Prologue
As I walked the short distance from my car to the restaurant, my heels clicked against the pavement. Deep breath. Everything will be fine. Everything was fine once, so why couldn’t it be again? I ran a hand through my curls - which I spent one hour on perfecting - and dropped my purse. My keys jingled out on the ground. I clicked my tongue and crouched to pick up the scattered items that somehow made me wonder if this was a bad omen. I whispered under my breath, hurrying.
“Fuck. I’m so sure I’m fucking cursed.”
I quickly got up, stumbling on my heels before I could quickly balance myself on a nearby car hood. I sighed and began walking towards the restaurant again.
I haven’t seen Thomas since… Well, since he told me he would be moving to California for work. I understood very well that he needed to do it. It was an incredible job offer. A place at the UCSF Medical Center was his dream. And he was right to take the opportunity. And not be held back by an associate editor that didn’t have the guarantee of a job forever. Like me.
When he told me he would be taking up the offer, I cried for two hours while he held me. He always did this when life moved too fast for me and he couldn’t slow down. And that night, we promised each other we would fight for this - for us. But promises made out of love and pure dreams are usually unable to be kept. So after a month of trying to figure out how our life would look with him on the opposite coast from New York, we decided to break up.
I still hadn’t healed. I don’t think I ever will. So that’s why when he called me and told me he would be in town for a while, I instantly agreed to meet him. Seeing each other again would surely - no, it must bring us back together.
So there I was, stepping into the dim lights of “La Lanterna di Vittorio” - an Italian restaurant Thomas chose. I arranged my dress, tugging down at it. Maybe I intentionally chose a piece of clothing which was long enough to be socially acceptable for a restaurant date, but short enough to make Thomas rethink every choice in his life that led to our breakup.
I saw him rise from his seat from a secluded corner of the intimate garden I was guided to by an employee. My sweet Thomas. I smiled brightly as I quickened the pace , hurrying towards him. He hugged me - the same way he always did. Soft, warm, so sure. He then stepped away and held out his hand to help me sit down. I looked at him, hopeful:
“Thomas.. I-“
I took a deep breath and smiled:
“Damn it, I missed you.”
He put his hand over mine, his eyes wandering all over me as he smiled at me with those same dimples that made my knees go weak for two years.
“I missed you too, Soph.”, he said as his voice lowered.
“But I already miss California.”
