Along the Way

I remember the first time I saw her.
I wasn't planning to ask for spare change.
I never ask the happy ones. My eyes were cast down and I pretended to be a statue, hoping she'd walk by without noticing such a sad lump of skin and bones.
A pretty girl deserves a pretty world.

But she didn't rush by or hold her breath as she came near me. She sat down at my side, as if we were old friends. I stole a glance at her. Long dark hair and a nose red from the cold.
She had a scarf wrapped twice around her neck and gloves without fingers.
She hugged her knees and smiled at me.
"Are you hungry?" She asked idly, as if my answer could possibly be no.

We walked to a corner cafe. The one with those famous soups that always made my mouth water.
She sat at the corner table gracefully, her demeaner calm and collected. I followed her lead.
The waitress walked up smiling, even though it dropped slightly when she assessed my condition,
I thought she deserved a good tip for trying hard not to notice.

"what can I get you?" She asked politely.
My company looked the waitress in the eye and smiled genuinely.
"I'll have a tall mochiatto, double shot of caffiene."
The attention was turned to me.
"Get anything you'd like."
I looked down and shook my head.
"I'm not picky.." I mumbled.

She smiled again softly, then to the waitress "We'll have one of everything."
I could hardly contain my excitement. And my guilt.
Before it evolved into a round of self-loathing, she interupted my thoughts.
"So whats your name?"

"Shane." Nobodys asked my name since I was a child.

"Shane." She stated back to me. Nobodys put my name to words since my father died.
Her hazel eyes seemed mysterious. Maybe it was the green in her scarf that brought them out so.
She was beautiful, and I couldn't understand why she would choose to be seen with the likes of me.