“Oh, excuse me. I didn’t realize that you were standing there.” I say softly with a southern accent as I stare up into the most gorgeous green eyes, I have ever seen on anyone in my life, not to mention a tall, handsome man in his mid-twenties.
While I turn sideways and move closer to the wall, I try my hardest to not stare, but I feel immediately compelled to reach up and kiss him like in all those romance movies where they are instantly attracted to each other. It is so strong that I almost follow through and would have if it wasn’t for Mrs. Davidson’s butting in from right behind me. “Dear, put your eyes back in their sockets for the moment. I do believe you have never met Sam here, have you?” She asks snidely with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
If I didn’t know better, I would say that this 45-year-old, black haired cougar has designs on him and I am standing in her way. Because she is beginning to irritate me, I reply coyly, “By all means let me move for you.” as I step to the side of the door with a smirk on my lips and allow them both to walk past me.
For a second, I could swear that he looked me up and down before he passes by me and stops just inside the doorway. He turns and looks like he is about to say something to me when Mrs. Davidson yells to Mary, “I ordered the meal for four to go. Did you get it made up yet? I am in a hurry you know.” As she taps her foot on the old wooden floor impatiently and looks wildly from me to the tall man standing next to me with blonde, curly hair.
“Patience is a virtue.” I murmur under my breath.
Apparently, she hears me because she quickly comes back with. “God gifted you Eve, with one virtue. He sure didn’t give you any other gifts from what I see. That is such a shame.” She says with hatred as she rolls her eyes and turns her attention to Mary behind the counter as she puts the two boxes in plastic grocery bags and then rings Mrs. Davidson up.
The whole time, I am left standing directly next to the door and Sam is so close to me that I can smell his Spice cologne as he watches the hustle and bustle of the room before he looks down at me and says sweetly, “I am Sam Ellsworth. Did I hear Mrs. Davidson right? Is your name Eve?”
I swallow hard and take a step back to close the door as the wind begins to chill my bones. While I do this, I glance up at him quickly and realize that he is still staring at me and waiting for an answer. “Yes. Yes, I am. Why?” I state matter-of-factly, even though I am nervous around this man for some reason.
It is a bit strange now that I think of it, because men do not ever make me feel this way. After all, I grew up in a house full of males. When you have 5 brothers that are all older than you, you begin to get accustomed to all the strange things they do. Even when they sit down on the couch to watch a football game with their hands down their pants and let out various bodily gases along the way.
I laugh and as I look up into his eyes, I see something, a sense of familiarity that I can’t quite put my finger on until he says softly, “Do you not remember me?” with a strange sort of half smile on his lips.
I stop and wonder why I should remember him, until the spark kindles the flame that starts the wildfire. As I stand there staring into those gorgeous green eyes, I remember. Sam. Sam from when I was four and we played out in the woods together. The same Sam that promised to marry me when we became adults.
At the age of 6, we held a mock wedding in our back yard, and he even put a toy ring from the candy machine on my finger to seal the deal. That Sam. “Oh, my goodness.” I say quietly as I step to the side and steer clear of Mrs. Davidson who is heading right for me.
Stopping briefly, she looks at the two of us and shakes her head before she mutters, “Well, I never.” And then she opens the door and almost hits me with it in the meantime before she disappears out the door.
When it slams shut, I glance back up to Sam’s eyes and begin to wrap my arms around his neck as I step up onto my tiptoes. I make a happy giggle and then say in a girlish way, “How could I forget? But then you left, and I never heard from you again.”
After hugging each other, I step back and say quietly while trying to not stare into those amazing eyes, “Why don’t you stick around for a few minutes, if you have time that is. I am just about to close and then we can talk.”
“Sure, I would love to. Just let me grab my takeout first.” He says cheerfully before he turns towards Mary and the register.
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Sorry.” I say apologetically as I turn over the sign on the door and lock it.
“Go for it.” I say absentmindedly and then I cry out before I shove both my hands into the front pockets of my worn-out jeans. “Hey, Mary. This one is on the house.”
It makes me wonder what kind of first impression I made on him after so many years. After all, my long brown hair is falling out of its bun and my clothes are ragged from too many days of hard work and it really shows. While I wait for him to grab his package from Mary, I wipe off the tables with an old dishrag and then turn over most of the chairs and put them on top of the tables so I can sweep up later after he is gone.