A Chance to be Loved

Chapter 6 - First Meeting

I decided to run when the heavy rain fell and I used my bag to cover my head. I was almost halfway when I saw a group of teenagers running towards me and one of them bumped into me. My bag fell down and my things scattered on the pavement.

"Ouch! Look where you're going please!" I said irritated. They didn't even apologize and it made me even more irritated. I bent down to pick up my things as fast as I could to avoid it from getting wet. Suddenly, I saw a pair of leather shoes in front of me and it felt like the rain suddenly stopped from falling.

"Are you alright?" he asked while I was still picking up my things.

Slowly, I began to stand straight and there he was, standing right in front of me while holding an umbrella. I felt like my world suddenly stopped turning, it felt like a scene from the Korean drama I used to watch on my way back home. I was speechless and I couldn't move; my heart was pounding so hard inside my chest. He has blue eyes and it was the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen in my whole life.

"Miss, are you alright?" he asked for the second time.

"Oh, I'm. .  . I'm alright. Thanks!" I answered with a little hesitation.

"Those kids were really rude. I saw what happened."

"Ah yes. It's raining and maybe they were in a hurry,"

"Just like you?"

"Just like me. I left my umbrella at home. I'm on my way to work and I don't want to be late. Thanks for your help."

"I can lend you my umbrella; I'm Sebastian by the way. What's your name?"

"No, I'll be fine and you'll be wet if you'll lend me your umbrella. I'm Samantha but you can call me Sam."

I suddenly realized that he was the guy whom I was talking about to Tia when I was in the coffee shop. I ran away without looking back at him. My heart was beating so fast. Why am I feeling this? Sebastian. The name was so manly. I was catching my breath when I arrived at the bookshop. I went inside and I saw Anne sitting on the floor while arranging the books on the shelf.

"Anne, why are you still here? I thought you've left already," I asked while closing the door.

"Hi! You look so happy today. Something happened? I'm just arranging these books. I was waiting for the rain to stop earlier but it looks like it will take some time. Let me guess, did you forget your umbrella? You almost soak yourself," she said.

"I'm always happy, Anne! You're right; I don't usually forget my umbrella. I might have put it somewhere at home."

"You better dry yourself if you don't want to get sick. I still have time, I'll just finish arranging this then I'll go to my University to attend my classes."

"Sure, thanks for your help. I'll just go to the bathroom," I said while turning my back, ready to go.

"Before you go, someone came here today. He was looking for you; his name is Vince if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh, you met Vince. Okay, thanks for telling me. I apologize for any trouble that he may have caused you while I was away."

"No worries, he's fine at all. I don't really mind." I smiled at her.

I noticed something; she was blushing while mentioning his name. Anne likes Vince?  Hmm... There was nothing wrong with it though, they were both single and they were the same age. Maybe I should help them? Or maybe not? I didn't even have my own love story to start with. I'll just formally introduce them to each other and see what happens.

Before going to the bathroom, I went to the staff room first to put my bag inside my locker. I found my folding umbrella inside and I realized that I left it when I was in a hurry to see Tia the other day. I also found a towel and a spare shirt which will be useful for me. I took the towel and my spare shirt to the bathroom. Next to the staff room was Mrs. Andrews' office and around the corner was the bathroom. I was about to go to the counter after changing my shirt when I passed by Mrs. Andrews' office. The door was slightly open. I didn't mean to sneak but I was a bit concerned when I saw her holding a picture while wiping the tears in her eyes. I knocked on the door to let her know that I'm outside her door. "Mrs. Andrews? Is there any problem?" I asked. "I'm alright. Come in, I didn't know you were there," she said while trying to smile at me. "I changed my shirt in the bathroom and your door was slightly open when I passed by. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sneak," my voice was a bit nervous. "Don't worry, it's fine. I was looking for some documents inside my drawer when I saw this. Here, you may take a look," she said while handing out the picture to me.

"They look so happy. Who are they?"

"That's my son along with my grandsons. We were in Germany during that time. My son married a German woman but unfortunately, she died while giving birth to their second child."

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

"My son was devastated when he lost her. I tried to convince him to go back here in England but he didn't want to leave her country. He wanted to stay there, the more that I tried to change his mind, the more that it made our relationship complicated. I decided to leave even though I was alone. I tried to phone him but he never answered until I couldn't reach him anymore."

"That was really heartbreaking. What about your grandsons? How old are they in this picture?"

"I've never seen them for twenty years. The eldest was ten and the second one was five. I'm not even sure if they could still remember me."

"I think they will remember you. The last time I saw my grandmother, I was only four years old and I could still remember her face until now. I hope you'll be able to see them again soon."

"Thank you so much Sam. It was such a relief to have someone like you around."

"It's always my pleasure, Mrs. Andrews. I will always be here for you if you need someone to talk to."

"I'd appreciate that. Anyway, could you please order these books? The Information shelf is almost empty; we can't leave it that way,"

"Sure, I'll take care of that." I was already outside her office when I opened the door again and said, "Let's hope for the best Mrs. Andrews, everything will be fine soon." She smiled.

I ordered the books while Anne waved goodbye to me. Few customers were coming in due to the heavy rain. I got a little bored so I decided to write some poetry to kill my boredom. I went to the staff room to get my journal inside my bag but it wasn't there. Where is it? I couldn't afford to lose it. I wrote my poetry and prose at the back of it. I had never shown it to anyone; my journal was my most precious possession. It looked like it was going to be a long day for me; I needed to find it soon. Whoever has it, I hope it's in good hands.