Lunch Date

Parking was a bitch at noon lunch. I wasn’t able to get close to the restaurant, I was down the street and around the corner. The overcast morning had progressed into a steady rainfall. In an early morning moment of optimism I had worn flip flops, believing that the clouds would be long gone by now. Resigned to being wet, I grabbed my purse and dug the umbrella out of the pocket in the door of the vehicle. I unfastened the Velcro and cracked the door just enough to stick it out the top. The umbrella popped open, and I quickly exited the vehicle stepping right into a puddle.
I hustled around the corner with wet feet sliding around in my flip flops. Glancing ahead toward the restaurant, I saw him. He approached from the other direction, his movements mirroring mine right down to the side of his body holding his umbrella. The annoyance that was catching a ride on my back disappeared. In it’s place was an effervescent buoyance. The unfamiliar feeling of warmth made its way through my chest. I was happy. He hadn’t seen me. He was closer to the door than I was and his attention was on the door. He stood under the awning and closed his umbrella to lay it with the others perched against the wall. I watched him open the door and step inside to wait for me.