Caleb sees a woman

Eye contact and a smile, that is how Caleb greets everyone. Even on his worst day, when a stranger meets his eye, it is hard for Caleb to hold back a grin in acknowledgment. And that is how it started. Caleb was rounding the corner, walking toward his favorite bakery, excited for his weekly treat for staying alive and not getting hurt and not hurting anyone else. She was coming from the other direction, he would eventually know her as Valerie, but not yet. She was walking toward the same bakery and looked up and the eye contact was direct, and out came Calebs smile, which was reflected on her face.

This was a common response to Calebs smiles. If he had to count the number of times his smiles were returned, he would run out of fingers and toes by noon. A smile is one of the greatest things you can put out in the universe and is returned. They converged on the bakery door at the almost the same time, Caleb taking the last couple of steps faster in order to arrive first and open the door for her if indeed she is going into the bakery as well.

As she passed through the door Caleb took notes, slightly taller than average she was probably 5' 7" with straight brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing trendy cut blue jeans and a cute blue top, it was a look that created questions. It was too casual for an office worker, but not the usual athleisure wear of the stay-at-home mom set. She lined up in front of the order counter with the air of someone who was a regular, which meant she had good taste.

She was intriguing, Caleb wanted to know more about her and in an inspired moment after she had ordered her breakfast and coffee he asked if they could sit together to eat. She said yes and that is how it started, a smile, a croissant and some coffee.