Remembering Sundays

Taking a breath, Zack reached out and took the handle of the door in front of him and pulled it open. As he did, he couldn’t help but remember that this was much of the same way it had been on the day he had first seen Emma. But now that seemed to be a life time ago and reality was setting in a little bit more as he walked through into the shop smiling at the too familiar feeling. The smell of coffee surrounded him as he glanced around the shop to try and find the familiar girl that he had been slowly but surely getting to know.

But as he looked around, he realized that he couldn’t see her. Scanning the shop once more, he tried to remember as best he could what she looked like and after double checking everyone in the room; he knew that she wasn’t there. At first he figured that she was just running a bit late. But then, after a few moments, he started to panic. What if she stood him up? What if she really didn’t want to meet and didn’t really seem to care as much as she let on?

As he continued to freak out, he was about to turn around in leave to admit defeat when suddenly he heard his name being called and he turned and saw the all too familiar girl standing a few feet away. He couldn’t help but stare a little as he saw her standing there as reality continued to finally set in. There she was, the girl he had been talking to and getting to know over the last few months and she was finally standing there in front of him and actually speaking to him. It was like a dream come true. He still couldn’t believe it.

But he realized he was just sort of standing there for a few moments and snapped himself out of it as he took a few steps forward to where she was standing. Offering a small almost shy smile, she returned it as she also stepped forward to meet him halfway.

“Hey Emma,” he said as she smiled once again and he thought he could see a little blush tinting her cheeks.

“Hi,” she replied as she nervously glanced around the shop before meeting his eye again. “I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

Zack couldn’t help but laugh, “no kidding. It seems almost unreal doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does,” she replied as she glanced over to the front counter and then back to him. “Should we get some coffee and then sit down?”

He nodded and then followed her toward the line, standing and waiting for their turn. When they ordered, he paid for the both of them and then asked her to find a table while he waited for their drinks. Once he had them, he looked around the shop once again looking for her and he found her sitting at a table next to the windows much like she had been when he first saw her. Walking over, she looked up when he walked up and thanked him as she took her cup from him and he took the seat across from her.

“So, you’re a teacher, right?” He asked after a few moments of silence.

She smiled proudly as she set her cup down in front of her and nodded. “Yeah, I actually work at the school for the deaf in town a little ways.”

“Wow, really? That’s impressive, how long have you been working there?”

She shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal but Zack could tell she loved what she did, even though she played it off as just another job. “About three years now.” He noticed she was blushing again and tried to hide the smile itching to grow on his lips. She was so cute, even prettier than he had remembered.

“Anyway,” she continued, interrupting his thoughts. “Enough about me, what about you? How was tour? You never really did tell me much about it. I saw some pictures though, it looked awesome!”

Zack nodded enthusiastically, “it was amazing,”

He began to tell her basically everything that happened on tour and then began to ask her more questions about herself. When he asked her about her family though, by her reaction and the fact that she answered as quickly as possible, mentioning vaguely that she really didn’t see them much, he caught on that that was a sore subject for her and made a mental note to not mention it anymore. But after he quickly changed the subject they continued going back and forth talking and laughing making it feel as if they had known each other for years instead of only a few months.

Nearly four hours and two cups of coffee later, Zack’s phone rang, pulling himself out of the blissful little world they were in. When he saw that it was Ben, he had half a mind to ignore the call but then he remembered that they had something planned later that day and that made him pick up the call. He hadn’t even realized the time until Ben had mentioned it on the phone and sighed as he said goodbye, hanging up and giving Emma a sad look.

“Have to go?” She guess making him nod in return. “Don’t worry about it, I understand. My best friend probably already called my phone a billion times; I just put it on silent.”

Zack laughed, “Yeah I wish I could but Ben would call the cops and report me missing if I missed two of his calls. But it was actually good he called me, I actually didn’t realize what time it was, so I have to go. Sorry,”

“It’s really fine, as much as I wish time could stop, it doesn’t. I probably should go anyway too since my friend is alone in my apartment and God knows what kind of mess she made.”

“I can relate, Ben is not allowed in the kitchen alone anymore after a little incident that happened a few years ago.”

She laughed again and Zack honestly couldn’t ever get sick of it. It was really cute and adorable. They both stood to throw away their cups and walked outside into the beautiful California weather and stepped off to the side to say bye.

“Oh,” Zack said suddenly remembering something as he reached into his pocket. “I believe this belongs to you,” he continued as he pulled out the silver locket and hung it from his finger so she could see it.

Another shy smile appeared as she gingerly took it from him, “Thank you for keeping it safe for me.”

“No problem, I’m just glad that I found it before anything happened to it.” He replied as he held out his hand again. “May I?”

She nervously handed the necklace back and pulled her hair over her shoulder and turned around as he stepped closer to her and reached over to put the necklace on her once again. Once he clasped it around her neck, he stepped away once again and she turned around and smiled.

“There, now it’s with its rightful owner once again,”

She nodded, lightly touching the necklace now around her neck. “Thanks again for the coffee and taking care of my necklace.”

He just shrugged, and took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. The moment he had been dreading and also excited about the entire time they had been talking. It was either make it or break it and he was freaking out.

“So today was fun,” He mentioned quietly, deciding to take the slow approach instead of the band-aid approach and outright ask.

She nodded, “it really was.”

Ok. Here it goes.

“So, I was wondering if maybe you would like to do this again and maybe go out to dinner with me?” He asked, trying not to flip out as she stayed quiet for a few moments.

It was the most nervewracking few seconds of his life making Zack almost want to take back what he said. But then, she gave another shy smile before answering him.

“Yeah,” she said, another blush coloring her cheeks. “I’d really like that.”