Lost Love

Walking through the coffee shop door once again, the bell tinged, echoing in the almost empty store. There was one barista and two other customers, already sitting at their own tables. Slowly approaching the counter, she made eye contact with the barista, a young man with blond hair and blue eyes, who quietly greeted her. The lady placed her order and took a seat at one of the many empty tables to wait and pulled out her phone.

The bell tinged again as another person entered the shop. He seemed vaguely familiar to the woman but she couldn’t quite place him. He casually strolled up to the counter and as he spoke his name a memory resurfaced. Nick. Nick was a brunette man who was her old high school boyfriend. Things didn’t work out so they had to break it off. He hadn’t changed much but seemed more confident and his dark eyes seemed to linger on her as he entered. He took a seat not far from her but didn’t talk. 

The silence quickly grew heavy and outside the soft patter of rain began. The sound of the barista working took up the entire room and everyone stared straight ahead, waiting. She shifted in her seat, feeling the awkwardness hanging in the room. Nick quickly glanced in her direction and she caught his gaze. He quickly turned away as he tried to hide a small smile. She blushed and also looked away, too afraid to talk to him.

Nick slid his chair closer and tried to start up a conversation. “Hey Sam, it’s been a while.” He leaned forward and put his face in his palm. His eyes held a light that she desperately missed.

“Hey, yeah it has been a while. What have you been up to recently?” Sam turned around and put her phone away. Making brief eye contact and running her hand through her long, dark hair she smiled tentatively.

“Working mostly,” Nick said politely. “How about you? How have you been lately?”

Sam responded by saying, “I’ve been doing pretty good. Work takes up a lot of my time as well.” Painful memories began to resurface reminding Sam of everything that they had done together. Regret blinked across her face as she still loved Nick after all of these years apart.

Right before Nick was about to speak again the barista announced Sam’s name and she went to grab her drink. “Well it was nice to see you again, Nick. Maybe we can meet up again.” The bell tinged once more, announcing her exit and she tried not to look back.

Unbeknownst to her Nick looked at her wistfully, also wishing that they could get back together. He sighed and waited for his drink, regret washing over him as well. Finally, the barista also called his name and he went and got his coffee. Nick slowly sat back down and began to think about how his heart still longed to be with her.

Sam turned the corner reminiscing about the good times that they had. More people began to flood the streets around her, filling them up. The sound of talking began to crowd up the city under the soft touch of the rain.

Nick drank his bitter coffee in solitude, regretting letting Sam just walk away without trying to fix things between them. He made a final decision and quickly stood up, slamming his hands down on the table, his chair falling behind him. He rushed over to the door and tossed out his drink in the nearby trash can. Yanking open the door and running out, his footsteps and the tingle of a bell could be heard behind him.

Sam continued to walk aimlessly around the city, dodging people left and right. She stopped briefly at a crosswalk and looked back seeing only the throng of people. A small tear escaped her hazel eyes, falling with the rain. She wiped her face with her sleeve and continued forward. 

Nick rushed around the corner desperately looking for Sam only to see the mass of people. Cars honked in the streets and people shouted as he pushed past them. He stumbled slightly and lost his balance on the wet ground. Pushing himself up, he continued searching.

Sam continued forwards until eventually she reached the center of the city. A huge fountain towered above her, water glistening in the fading afternoon light. She had always loved the beautiful architecture of the fountain and took a seat on a nearby bench to admire it further and watch as the rain started to get heavier and cascade over it’s stone frame.

Pushing his wet hair out of his face, he continued forward hoping to see her face. Clouds began to block out the sun’s light, but relentless he moved forward. The crowds began to thin as the rainfall persisted and talking began to subside. Nick passed street after street until finally reaching an enormous fountain.

Sam looked up from her sorrow to see a man, Nick, drenched and frantic. They made eye contact once again and ran toward each other, embracing once they reached one another. Together they stood there for a moment. Pulling apart briefly to look into each other’s eyes. Sam quietly whispered, “Should we give this one more try, you and I?”

Nick doesn’t respond. He only pulls her back into his embrace and kisses her. The rain began to subside and the gloomy clouds pulled back once again revealing the fading sun. They each enjoyed the presence of the other, regrets over past mistakes over the years fading away.

Together they sat down on a bench, gazing at the fountain in its splendor. Putting his arm around her shoulder, Nick tore his gaze away from the fountain and looked once more into Sam’s eyes. Kissing once more as the sun behind them began to set. Their years apart seemed to vanish in their mere moments together. Their love giving them both a second chance.