Silent Snapshot

. . . . It was a typical day at work. He needed to get out of the office for lunch for a change of scenery. He spent the next hour debating in the depths of his own mind if he should stay or go.

"What the heck," he thought. "I have been working so hard on this project. And after Bob dropped the ball and got my nuts in a vise with the big boss I need to just take a long lunch and re-group."

He called his wife but she declined and was complaining about the extraordinary workload in front of her all the while he was trying to figure out how to get off the phone so he could just get some lunch. As he was hanging up the phone, he knew that he was left to simply venture out on his own.

"Harry's" he thought to himself. "I haven't been there in a long time. They use to have a great soup and salad combo for lunch that was always savory and plentiful."

The restaurant was just as he remembered. There was a fireplace in the center of the dining room with tables scattered around the large stone surround from floor to ceiling. He was seated one table removed from the fireplace. It was not a particularly busy time of the day and there were several unoccupied tables. He was thoroughly engaged in reading the menu when he found himself distracted by a familiar scent that was not the food cooking in the kitchen. Peering over the top of his menu he was caught off guard by the two women being seated at the table between his and the fireplace. They were equally attractive but one of them had a certain air about her with that sense of "no strings attached" attitude that was very inviting. The other appeared to be hard and less polished in her demeanor. He quickly looked back down at his menu so he would not be caught starring trying to figure out if he knew her. There was something memorable about her that he could not put his finger on . . . yet he knew he would have remembered this woman! The two women were laughing and giggling as they often do when having fun.

"Was it the laugh? No wait, it was the smile!" As she was removing her coat, he noticed it was a deep dark red with designer buttons of gold with a fur-trimmed hood!

Her shoulder length hair with big sassy soft curls was shining in the fire light. She had well groomed nails, rosy flushed cheeks from the crisp air outside and a sense of confidence about her that was evident by the way she carried herself. Moreover, that infectious continuous smile on her face was intoxicating.

"Where did he know her from?" Racking his brain trying to remember.

He was compelled to simple walk up and introduce himself but for some reason he was enjoying the view from where he was sitting.

He ordered the soup of the day and a roast beef sandwich with a side of raw horseradish. They placed their ordered and he overheard Little Red asking for lemons on the side. Moments later Little Red stood up and excused herself from the table.

"Should I follow her and pretend I was headed to the men's room anyway? No, to conspicuous," thinking to himself shaking his head.

She was a tall women appearing to have a flair for the practical, yet flirty, in her attire. She walked past his table and flashed him a stunning smile that could melt the wax on an unlit candle. He wanted a closer look but how was he going to be able to accomplish this unseemly simple task.

It felt like she was gone for an eternity. In passing, from behind, she gently brushed up against his left shoulder and politely said, "Pardon me! I must not have been watching where I was going."

"That's quite alright," he stuttered yet thinking to himself, "that was on purpose!"

"You she-devil you!" Ginger mumbled under her breath to keep him from overhearing her.

"What?" Sarah exclaimed . . . . "It was an accident. I wasn't watching where I was walking."

"And pigs fly!" Ginger laughs aloud and does not care if he overhears.

"Isn't he just dreamy? I wish he would come over and introduce himself. But then again men are not like that anymore. It is a sad state of affairs they no longer have the guts to approach two attractive women," Sarah says while still trying to figure out what she was having for lunch.

"We should go out on Friday. We always do lunch and have not been out on the town. How about Sub-Zero for martini's and hors-devours? Friday night?" Ginger begs.

"No, I promised to go to the movies with Frank. If I cancelled it would not be good," Sarah said with dismay.

"Oh come on, Sarah! Frank is a douche-bag. He only takes you out to get into your pants and the worst part about it is you allow it to happen. Come on . . . . It will be fun. Let's get a group of us to go."

"Ok, I will call Frank when I get back to the office and let him know I will take a rain-check. It has been awhile since we have been out. Let's do it!" As Sarah is excited about the mere idea of a girls-night-out.

The server comes over and they each place their order. Sarah orders the soup and salad while Ginger decides on the ham and cheese Panini.

The lunch hour was slipping away. Their food had arrived and they sat at their respective tables eating and enjoying the warmth from the fire. Sarah requested a 'To Go Box' and seemed to be in a hurry to leave as the two women were arguing who was going to pay the tab.

He overheard her say, "Whoever gets there credit card out first pays."

"Women! Such strange creatures, yet no matter what, still very irresistible" while also thinking, "What a silly way to handle the check."

The server was finalizing his bill just as the two women were leaving. He was feeling almost worse than he was earlier that he did not make his move when they were sitting across from him . . . . But wait! There was her scarf on the floor, leading a trail to her as she leaves the restaurant. Quickly he reaches over, picks it up, and rushes out the door to catch her. He was within a few steps of her. With her head down looking for her keys inside her bag, he did not want to startle her so he remained silent. Just then, she reached around her neck and realized she did not have her scarf. Turning on a dime they collided. All of a sudden, she was in his arms! Her beautiful blue eyes looked right into his hazel green eyes as she politely apologized again for bumping into him. Even for that, very brief moment in time he could feel her curves as his memory recalled her sitting there next to the fire.

"My lady, I believe this lovely scarf belongs to you," he said as he gentle put it around the back of her neck.

She blushed and said, "Why thank you very much. This is one of my favorite scarves."

She turned and continued walking toward her car while he stood there enjoying the silent snapshot of her captured in his memory for time. As she drove off, he realized where it was he knew her! It was that night where too much wine was involved at that wonderful resort. He would cherish that night for a long time. "I wonder if she recognized me. Did she know it was him and would he ever see her again?"

In addition, just as he was walking back in to grab his coat that he hastily left behind trying to catch up with her, she drove up behind him, rolled down her window and asked "Michael?" . . . "Sarah?"