Sarah is a calculating, a type-A personality through and through. Sarah is always put together, no matter where she is or how she is dressed, whether in pajamas or in a $2,000 business suit on her way into work. But then there was Kelly, imperfectly perfect. Her freckles splattered across her face. Her long brown hair flowing around her shoulders in the warm summer breeze. She occasionally tried to tame it, but as soon as she waited on tables, she, for the most part, would let it do its thing, while she did hers. Her apron was haphazardly tied around her tiny waist. Her breasts were full and uncaged under her white tee. Her nipples were prominent and slightly visible, but she didn’t care. She carried herself most unapologetically, smiling and laughing around the patio area.

Finally, she was standing right in front of me. I hadn’t met her, but I felt like I already knew her. That’s what watching someone for some time will do. Her face lit up with the sun shining down on her from behind. Her short skirt grazed the side of the table as she swayed her hips.

“Hey, what can I get for you?” Her voice was light and airy.

I stared into her eyes, and it was then I noticed that the same sadness I had in me, she had in her. I’ve always believed the eyes cannot lie. They hold the truths we are unable or unwilling to speak. Her eyes full, large, and bursting with pain. But pain from what? Her smile faded a bit as she waited for me to speak. She stared back into my eyes, and I like to think she recognized the hurt and loneliness in mine.

“I can give you a few more minutes,” she said. Her voice had lost some of its lightness in those few seconds.

“No, no.” I smiled at her, letting her know from this point on things were going to be all right. Maybe she didn’t know what that smile meant to me, but I knew I would soon make her understand what it meant. She smiled back.

“I’ll have a cup of coffee… black.”

“You got it!” The lightness in her voice had returned.

“I’m Adam.” I held out my hand to shake hers. She looked down at it and then reached hers out to shake mine with only the slightest bit of hesitation. I noticed the band on her ring finger, and she noticed mine. We stared at each other’s hands for seconds, our eyes met, and there was a sense of understanding between us.