‘By the Soda Machine’ Interpretation

I think the simplest interpretation is that the woman is an angel, and perhaps humorous, the photographer finds her attractive. There are female angels in religious art. Why does the woman have a look with a spiritual quality? And it raises the question, what is the mystery? Upon first listen, it may seem it’s just due to lack of direct evidence of the figure’s expression besides the photographer’s non focused recall. Given he wasn’t working, he wasn’t studying her look, but there was an impression. If the mystery is considered spiritually, perhaps it has a dual meaning, also referencing the Holy Spirit. But certainly it’s not the reason for the Spirit’s existence. Rather, the Spirit could help the individual better understand, upon reflection, the experience of witnessing the angel. Counseling may help. One may find it humorous when the narrator says that the photographer could compliment her by saying she has a spiritual quality to her look. Of course she does. It’s almost an understatement. In light of this, one may wonder where is the event she’s attending? It could be a religious setting. Could there be a soda machine there? Sure, though I assume angels can go wherever the Lord wants, including common space. As for the narrator’s suggestion that the man tell her truth says mystery exists, she likely knows that, so it might delight her.