Wherever You Are....

The Encounter

                    The date was May 5, 2018. I was going on my usual 9:00 am coffee run to my favorite cafe in a busier part of San Francisco. I remember every detail like it was yesterday. It was a relatively nice day. The cool air blew gently, but the sun beat very strongly on my pale skin. I parked my red Honda in the second spot in the parking lot, and remember thinking it was my lucky day. It's hard to get a good spot in that parking lot. I was wearing a very casual outfit: a grey muscle tee and leggings with a pair of sunglasses and some sandals. I walked inside the cafe and waited on line for about 15 minutes, which wasn't bad for a Saturday morning. I got one iced caramel latte, one french vanilla iced coffee, and 2 croissants. My best friend Naomi would be waiting for one of those coffees when I got home. 

                  We started this weekly routine in our junior year of high school and have continued it through the years. Every Saturday, we get our coffee, then go to our favorite park that overlooks the Golden Gate. It's a magnificent view, and after 6 years you would think it wouldn't be special anymore, but it still is. We eat our croissants, and talk, and observe the other people who have acquired the same routine as us. We were lucky enough to both be off on Saturdays, so it remained OUR day. Naomi is a preschool teacher, and I have a job in advertising. It was about as artsy as I could get without possibly being homeless. I'm not much of a risk taker. Even though I loved art, I was too scared to pursue any kind of career in it, so, I settled for the advertising job. 

                 Naomi Reid was my best friend in the entire world. She has been since my freshman year of high school.  The second I saw her in my third period math class, I knew we were destined to be friends. She walked into that class wearing a Winter March tee shirt from their last tour, and since that day, we have been inseparable. Anyone that knows me knows that my favorite band in the entire world is the band Winter March. I have loved them for years. I've listened to every song, I've bought all the merch, I've been to every show in the area, and I've loved them unconditionally. I love everything about them, but more than anything, I love the lead singer Lucas Henson. Lucas Henson has the voice of an angel, and the face of one too. He has curly blonde hair, with beautiful round blue eyes, and a smile like I've never seen. Sorry, I'll get back to the story. I've been told sometimes when I talk about him "I go on unnecessary tangents". 

                   After about 25 minutes, I finally got my coffees and croissants and was ready to be on my way.  I started walking to my car, and something in the parking lot caught my eye. I continued walking and I finally saw him crystal clear: 6'2, blonde hair flowing in the wind, and sporting a leather jacket. I stood there in shock. I nearly dropped the coffees, but Naomi would kill me if I did that. It was Lucas Henson. 20 feet separated us. The man that I had fantasized about for years. The man I had loved endlessly. The man I wanted for so long. He was 20 feet away. Naturally, I had to say hello, because opportunities like this don't happen very often. As I continued to walk, I noticed he was leaning against a car waiting for someone. Then I realized... it was my car. He was putting his arm on MY boring Honda Civic. I thought "I must be dreaming" and pinched myself to make sure. Lucky for me I was still awake. I couldn't walk fast enough. I nearly ran, but the thought of tripping mortified me to the point that I decided to be patient. Finally, I was here. Face to face with THE Lucas Henson. I could barely contain my excitement. He saw me approaching and said "is this your car?". I tried to play it cool. It didn't really work. I'm a notorious blusher. "Yeah this is mine", I said too eagerly." He tensed up a little, then nervously chuckled and said "I'm so sorry...."