Meeting an old friend for coffee is usually an exercise in memory; that is, trying to remember where we left off in our lives during our last time together. Well, repeating stories just comes with age.
In between the updates describing the daily grind in digestible terms and stories, he uttered a most remarkable nuance. He simply stated that since our last visit he had fallen “completely in love” with a woman. These words, from a man who had rarely described anything remotely close to his love life, surfaced brightly and with great enthusiasm.
“Ahhhh…can you tell me more,” he asked. The friend responded quickly that he had nothing but respect, admiration, and a strong attraction, which did not resemble the physical attraction he had had for others in the past. He described the window through her eyes, literally a soulful tour, revealing a warm and loving woman.
The friend mentioned that the fact that she was Asian and spoke very little English did not seem to detract from the strong attraction. He was beaming with a glow that previously was either nonexistent, or just never shone through in any other circumstance they had found themselves in during the 25 years of friendship.
He could have just left good enough alone. He normally refrains from questions unless offered by his friend, but he could not help but ask, “So have you two been intimate yet, are you a physical as well as a soulful match.” And then he added, “Can I meet her sometime, my friend?” At that point he regretted asking the question.
“Well, he responded, I actually have not spoken to her yet. She works at a café where I get my coffee. I have been madly in love for 6 months now.”
He was in love with the idea.
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