Coffee Cupid

Their first dating spot was at a cafe, at an intimate two seat table near the window.

Unfortunately, it was raining that day, and she did not bring an umbrella.

What was also unfortunate was that she was late.

Cursing the weather, she ran past the puddles on the streets in her white wedges. Her brand new summer dress was already soaked. The makeup which took one hour to apply has been smeared by sweat and water- the foundation was cakey, the sharp eyeliner has faded…well, at least her cheeks are still pink. Her hair has long become free of the restraints of the elastic band, pins and hairspray, and is now flying along as she runs…until….

“Splash”

An wobbly step in those dreadful shoes leads to, of course--tripping--allowing the murky water and mud to dye her dress. Her hands, which attempted to search for something to hold on to, scrapped brutally against the sidewalk. She lifted her palm in response to the tingling pain that she felt- no doubt, she saw streaks of red mixed with the dirt and gravel on the skin.

She groaned.

This is the worst. The last thing she needs right now is an infection.

But what can she do but grit her teeth, get up, and continue?

Ignoring the giggles and snickers of bystanders, she quickly collected her bag, making sure that everything was still there. Just as she was about to push herself up, the area around her suddenly became covered in a circle of dark shade, a pair of black leather shoes came into her sight. Just as she was about to lift her head to see the unexpected stranger, the man seemed to understand her intention, and smoothly bent over to meet her gaze. She saw the grey pants, white collared shirt, one large hand holding the handle of an umbrella, and finally, his pitch black pupils.

The sound of raindrops dimmed.

“Do you need help?” The man asked quietly, holding out his other hand, exposing a handkerchief.

His action took her by surprise. There is hardly anyone left nowadays who would offer help to a stranger-- yet she happened to meet one of them just now.

“Miss?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m listening.” She quickly gathered her thoughts, once again becoming conscious of the surrounding rain. Embarrassed, and not wanting to stay on the cold and wet pavement any longer, she quickly helped herself up, almost jumping to a stand. Only after getting up did she realize that she had just completely ignored the goodwill of a kind individual. The man, after a short pause of surprise, chuckled, withdrew his hand and slowly straightened his back.

Her face turned into a faint shade of pink.

“I’m so sorry…” She said, “I didn’t mean to…..it was just because I wanted to get up quickly…and I don’t think you would want to touch a bleeding palm…”

“It’s alright,” he kindly interrupted her stuttering explanation, “as long as you are okay.”

“Oh no, thank you so much sir!” She smiled, finally regaining coherence in her words. She started to become aware of her surroundings, and her eyes scanned the streets around her. Surprisingly, she found her destination to be only a couple of meters in front of her.

“Actually, I need to hurry and meet someone at the cafe over there, ” She pointed, ” I apologize that I cannot stay and express my gratitude for longer, but please know that I really appreciated your kindness!”

Taking note of the responding nod and understanding smile from the stranger, she quickly smiled one last time, before walking briskly to the cafe . A quick glance at her wrist indicated that it has long passed the scheduled meeting time. She paused at the glass door and appraised herself, covered in mud and rain water.

“The dress is done for.” She thought, as she quickly grabbed out a handkerchief to wipe away the water on her bare arms as well as the sweat on her face.

“He’s going to think that I just had a wrestling match with a titan or something…”

Finally, she decided that it’s pointless to remain at the door, being a coward.

“Ah well, here goes nothing.”

She pushed open the door, not realizing that all of her expressions were taken in by the aforementioned stranger, who did not move from the place he stood at across the cafe. The man stared at her thoughtfully for a moment, then chuckled silently. He walked across the street, and led himself to enter a convenience store. Smiling warmly at the cashier, he asked for a cup of coffee.

Meanwhile, in the cafe, she was welcomed by the musical sounds of door chimes and the wafting scent of rich, warm coffee. A server quickly came to greet her.

“I have a meeting with someone, and I think he may already be waiting for me?” She inquired politely.

“Ah yes, there was a man who came in 40 minutes ago,” The girl replied and pointed to a seat near the window, “He just left to buy something though, if you want to wait for him at the table he sat at? I’m sure it won’t be long.”

Absentmindedly, she responded a quick thank you, and moved her way towards the table. She sat down, and was surprised to find that in addition to the half-finished cup of coffee placed on the other side of the table, there was also an untouched cup placed in front of her. A smile crept up her face, as she slowly added milk from a small pitcher aside, and watched the white liquid slowly diffuse and mix into the coffee, adding richness to the drink. After 5 stirs and 2 gentle clinks of the spoon against the ceramic cup, she brought the cup to her mouth, inhaled the wonderful aroma, and carefully took a sip-- it was lukewarm, but still satisfying. She leaned back on to the comfortable arm chair, finally able to relax.

However, after a few occasional sips, she started to become uneasy.

"It has already been 5 minutes,"she thought, glancing at her watch, "I wonder where he went..."

Just as she was about to call the waitress to ask whether she was sure that the man said that he will return. The sound of the door chimes brought her attention to the cafe entrance. Almost instantly, the expression on her face turned into one of surprise.

It was the man who offered her a hand a few minutes ago.

The same black shoes, grey pants, and white shirt…….now with large spot of brown in the center.

She was still not able to recover from her surprise when the man walked towards her table. Looking confused, she asked uncertainly,

“I'm sorry, but….”

The man smiled.

“You must be Canaan. I apologize for the late introduction, but I’m Cameron.” He introduced himself.

“Ah, I see! I am so sorry that I made you wait for so long. As you saw, there was an incident…” Flustered, she tried to continue the conversation, “Thank you so much for the coffee, please do sit down and enjoy the rest of it with me.”

“Oh no, I did not wait for long at all.” Cameron shrugged his shoulders, “I would love to continue on my cup of coffee here, but I was wondering if I can ask a favor of you?”

“By all means.”

“Well, you see,” He laughed, his dark eyes twinkling, “I was on my way to the convenience store, when someone passing by accidentally ran into me and spilled his drink on my shirt.”

To prove his point, he pointed to his chest. The large brown stain seems extremely vibrant against the white shirt. It must have been a bottle of cola.

“It definitely does not feel good to continue wearing this, so do you think you can kindly accompany me on a shopping trip instead?”

“…”

Her eyes opened wide for a second as she became speechless, then she laughed.

“Why, I would love to, if you don’t mind also making a stop for a dress.”

And that was how they met.