To Be Made Whole (A Christian Romance) (On Hold)

Chapter 3: Sprinkled Confessions

Rafael and I walked down the uneven sidewalks and laughed as he shared the memories that he had with my grandmother and their church members. Thinking of her in her prime and happiest moments helped soothe some of the pain that I had endured from losing her.

The smell of freshly ground coffee beans wafted up to my nose as we turned the corner where the coffee shop stood. The outside of it was a dark brick building, with delicate details of metal work along it's edge. The large windows easily drew my attention towards the warmth of the inside.

It was a bright spring day and people all around were conversing and pointing at random objects or places. Each one of them in their own worlds. It had been awhile since I had gotten to be in my own world with another person. Yet today, Rafael and I had seemed to have created our own little world too.

Rafael grabbed the door handle first and held it open for me. I politely nodded and allowed the warmth from the coffee house to wrap around me. The many aromas of coffee and tea flavors along with their toppings, brought much comfort to my soul.

"Did you already know what you'd like before we take a seat? I can place our orders now." He offered. I quickly glanced at the boho themed menu and my eyes landed on the matcha tea label that sat at the bottom of it.

"I'll just take a matcha tea." I smiled up at him. I reached for my purse to hand him the money, but before I could, he placed his hand on mine.

"It's okay," he reassured me. The feel of his hand on mine distracted me for a moment. I slowly looked up at him. I realized then that I never recognized the soft dimples that he had on either side of his mouth. They were slightly concealed by the stubble decorating his jawline. The same stubble had only darkened or simply grown more since earlier this morning. My mouth opened and closed like a fish as I was drained of the ability to speak. He chuckled and walked up to the counter, leaving me there awestruck.

It wasn't that his kindness was odd, but I hadn't ever been close to a man this kind and I felt drawn to him. My studies and extracurricular activities caused my eyes to remain focused on only that. The only time I had entertained a guy- I didn't want to think about it.

In my spare time back then, I would be with my grandmother or my sister when they were around and sadly that cold hearted boy too. Now, my spare time was filled with streams of tears, that is, until recently. Because now my spare time included a dimpled, hazel eyed man. I hoped that wouldn't change. I hoped he would be nothing like him.

I shook myself out of the trance I seemed to be in and looked around for a seat. I had never been in this coffee shop before even though I lived in this city my entire life. In the back corner, a wooden table with matching chairs had just been cleared by one of the waitresses here. I made my way over to it. Before I could reach my destination though, my name was called.

"Anna?" A woman's voice rang out. I recognized that voice anywhere.

I turned to find the source and that was when I saw a woman with light brown hair perfectly cut into a bob, walking towards me. Her dark brown eyes were filled with so many questions. Questions I wasn't prepared to answer right now. Curious glances from the coffee shop's customers landed on us. I gulped nervously before readjusting the beaded purse and allowing a polite smile to make it's way onto my face.

"Jessica! Hi!" The surprise in my voice was nearly tangible. I hadn't seen her since the accident. Jessica and Arabella were nearly inseparable. Not sisters by blood, but sisters by heart.

"Anna! Oh my goodness! You have grown up so much." She paused and gave me a once over. "You two were always so close in resemblance." She spoke in astonishment.