Love Letter Written in Winter

Part 3 - The fateful meeting

-'Yes, sometimes,' Drake replied, though he hadn’t read any of those in recent years. The last time he read love poems was when he was in his early twenties, before routine, duty, and family had engulfed the essence of him.
-'That’s great! Did you read this book?' she asked with enthusiasm. This time Drake felt a bit uncomfortable with the lie he was saying just to keep the conversation going. He said,
-'No, not this one. Actually, didn’t get the time to read much nowadays.'
-'I see!' She didn’t speak much. The waiter brought her cold coffee. Before she could take a sip, Drake again said,
-'How is the book, by the way? What is the book about?'
Taking the first sip of icy coffee, she replied, -'It’s really nice. It’s about the pain in love.'
-'I see. Someone is heartbroken here?' Drake gave a naughty smile.
-'Who is not heartbroken here?' she replied in a deep voice. A voice so calm, and words so deep that it moved Drake. He really started thinking it's true anyway. The reason might be different, but anyway, everyone is just grieving over something, isn’t it? Broken relations, heartbreak, unvalued emotions—aren’t these just parts of life? We try not to acknowledge them as they are some dark areas.
After a pause, Drake said,
-'If you agree, may I lend this book from you?'
The girl lifted her gaze from the book and looked at Drake. He said,
-'I come here every Friday at 1:30 for lunch. My office is nearby. Next Friday I can give it back to you.'
The lady lowered her gaze, busy with her coffee, and said,
-'How do I believe you would come to return the book to me? People generally tend to run away with things that are not theirs.'
-'I can say the same thing.' Drake couldn’t resist saying this.
-'Really? What have I taken from you and didn’t return?'
Maybe she got a bit triggered.
Drake thought in his mind, 'my heart,' and giggled to himself but replied, -'Rightly said. Then let’s do one thing, next Friday I will also bring one of my books. In exchange for that, you lend me your book. Then you can be assured I won’t run away. Even if I run away, you will have my book as compensation…'
-'Not everything can be compensated…' she said in a mysterious tone, 'I come at 12:00… Today my train was late. What if next day my train isn’t late ?'
The lady stood up. Her half coffee was still in the glass. But does she care? She was done and about to leave. She turned towards the cash counter. Drake replied from the back,
-'I’ll pray for it to be late.' The lady turned around and gave a scintillating smile. Before she could leave, Drake again asked,
-'What’s your name, madam?'
-'Sylvia. Sylvia Johnson.'
-'Drake. Drake Matthew.'
She gave her signature smile, waved her hand as a gesture of goodbye, and left with grace. Till she paid her bill and left the café, Drake couldn’t move his gaze from her.
After she was gone, Drake again concentrated on his food. He felt as if he was taken into some other world a few moments ago; now he was back again. What was this feeling? He was confused for some moments. Wasn’t he just moved by some other girl’s presence? Being a married man, this is so wrong, he thought. His mind was filled with the same amount of disgrace, the amount of happiness filled his mind moments ago. He didn’t feel like eating anymore. He felt nauseated over himself. He left the food there, unfinished, and left the café.
That night he brought a special chocolate box for the kids. Rose and Russell were beyond happy. They started running and fighting over chocolates, while I just saw my kids and stayed happy.
-'Lucy, have some chocolates!' Drake said to me.
-'Sure!' I took one from the box. I don’t like chocolates that much. Drake was happy as well, but I could see something else in his eyes. He was absent-minded that day. I couldn’t understand what happened. I thought maybe something in his work was bothering him.
Normally, Drake didn’t talk much. He would mostly be busy with all those novels brought by him from book fairs every year. But that day he was exceptionally silent. On other days, at least we can sense he was sitting there reading a book. But that day, his presence was very faint, as if he wasn’t there at all. I didn’t know why. Maybe Drake also didn’t know.
Drake took a shower and went to bed quietly. When I came after putting the leftovers in the fridge, Drake seemed totally asleep, though he wasn’t. I slept, but something from that day kept haunting Drake. From this point, someone slowly was coming into the picture, who later will share the most screen time, and in my own life, I myself will become a side character.