Stories of Love

A Declined Frappuccino And A Conversation

"You must be beautiful,"

It had been years since she last heard someone ever called her 'beauty'. Least of all from a stranger she just helped crossing the road just a few hours ago.

She didn't know why she agreed to go have a coffee. Or a tea, in her case. Yes, he drank coffee but she prefered her tea better than his offer of a cup of frappuccino.

She laughed it off, saying, "Yeah, you probably would take that back if you can actually see me."

Oh no.

She just crossed the line this time, isn't she? He must be hurt.

"Why do you keep saying that?" But instead of being angry or hurt, he just smiled and laughed. What an overly positive man.

She had realized that he was blind the first glance she took at his face. Hence she helped him crossed the road. But aside from the unfocused and greyed eyes that he had, he was actually the one who was beautiful.

Not her.

Thanks to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis that she had when she was a child, her right leg was actually smaller than it should have been. And her un-even face? Nobody would say she was beautiful with crooked and imbalance face like this.

No, she should be thankful. This was the best she could have.

"Are you hurt somewhere, Miss? Because I noticed you limping when you walked me here," the man said then, she was taken aback.

"That's just the way I was born with," she said with a smile. Yes, she never regret everything of the way she was given with, she just went with it.

"Your voice sounds like it's coming from an angel," he suddenly blurted out, making her face reddened because she actually can feel her surrounding making her embarassed now.

"What are you now, a flirt?" She laughed.

"And a melodic laugh. Just the way I like."

"Oh, stop it, Mister Charming."

They laughed together for awhile, then drowning back to a comfortable silence.

The man was only just recently feeling comfortable with his new condition, he said he just recovered from the accident he had eight months ago. And living in complete blackness had always been something new for him.

She was just glad he couldn't see her face right now, because she was sure he wouldn't offer her a nice and warm coffee and a long conversation if he saw who and what she was.

From the few words exchanged with him, she could tell he was a considerate person. Someone who cared. Someone who didn't judge. Someone who would love something for the sake of just loving it.

She was a bit of the opposite.

They were just talking about his new living arrangement with his roommate--the one that he said, "pissed him off because blindness doesn't mean he's suddenly incapable of everything,"--when she realized her phone rang.

Her boss was looking for her. She guessed this was goodbye.

"I'm sorry, Mister, I have to go to work now, or my boss would kick my ass," she hastily told him she needed to get going, then adding in with his laugh.

"Yes, I'm sorry for disturbing you. Have a good day," he said politely.

"It was really nice talking to you," she added.

She really didn't want it to just end like this. This was the first time she met such a nice person. And said person flirted carelessly with her twice?

She then took out her pen, scribbed down her number on the back of the bill.

"Did you write something?" So he heard. Sharp.

"No," she lied. Smiling.

If he realized she had written down her number here, maybe he would take this piece of paper and call her sometime. But she didn't wanna tell him that.

If they're destined, he'd call her. Yes, she believed so.

Saying goodbye, she went out of the cafe, leaving the dark brown haired man still sitting on their table a last trace of hers scribbled on the piece of paperbill for him to find.

She wondered, would she have another chance to meet with this person again?

..........

"What are you thinking?" Her husband asked her when he noticed she was spacing out and not paying attention to his saying. It didn't even have to take a single eyesight for him to read her expression. He just did.

"I was just thinking of when we first meeting each other," she finally replied.

He chuckled. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, you said I was beautiful," she said then.

"You are."

Why couldn't she get over that fact?

"You were such a brute, too," she added.

He smirked. She liked his smirk. It made him look like his handsome old face. Not that he's not handsome now. He still looked way better than her.

"Am I not, now?"

She tease-slapped his arm.

"Oh boy...."

He snorted.

"Don't you know how much of a fool you made me when that waitress boldly told me you left me a note with your phone number there? And it was a pain to make Dan read it outloud for me so that I could call you and got your name," he rambled after she patted him back on the shoulder.

"Well, that's worth it, right?" She asked.

"Definitely."

And a kiss should definitely make everything they struggled with worth it.