A Chance Encounter: Chapter 4

He crossed the street, again in a hurry.
Fear turned to joy,
There she was, smiling at him.
Standing in that same doorway.

“You look very nice” she said.
He expected something like “you’re late”.
Another pleasant surprise
In a very surprising day.

“Where would you like to go?”
He wanted her to choose.
“Over there is fine” she said
Pointing at the coffee shop he was in 2 hours ago.

The owner smiled as Seth held the door for Annie.
Seth could imagine what he was thinking:
Much better choice this time,
Looks like a very nice girl.

Yes, a very nice woman
With pretty blonde hair
A quick smile
And mesmerizing blue eyes.

He brought their coffee and sat down across from her
She was looking intently at him
Not like Natalie: she only looked at him for a reaction
To whatever she was saying.

The next two hours passed quickly
Too quickly
They had a lot of catching up to do
In more ways than one.

She had been his roommate’s girlfriend
All those years ago in college.
David was more interested in succeeding
And Annie did not have a part in his plans.

She disappeared shortly after the breakup
And he wondered often how she was
David graduated, got a good job,
Married the boss’ daughter, and lost touch with the past.

Annie, it seems, had succeeded on her own.
College graduate, many interesting jobs, travel.
Wait! Did she just say she was married?
Oh, married and divorced. That was close.

“I need to get home, Seth, thanks for everything.”
Wait, she can’t go, I want to buy her dinner.
“Thanks, you’re sweet! I really must go now.”
He was persuaded by the urgency in her voice.

“Maybe I’ll see you next Sunday!”
She smiled sweetly as she walked off down the street.
He stood, motionless, watching her until she was out of sight.
I don’t even know where she lives, he thought.

A Chance Encounter: Chapter 3

He looked in the mirror and smirked;
Messed up hair, 2-day stubble,
And Annie smiled anyway.
He started to shave.

Stubble was fine when he saw Natalie;
No good impression necessary.
Her thoughts were hers,
He didn’t care.

Maybe he should start a group:
VON: Victims of Natalie
They could meet for coffee and
Talk about their collective horrors.

Or maybe, SON: Survivors of Natalie
Same thing: discuss horror stories
But with a twist:
They all survived it!

He smirked again.
If anybody had told him six months ago
That he would be able to say “Natalie” and laugh
In the same breath, he would have argued the point.

Maybe he should call Jeff,
They could be co-founders of the group,
Pick a coffee shop; plan the “meetings”,
Maybe they would need to rent a hall. Another smirk.

Back to the topic of the day: Annie.
Shave, then cologne—women love that.
Comb the hair with a brush, not Annie’s gentle fingers.
Gotta go, it’s almost noon.

Heading down the hall, hurrying towards Annie,
Mrs. Thompson stops him in his tracks.
“Seth, dear, can you feed my cats while I’m out of town?”
Affirmative nod, gotta go.

Not so quickly, dear boy.
“Come inside, I need to show you
Where the litter box is
And how to mix the cat food.” Mix? You’ve got to be kidding.

Finally, out on the street.
Five after twelve.
Hope she’s still waiting.
Don’t want to think about if she’s not.

A Chance Encounter: Chapter 2

See previous posting for beginning of story:

He saw her sitting at a table
As he walked into the coffee shop.
“Seth, what a surprise!”
She said as he walked toward her table.

No acting awards there,
He smiled to himself.
“I’m fine, Natalie, and you?”
If you only knew, Natalie, if you only knew.

“Get your coffee and come sit with me”
Some things never change:
Natalie tells you what to do,
And you do it.

He sat facing her
The aroma of his coffee
Brought back memories
Of days when he was glad to see her.

“I’ve just broken up with Jeff”
She offered pitifully.
“He wasn’t ready for a commitment.”
Smart man, he thought to himself.

“And you, Seth, are you seeing anyone?”
She always was as subtle as a freight train.
The question is obvious but,
What is the answer?

He thought about his answer: I’m not seeing anyone now,
But I just saw Annie
She’s going to have coffee with me
But that’s not a relationship.

I don’t know what will happen next
I do know that I don’t want it to involve Natalie
“Yes, in fact, there is somebody”
Where did this grin come from?

Maybe it was Natalie’s
Her smile was now gone.
“Oh, I’m so happy for you.”
Another acting award that won’t happen.

“It was nice seeing you, Natalie”
He got up from the table.
“Have a nice day” he said.
And stay out of my neighborhood, he thought.

A Chance Encounter

He crossed the street in a hurry.
Pulling his hood over his head,
He ducked in a little book store.
Did she see him?

It never occurred to him,
As he ventured out for a cup of coffee
On a Sunday morning,
That she might have the same idea.

True: this had been “their” coffee shop
When they were together.
But now, months after they parted,
Why was she there?

This is his neighborhood,
He has an apartment
Three blocks away
Not her!

She has walked more than 10 blocks
Past several other little places
To get to this, his place, his territory.
Why?

“May I help you?”
Interrupts his thoughts.
He turns to see a familiar face.
“Annie, is that you?”

