Shades of Gray

It took me three drives around the block to figure out which apartment he lived in. I went to the house he used to live in. Virginia answered, but Gabriel wasn't there. She told me where to go, though.

I didn't just get up and leave, though. We caught up on some things. She told me that she hadn't seen Gabriel in a while, but she wasn't too worried about him.

I looked up to her collection and snow globes, sitting on their usual shelf. It made me smile; I remember this whenever I still lived in Queens, and came over. It seemed as if she had more than before.

Although we briefly caught up, I didn't stay for long. I was anxious to see Gabriel again. I was anxious to see the changes and similarities with both his appearance and personality.

Hopefully he was the same sweet guy I had left behind. And, although I knew changed, there was no spark in my mind suggesting that Gabriel would ever become the person he had.

Finally, I had found the right building. Although fairly tall, I figured it wouldn't take me very long to figure out which part of the apartment he was actually located in.

Parallel parking is not my strong point.

Once I aligned the car in the spot correctly, which, for the record, took excruciatingly long, I got out of the car. Closing the door, I proceeded to walk up the stoop, and into the foyer of the apartment building.

I retrieved a piece of paper out of my pocket; one that Virginia had given me, containing Gabriel's apartment number. I discovered quickly that I had to walk up a flight of stairs to reach his apartment, but it was no worrying matter.

Becoming nervous, I was also full of anticipation. There had to be so much that both of us would talk about. What he had been up to in the past few years. Any possiblebut hopefully not love interests.

I closed my eyes and knocked on the door, before opening them again. I could hear walking footsteps towards the door, before a pause, presumably to see who it was. As the door opened, my heart sped up. This really was a big deal, being reunited with Gabriel.

"Alison?" he asked with a questioning voice. He spoke before I ever had a chance to register his appearance. He was slightly taller, his hair more gruff, his glasses misplaced.

"...Gabriel," I started, my voice was quivering. "I missed you so much," I resumed before engulfing him in a hug. It caught him off guard, as he stepped back slightly, but his arms surrounded me as mine with his.

I felt warm and safe. It was Gabriel Gray.

"Me too," he said quietly. I could sense the emotion, even though it seemed as if he tried to hide it.

"Me too," Gabriel repeated.