Only you, just you

Shades of Blue

                                ' My love for you is a journey, starting at forever and ending at never.' Author unknown

   Rey felt a rush of anticipation  mixed with anxiety as she stepped out of the taxi that had dropped Poppy and herself at the restaurant.

     It was a warm night, with stars that twinkled in a indigo black sky .  She was greeted by scent of delicious  Lasagne alla Bolognese and Fettuccine Al Pomodoro, but truth be told, she wasn't here for the food.

They were seated quickly, even without reservations, which impressed Poppy. The place was full of tourist filling their face with Pizza Margherita and Tiramisu.  Her stomach began to growl with interest as a waiter passed by with a tray full of mouthwatering Melanzane alla Parmigiana.

But not Rey. Her stomach was already full. Full of Jurassic size butterflies. She was still so nervous she would not be able to eat a bite, even if it all was incredibly delicious.
She was here for just one thing and he was somewhere in this crowded restaurant.

     "Why can't we just have arranged marriages in America?"  It would have saved her all this trouble.

        Poppy snickered. "Yeah, then we could go through life blaming our parents instead of ourselves."

A waiter approached and asked questions to which Poppy said 'Si' to everything.  All she recognized was the word ' Vino'... she would need at least two bottles before this night was finished, she thought ruefully.

  There were many handsome men at the restaurant and sitting at the bar. He could be any of them.  Some were with other beautiful women.   That couldn't be good news for Rey.

   Rey looked shyly around and fidgeted in her seat.  " Could you go ask?" She begged to a shocked Poppy.

"What , me?"

"Please"  Rey implored in a childish whine and  a tilt of her chin. She looked up at her friend with her big brown eyes and batted her lashes.
It always worked with Poppy.

"Oh, alright." Giving in to Rey's persistence.  Poppy rushed over to the Matra 'd , looked to where he had pointed and then rushed back to their table.

  "He's here! He's sitting right over there." She said with a glowing smile. Yes, progress, finally.

Rey gasped as tried not to call attention to her self in this crowded restaurant.
"He's wearing a blue blazer. You can just make out his left elbow."    But Rey just sat there.

   What is she waiting for? Poppy nudged Rey in the shoulder. "Okay, go... go on up .I'll wait right here. Go on."

   "I will, but I wanted to see if he'd notice me first."

   "What?

  "I just ... just thought that maybe he'd ...."

   "Yeah, I heard you Rey, but you've been waiting since you were a kid to meet this guy. Now is not the time to play hard to get!"

Poppy was right. What was she thinking. It was now or never. She just wanted to get a look at him, that's all. She said that didn't she?   Maybe just say ''Hi' and see we're it leads.  He was her destiny after all.

   What could go wrong?

Poppy nudged her in the ribs,  "You've traveled four thousand miles to meet this guy, what's  ten extra feet."

     She squared her shoulders and took a sustaining breath. She could do this, she must do this.... For him. He was waiting for her just inside, his 'Destiny' was just around the corner, he just didn't know it yet.

   She walked as if in a dream, weaving through the tables and passed bus boys clearing tables as fast as they could for impatient hungry people waiting to be seated.

     She dodged other people walking out in a hurry and those that had all the time in the world. 

A lump formed in her throat. It felt as if she had swallowed  cotton and it had gotten stuck.

What would she say to him when they were face to face?

     Maybe she should have thought this part through, but wanted it to come naturally.  Okay, she should introduce herself , then what?

        "Hi , I'm your soul mate. Do you want to run off into the sunset together?"  She shook her head. " Hi, I want your babies."

   Um, definitely a big 'No'.

    She was so deep in thought that she didn't see a elderly gentleman with a cane walking very close to her.  Her foot caught  the cane and she stumbled, right into a waiter with a large tray full of someone's dinner.

     She yelped as the tray crashed to the floor. Salad greens and fish went flying into the air. Then  what goes up must come down.
A outraged bellow came from the unfortunate man who was now wearing the fish on his shirt front.

  "I'm so sorry!"   She cried, but no one heard her apology as suddenly the entire restaurant  was in an uproar.  Guests and waiters yelled and gestured wildly in the air.

This was not happening !

    It was her turn to be sorry as she turned and saw that the table where her one true love was supposed  to be sitting was now empty.  He was absent, gone...a vacant spot  where he had just been sitting.  Vanished into thin air.
Her head spun in utter disbelief.

     "Poppy, he's gone!"

  She bolted out of the restaurant desperate to chase him down. He couldn't have gone far, but she was hindered by  throngs of happy tourists meandering  through the narrow streets. Why were so many suddenly wearing blue jackets? And didn't they realize there was a desperate girl literally chasing down  her destiny?

She couldn't run as fast as she wanted with her  strapy sandals. The cobble stone streets weren't helping matters and dangerous to vulnerable ankles.

     She felt tears begin to sting behind her eyes as she began to realize he was gone.

   No... no, this can't be happening.  Not again.

She stumbled into a large person and didn't stop to apologize as she pushed passed him.  She was beyond caring at this point. She was through with being polite when her life was crumbling around her.

She vaguely heard him yell at her in Italian with a American accent. If she had paused long enough to ask forgiveness, she would have seen a very tall man with kind soul full brown eyes. A bemused smile on his angular face, that was showcased between thick wavy black hair.

His smile turned to a concerned frown when her witnessed her stumble and cry out in pain as her foot twisted on the uneven cobbled walkway.

   She tugged on her injured foot until it came free from her shoe.  Then she was off again, like she was being chased by a demon.

   He shook his head. Why would she be in such a hurry that she would leave her shoe behind, he wondered to himself.

     He felt a sudden surge of compassion for this poor distressed woman and jogged up to her forgotten shoe, and tugged it free from the cobbled stone path.

     "Hey lady!    Miss!  Your shoe!"  He cried over the noisy throng of humanity.

     But she was out of earshot and was getting lost in the crowd.    Fortunately for him, she was wearing a red dress and her hair was made up into a unusual style. Three buns that were presently coming undone as she ran.  He could spot her from far away , thank goodness.
Unfortunately, he had not seen her face, but heard her frantic breathing when she bumped into him.  

          When she collided with him, his arm suddenly began to have a strange tingling feeling and his focus blurred around the edges.     
A bizarre sensation  tugged at his heart as he saw her disappear.

Then  something jolted awake in his subconscious. 

"What the....!"

He startled at the sensation of a electric  current sweeping through him, and a force so strong in his gut that he gasped out loud.
          He'd better hurry or she'd be gone forever.