How are you doing?

She opened the door as he followed closely behind with hesitating steps. Her hair is a bit different now... A bit longer and curled but she tied them up, constraining her hair into that of a pony tail.

He observed her every movement. He loved how her pony tail bounces. He giggled a bit inside. 

"Corner?" she asked. He looked around and pointed to his right- a table for two, near the windows. Fitting.

They made their way to the table and took their seats. The waitress laid out the menu and they both studied it. As they flipped through the pages, his eyes scoured her. She looks more fragile... The radiant once covered her, gone. Her fingers frail... Her wrist, now skin wrapping bones. He died a little inside.

Their eyes met for a while. He snapped from his scouring and continued studying the menu.

"Wondering what I should order..." she said. 

He looked up at her and a smile was drawn on his face.

"Coffee? You love coffee," he replied.

She frowned. She looked into the menu closely, now halfway lifting it up. She placed her finger on her lips and tapped lightly.

"I know but what kind?" she asked.

He looked at the menu and noticed the multitude of choices. He chuckled.

"Well, there's the long black, the white coffee, latte, mocha, cappucino...." he went on, almost reciting the whole list of coffee choices.

"Ding dong!" she exclaimed with a tiny roll of the eyes and continued, "What are you having? Too bad they don't have frappucino, huh?"

"Nope but they have ice blended coffee!" they giggled a little.

He ran his fingers through the list.

"Cappucino looks good," he finally decided.

"Two then," she too.

They placed their order and waited.

Their eyes met again. Black and pearly her eyes were. He loved them. They were true. There was nothing malicious behind those eyes. They gave him a sense of calm. He loved her smiles too but her smiles seemed a rarity now. 

The good, the bad. The happiness, the joy, the sadness... The pain... Everything felt like it was yesterday. Emotions were peaking. He could feel a bit of tears welling up at the corner of his eyes. Memories flooded his mind as he wonders if it was the same for her. 

They broke off their eye contact and continued their wait for the coffee. There was a deafening silence between them. The chatters and laughter of other diners surrounded them. She looked out the window. He rubbed his hands in anxiety.

Finally, they looked at each other again. She wore a lovely smile and asked,

"How are you doing?"

He looked on, unsure where to start.

-End-