"Can I tell you something?" Conrad asked.
I only nodded.
"You're the strongest person I know."
To this day, I still think he lied to me. I should be the least strongest person he knows. How did he consider me strong when I could list dozens of peop...
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IT WAS A TERRIFYING thing, transitioning from being simple friends to something more. It was all rooted in the fear that we might've made the wrong decision. It would've been on both of us if we ruined each other and the relationships that involved practically everyone. We needed to try just as hard to learn to care in a different manner than we once did. But in reality, nothing much changed. I was simply hit by the realization that my feelings for him have been there long before. Specifically since we were kids, we were just too naive, prideful, and scared to confess it to one another.
At first, I was scared that he might just change his mind, or we would both realize that we made a mistake. Later on, when we were too familiar with each other. One of us would realize that it was just one big misunderstanding. A confusion.
Soon enough, the fear wasn't there. Conrad took me to a diner right outside of Cousins. Once we were in the parking lot of the small diner, I was hit by a sudden memory I didn't remember I had.
"We've been here before, haven't we?" The memory was foggy, but not only did it feel familiar, it felt even more familiar that we were here together. He had been here too, years ago when we hardly got along.
Conrad didn't say anything. He simply looked in my direction and smiled. His smile. The way it slightly peaked at one side more than the other. He almost seemed embarrassed each time he smiled by the way he would look down. It seemed impossible to hate anything about him.
He let his hand reach out for me, waiting for my own hand to grip onto his. It was a small gesture, yet it warmed every bit of my heart. It was the small things for me. I think he knew that too. I have never been so glad about being wrong about something before. I was so wrong about this. About him and about us. We were going to make this work. No matter what it took.
The older waitress told us to sit wherever we pleased and that she would be right with us. There wasn't a single soul in here besides me and Conrad, and an older man by the windows, reading a newspaper. It all seemed like I was in an old movie.
Conrad let me decide where to sit. Of course, I chose the booth in the farthest corner, which made him smile.
"What," I asked.
"This is the same seat we sat in all those years ago." I knew that this diner was important. I just couldn't figure out why.
"Could you tell me what's so special about this place? As much as I try to think back, it's all so foggy." The older waitress interrupted us before we could talk about it any further.
"Hello, welcome to my husband and I's diner. I'm Edith, I've been working here for decades but I still haven't quite figured out my greeting just yet. I change it so much that I just say whatever I feel like saying," she said, chuckling along with us. She had an aura about her that made her feel safe and warm. She reminded me of my abue. "Is there anything you lovebirds want to drink?"
