The Woman in Green

These attempts to find her, the woman in green, continue and over time become an obsession. How could she come into my life and disappear like this.

* * * * *

After three weeks of looking, I sit down in a nice small café one afternoon to have dinner and a nice looking woman seats herself at a table near me. It obviously was not a design. These were the only two tables available. This couldn't be a accident here. Is some deity watching over me? She turns to look at the view of the lake. Between the lake and us there is a busy street and crowded sidewalk out there.

I order. She orders. She is a taller woman. A bit bony in the shoulders. Thin enough though. Her legs look long and nicely curved. She isn't beautiful or pretty, but is attractive enough to be quite pleasantly rewarding to look at.

A party of four enter the café laughing. It is obvious that they are known by the owner of the business. They are chatting and funny. I notice the woman beside me look up at them and smile, then at me and the smile stays on her face. I smile back at her. We both turn away to watch what the owner is going to do.

I am not surprised at all when the owner approaches us, the woman and me, standing between our two separate tables, and speaks to us.

"Excuse me, please. I hate to impose on you. We have another party and have no tables. I wonder if I might ask the two of you to share one table so that this party can use one table, please."

I looked at her.

She shrugs, "I don't mind."

"Nor do I." I smiled at her, then rose and looked down on the owner who is even shorter than I. "Please offer them this table. I will join the lady."

Smiling broadly, he moved away to retrieve the party and seat them at the table I'd vacated as I seated myself at the woman's table.

"How do you do, I'm Sam," I tell her as I settle myself.

"Hi, I'm Cynthia."

The owner returns, "Can I buy you two a glass of wine for your cooperation?"

Cynthia says, "Do you have a good Chardonnay?"

"But of course," he nodded and looked at me.

"That will be fine," I say.

As he strides away, I turn to Cynthia, "Perfect. I'm really glad we did this, I'm tired of being lonely. Tonight is no night to continue it."

She laughs, a nice smile, " I know what you mean. I think I agree."

The wine comes and we salute each other before taking a sip. "Here's to the end of loneliness."

"Here's to coziness," I toast.

She laughs again, really nice, "I'll drink to that, too."

And we do. We both sip at it though. No drinkers at this table.

After a moment, she sits her glass on the table and looks me in the eye, "how long you been lonely?"

"Too long. Three weeks but that was only one night. Six months before that."

"Wow. That is a long time. " She sips at her wine, then turns to me again, "I've been alone for two months."

"I'm sorry. It's no way to be."

"Yes," she said. "My husband left me for an older woman."

"I've never heard of that. I thought it was always a younger one."

"He said I was too immature for him."

"You don't seem to be so immature to me, how old was he?"

"Two years older than I." She holds the glass tightly, "She's very beautiful."

"So, now you're a single woman."

"Yes, I guess that's true."

"This woman he left for, she doesn't only wear green, does she?"

She looks up at me, "what an odd thing to say. Green? No, I don't think so."

"That's a relief," I add under my breath.

"What's this? The woman in green thing?"

I have to smile, "maybe I'll explain sometime, if we know each other that well."

Our dinners arrive and we eat. Both of us had ordered Chicken Toulesaine, at my suggestion and it is more than either of us can eat. When we finish there are two full meals left, but the sausages and sauerkraut are gone from my dish with the chicken remaining, and the chicken and sauerkraut is missing from her place with the sausages remaining. I lean back in my chair and relax. The waiter comes to clear the dishes and neither of us want the food to go but we both do want decaf espressos and we wait patiently for them to come.

"So what's it like, to be a single woman in the city?"

She looks surprised. "I don't know. I haven't been out. Haven't met anyone. Work, go home, read, listen to music and go to sleep. Sounds boring doesn't it? Week-ends I visit my parents in the country."

"Would you go out with me?"

She looks at me for a long moment, appraisingly. "Yes, Sam. I'll go out with you."

"Can we consider this out first date, then?"

"Why not," she laughs.

"Do you kiss on first dates?"

"Well, sure, I think I could manage that all right."

I lean over and kiss her on the mouth right there in the restaurant. Then we sit up and have our coffees. Everyone is staring at us with what, romance for us in their eyes? I smile at them as Cynthia smiles at the table.

After coffee and exiting the little café, we kiss again, and again, and soon enough she is in my arms in the middle of the traffic that makes it's way around us.

I pull away from her. "Your place, or mine?"

"Whatever is closest," she whispers into my ear and I never look backwards again, not even for the woman in green.

She watches as the young couple runs down the street away from her, then the woman in green smiles, nods, and then walks away.

FINIS