the market. He hasn’t had anything to eat since breakfast, so he decides to buy some lunch.

He approaches a stall selling German sausages. They’re being cooked with sliced onions on a barbecue behind the stall counter. James is about to step forward to buy himself one when a man with shoulder-length blonde hair approaches him.

“Excuse me, mate,” he says. “Can I ask a huge favour?”

“Sure,” James replies.

“I’m going to propose to my partner tonight.”

“Congratulations!” James says with a smile. That explains why he’s so nervous, he thinks.

“Thanks,” the man says, smiling back. But the smile quickly disappears. “But the thing is, I’ve got a problem. I’ve got the ring and I’ve organised a romantic dinner, but I also want to buy a rose I’ve just seen at a flower stall and I’m a couple of bucks short. Any chance you’ve got some spare change?”

“Yeah, turns out I’ve got two dollars exactly.” James fishes the Two-Dollar Coin out of his pocket and holds it out to the man, who accepts it gratefully.

“Thanks, mate,” he says, smiling again. “I owe you one.”

“Don’t mention it,” replies James. “I hope she says yes.”

“Thanks,” says the man, who then turns and walks away.

James then steps up to the sausage stall to buy his lunch.

Dylan

The man, Dylan, walks through the market and approaches the flower stall he mentioned to James.

He’s been wanting to propose to his partner for a long time, but it never seemed to be the right time. But it feels different now. Society is more accepting of same-sex couples these days.

He’d met his partner, Russell, in college. They’d been in the same homegroup in Year 11, and they quickly became close friends. They developed romantic feelings for each other, and eventually started dating in Year 12. They’ve been together ever since.

There are a lot of roses to choose from at the stall, all of them of various colours. But Dylan goes straight to the one he saw earlier: a beautiful red one. He grabs it and approaches the florist, a young woman with long hair dyed blue.

“Just this, please,” he says, handing it to her.

“Sure thing,” the florist replies. “Eight dollars, please.”

James hands her a five-dollar note, a one-dollar coin, and the Two-Dollar Coin.

As the florist sets about wrapping plastic and paper around the stem, she asks, “Do you want a ribbon with it?”

“Yes, please,” Dylan replies.

“What colour would you like?”

“Uh, red, please.”

The florist finishes wrapping the paper around the stem and then ties a red ribbon around it.

“So, I’m guessing that you’re having a romantic dinner tonight?” she asks, smiling cheekily.

“Yep, I am,” Dylan replies, smiling modestly. “I’m going to propose to my partner.”

“Well, good for you,” the florist says. She finishes tying the ribbon and adds: “Good luck!”

She hands him the rose, and he takes it. “Thank you.”

Walking away, Dylan can’t help but smile. Excitement and anticipation builds up inside him.

Amber

The florist, Amber, starts putting the money Dylan gave her into her cash box.

She’s never really enjoyed being a florist. She’s been working part-time since last year, when she started her training to become a tattooist at TAFE. She’s wanted to be a tattooist ever since she saw her aunt use a tattoo gun on a friend. She’s been fascinated by the process ever since, and she’s even designed a number of tattoos herself.

She’s about to put the Two-Dollar Coin into the box when she notices its unique design. She examines it more closely. She once saw another two-dollar coin with a unique design. It was a 2012 Commemorative Coloured Poppy coin. It had a red poppy at the centre with Remembrance – Two Dollars wrapped around it.

Just as she’s about to put the Two-Dollar Coin into her coin box, an unshaven man dressed in dirty clothes suddenly runs up to the stall. He quickly comes round to Amber and pushes her to the ground. She falls with a gasp, dropping the Two-Dollar Coin, which rolls away.

The unshaven man hurriedly grabs a handful of cash from Amber’s open cash box and then starts running away.

“Somebody stop him!” Amber calls out.

A plain-clothes police officer talking to someone nearby hears her, and sees the unshaven man getting away. He chases him, quickly catching up with him and tackling him to the ground.

Megan (II)

Megan, still strolling through the market, looks over and sees a man in dirty clothes being handcuffed by a plain-clothes police officer a few yards away, near a flower stall. Someone is comforting the florist, who’s visibly shaken.

Then, something on the ground catches Megan’s attention.

It’s the Two-Dollar Coin! It’s laying on its tail side, so she doesn’t notice its design.

She picks it up and pockets it without really looking at it, totally unaware that it was originally hers.

After looking one last time over at the man being arrested, she continues to walk through the bustling market.

*   *   *   *

When Megan gets home later that afternoon, she walks into her room and pulls out all the coins left in her pocket, including the Two-Dollar Coin, and drops them back into the coin jar.