The Couple

Leaves cluttered the downtown sidewalk on a cold autumn morning. The streets were busy with people on their way to work or visiting the many shops and restaurants in the area. Two particular people walked arm in arm. As they made their way down the sidewalk they talked and pointed to things that would catch their eye in the store windows. She held tightly to his arm as the breeze would blow sending a chill through her body. Each time he would pull her closer to him and smile.
The couple kept walking until they reached a small coffee shop at an intersection. They made their way in and sat down. He watched as she took off her coat and placed it on the back of her chair the whole time continuing her conversation. He smiled as he focused on her. He removed his own coat and placed it on the back of his chair while listening to her. The waitress came over and wished them good morning, placing menus in front of them. She stood with pencil in hand ready for their order. “I’ll have coffee thank you.” Said the young woman. “Hot chocolate.” He said and turned his attention back to her. She had stopped her story and was mumbling about what she should have for breakfast. He smiled and opened his menu.
A few moments later the waitress brought their drinks and set them down. “I’ll give you a couple of minutes to decide.” She turned and walked away. He mulled over what he wanted. She, now, was watching him. Watching each movement he made making his decision. Closing his menu he looked up and caught her gaze. He smiled. She placed her menu on the table and returned the smile. “Did love me when you were with her?” She asked. He sat momentarily then leaned forward and placed his hands on hers. He gazed deep into her eyes. “I fell in love with you the first time we spoke. The more I talked with you the more I fell in love. Yes, I loved you when I was with her, but she and I had a history together. I struggled with it for some time, but I knew that you had to be the one.” He said. She smiled and never once took her eyes away from his. “What happens if you feel this way about someone else?” She asked. Squeezing her hand firmly he said “The way I feel about you now is the way I will always feel about you. I would never have these feelings for anyone else.” She looked at him and then pulled his hand to her mouth and kissed him. “I won’t ever let you feel that way about anyone else.”
“You won’t have to worry about that.” He replied. She smiled and he smiled back at her gently squeezing her hands to let her know that he meant every word.
“So how did you know that I was the one?” She asked. He leaned back and thought for a moment about the many times he spoke with her in her office. How, the more he spoke with her the more he fell in love. “Well” he said “I knew the other girl in the office with you and as you know I would come in and talk with her. Of course that’s how we began speaking. She introduced us and I knew there was something about you. I couldn’t get you off my mind. So I had to keep coming around as often as I could. I was sad when she left but I knew you were there and I had to keep coming around. I had fun talking with you. So when she and I started having troubles you were so great to give me advice… I hated telling you about my situation then. I just keep coming to see you hoping that one day you would figure it out and finally say something. That went on for a while. It drove me crazy coming to see you and not being able to tell you how I felt.”
She just watched him as she he told her. She could not believe it. The same time he was falling for her she was falling for him. She didn’t want to say it, but she hated hearing the stories about his ex. She felt badly for him and wanted to do so much more for him than just give advice. She wanted to get up from her desk and hold him and let him know how she felt. Comfort him through the rough times that he was going through. “You know” she said “I wanted to tell you that I was falling in love with you, but you had so many things that were going on in you life that I didn’t want to complicate things.” He sat puzzled for a moment. Then he said “You wouldn’t have complicated anything for me. I would have been so relieved to hear that. That would have been so wonderful. It wouldn’t have been so bad ending it with her.”
She looked at him as she began to get tears in her eyes. He leaned forward and wiped them away. She laid her head into his hand and rested her cheek in his palm. He smiled and said “So you don’t ever have to worry about me falling for anyone else but you. And I know I don’t have to worry about losing you to anyone. This has been a long time coming and we have found what we both have been looking for… each other.”