She smiles at him and pulls his hood off his head,
Straightening his hair gently with her hand.
Seth! She hasn’t seen him since college,
Nearly 10 years before.

What should he do now?
Make something up, lie, or tell the truth?
“I saw someone I didn’t want to see
So I ducked in here.”

“Oh,” she replied, still smiling the same smile
She had when she recognized him.
“You’re safe in here” she said with a laugh.
He knew she was right.

“Um, uh, so, um, Annie” he fumbled
Looking for intelligent words to say.
“Do you work here all day?”
Oh, god, that was stupid!

“No, just till noon” he heard her say.
“Are you busy this afternoon?”
No plans, that’s good; now ask her
“Would you like to go for coffee?”

He smiled with joy when she said yes.
Amazing things happen
For ridiculous reasons
Or do they?

“I’ll see you at noon!”
He said as he left.
Must go find her and thank her,
For invading my neighborhood.

Another One For My Somebody...

Where did he go? My elusive Love?
He was sent to me by the stars above.
Did he leave? And set me free?
Or is he coming back to me?

I feel the sun, it warms my skin
And feeds my happy heart within.
The gentle breeze blows my hair
And breathes new life, everywhere.

Flowers blooming, their scent so sweet
Green blades of grass tickle my feet.
The babbling brook, such a gentle noise;
Horses running, with grace and poise.

Spring is coming, I feel it in the air,
And My Love is with me, everywhere.
He never left me, never went away
He gave to me this glorious day

To share with him, and feel his Love
Til sunset comes, and stars twinkle above.
So far, far away, he is from me
But here in my heart, he’ll always be.

Dear hearts and gentle people

Dear hearts and gentle people,
The ones who make me sing.
I wonder how you’re doing,
And do you need anything?

How has life been treating you?
Is everything okay?
Do you have enough to eat?
And did your pain go away?

Have your bowels been moving?
Are you getting enough sleep?
What did your doctor tell you
That made you sit here and weep?

Have your kids been over
To see what’s going on?
Did they write a letter?
Or call you on the phone?

Nobody’s been by to see you
To sit and share and smile?
Sure, I’ll sit here and talk to you
And visit for awhile.

Did your brother get his gall bladder out?
And did you go to your son’s graduation?
Did your sister find your glasses?
What was her explanation?

Can you give me the recipe
For that delicious cake you made?
I want to make it for my Bunco group
And serve it with lemonade.

I’d like to stay and keep you company
And visit a little while more
But I have another patient to see
And it’s a quarter past four.

Yes, I’ll be back next week
To see how you are doing,
So save up some more stories,
And have some coffee brewing!

Here’s To All the Men I’ve Known

Women are from Venus
Men are from Mars
Women like fresh flowers
And men like fast cars.

A woman will tell you what she holds dear
A man’s gonna tell you whatever you want to hear.
The woman is looking to clear up some issues
The man is just hoping that no one needs tissues.

Women want to get problems out in the open
Problems will go away, or so men are hopin’.
Expectations are great, for women, I fear
But what they are, to men, is not clear.

A woman and her man, it’s a beautiful sight
To a man, it’s imprisonment and a bit of a fright.
Yet, given the choice of alone or together
Most men will willingly chose the tether.

It’s not a coincidence, for women and men
To pair off, together, again and again.
For men and women are not the same
Complement each other; it’s the name of the game.

For My Somebody...

Where have I been?
What did I miss?
How did I get from there
To this?

Love’s sweet sorrow
Was mine every day.
When did you arrive
And send sorrow away?

You were my friend
We talked a lot
You seemed to know
What I thought.

I began to feel
Closer than a friend
And I was right
In the end.

You took my hand
And smiled at me,
Now, love is here
And always will be

Affirmations:

Today is all I have; I will make the most of it

I will make a memory today, one that makes me smile and feel good about myself

I will be thankful for those people that I call “friend”

I will give freely of my time and attention to someone who has neither

I will be there for someone who needs me

I will write down at least one good thing that happened to me today

I will clean something that is dirty, repair something that is broken, and polish something that should be shiny

I will pat my dogs and tell them that I appreciate their company. Oh, and I might feed them, too

I will tell someone how important they are to me, since I have neglected to do that.

I will do what I have to do, and do it to the best of my ability, and be happy with that

I will say “I’m sorry” if I need to, and “I forgive you”, too

I will give one of my smiles to someone who needs it

I will be patient with someone who is not being patient with me

I will look at the natural beauty that surrounds me every day, and I will protect it, too

I will make a phone call that I don’t want to make, and mend a fence that needs mending

I will be thankful for all that I have, and not worry about what I don’t have

I will give something of mine to someone who needs it more than I do

I will walk more, eat less, and drink lots of water, so, if tomorrow comes, I will be healthy

I will not be sad if the skies are cloudy, I will look for a rainbow

I will think positive thoughts, and nourish my happy heart

I will listen to music that makes me dance

I will go to bed tonight happy and thankful for the wonderful day I had.