1.

He got out of his car and put on his coat.  It was cold outside; it was perfect.  As he walked towards the bookstore, he was thinking of school and all that he had to do.  He ran his fingers through his hair a little worried, but as he looked up those thoughts ran away.

She was sitting at a table reading a collection of Emily Dickinson and fingering the lip of her half empty coffee mug.  One hand held her head as she leaned over the table shrouding herself from the clanging of dishes and her monotonous reality.

He knew her.  He had known her for quite awhile.  This was it.  This was fate.  The universe had made this engagement.  There was a civil war in his head; did he have the courage?  He grabbed the door and felt the warm espresso-dank air across his face.  This was it.

“Heart we will forget him,

You and I, tonight!

You may forget the warmth he gave,

I will forget the light.”

Emily’s words were therapeutic. Her words healed.  The last line came to soon and the woman paused to take a breath.  She lifted the cold mug to her lips as her hopes for love began to fade–

“Excuse me…”, said the man. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

The woman looked around hoping to find another table she could escort him to that was away from her.

“I’m sorry, all the other tables are full and I just need a place where I could study,” the man continued.

She looked at him and he smiled.  Comfort.  He slid the chair back and sat down.

“My name is Thomas.”

“I’m Addy.”

“Well Addy, it is a pleasure to meet you, and thank you for letting me sit with you.”

She didn’t know him.  She had never known him, but as he opened his books and began to read she looked around in disbelief and smiled to herself because she knew that this was what she had been waiting for.