Lunch

Girl walked towards the statue, the statue that looked like a bow and arrow, reminded of her Artemis, the Greek goodness of the hunt. Or perhaps the statue was a heart and the arrow, and it was meant to be a romantic gesture, symbolized love found. Girl was on a work call. She was talking and discussing details about something technical. She found the statue and proceeded to cross over from the grass and sat down on the bench, still on the phone. She looked up and saw someone, looking for someone else, so she waved towards that direction and that person responded. She smiled and continued on her call.  The person was walking towards her, and not far from the base of the statue, where she sat, were two men. One was reading on his Kindle and another was eating his lunch. It was a normal sunny afternoon where no one was minding anyone's business. The girl looked restful and cheerful. She was finally concluding her call. And as she sat her phone down, she stood up and stretched as she faced the ocean. It was a lovely afternoon, there were no winds and no signs of the rain. It was supposed to rain later on that night. 

A young boy walked towards her. She did not get up. Boy was in a nice brown business suit and a stylish hat. He had grown a beard, and looked more like a man, a young man in his early 30s and not someone in his 20s. He was very tall, had blond hair and blue eyes and was smiling when he spotted her. Girl did not get up nor move. She raised her head, and smiled. She had a beautiful smile, she had tanned skin and a curvy body. She was not exactly skinny but she was fit. She had shapely arms and wavy long hair. She was pretty. She often get boys to look at her. She had to master her ice queen look to deter some of those unwanted attention. She wore a beautiful platinum wedding ring with sparkling diamonds. Boy also wore a platinum wedding band. "Should we walk?" Boy asked the girl. Girl said, "No." So boy sat down, and as he sat next to the girl, he kissed her. It started like a peck, and then it became urgent. It was as if the boy had sensed that she needed him, so he responded, by kissing back. They kissed for a good minute. It had been a while. 

Then they looked out. The bay was warm, sunny, serene, and the grass smelled like spring. 

"Didn't we see each other last week?" Girl asked the boy. 

"But we did not kiss." Boy said it in defense and he kissed the girl some more. 

"You were depressed." He said. 

"I figured out the root cause." She cheerfully stated.

"That's good. What is it?" He asked.

Girl told him the story. The story about her having deep rooted abandonment issues. How she was abandoned as a child, and how she could never be normal because every relationship after became a replay of her 12 year old self, waiting for her father to come home. She counted days and hours when he would show, and sometimes.  So as an adult, when a guy said he'd call, she waited for him to call. When a guy said he couldn't wait to see her, she expected him to make time to see her immediately. And then she fell in love with those who were not available, and when they failed to fulfill their promises, she would get heart broken and the cycle continued until another man came along. Boy felt a little sad. He held the girl's hand, and rubbed her shoulder with his free hand. 

"Do you still feel this way?" He asked.

"Yes. I do, I'm afraid. But I can't go into the details. For the first time last night, I saw that little girl, waiting for her dad to come home, and he often disappeared, traveled for work, and then left her to be with his lover. I suffered an actual heart break then. My heart broke and I never fully recovered. I was abandoned at a military hospital, with no nurses. I didn't know it was going to be like this. I had been physically abused and sexually abused, but I had resolved these issues, but I don't think I could ever get out of this issue of abandonment. I fear being abandoned. I would try everything I could to please the person, if I was that person walking away."

Boy did not answer. Boy did not want to know if the girl was referring to him.

So boy suggested to start walking. Towards a restaurant by the water.

Boy kissed the girl tenderly. 

The man sitting not far from them, eating a sandwich, looked up at this young couple, curiously. 

They seemed happy, they seemed belonged to each other. 

They seemed to be in love. Judging by their body language.

Newly weds. 

Girl kissed the boy back. 

Boy said, "I can't stay late. I have to get back home early tonight. My wife expected me to be home for dinner." 

Girl said, "That's fine. I have something tonight. But are we still on for Friday?  I'll drive."

Boy grabbed the girl's hand to hold on. And said, "Yes, see you Friday morning. But time for lunch." 

They walked towards a restaurant by the water. It was a dive bar. There they'd order fish and chips. They'd look out and feed the seagulls. They'd kiss some more. The girl would put her hand inside the boy's thighs, attracting the attention of the diners next to them. They'd act they couldn't have been happier. A happily married couple. When the bill came they'd split it, and then they'd walk out and they'd go on separate ways.