Justin never expected to run into Claudia at the bar. When she walked up to him, he was stunned. Out of habit, he wanted to call her Winnie. One of the few times he had run into her while she was with her mom, he found out she was called "Winnie."They walked up to a quiet corner and had a seat. No one said anything for a while. They just took in each other"s presence.
"Did you think about me over the past 4 years?" Her voice broke the silence.
"Every single moment," I thought to myself. My mouth uttered something different.
"I did. When I got back, I was going to contact you through Kev, but I didn"t know how to appear in front of you," I replied meekly.
"The same way you did then, but the location would just be different. I got my own place." She smiled confidently. She was so straightforward that I didn"t know how to react.
"Well, keep your eyes on your door. I might show up at any time," I replied heartily.
Once again, it was silent. She had grown a lot since the last time I saw her. Every time I came home for a short break, I resisted the urge to see her. I wasn"t confident that I wouldn"t quit everything and run to her. Seeing her right in front of me and talking with her made me lose my heart to her all over again.
"I"m a Brigadier general now. I just need to work harder and I"ll be a Major Genral in a few years," I said.
"Was it hard?" She looked at me gently, urging me for an answer.
"It was, but I made it... made it back to you." Of course, I didn"t say that last part out.
She talked about getting her license a year ago and setting up her shop with the help of her parents. Tanya also helped her a lot with the promotions and customers. She went back every summer to learn from Tanya, and she had an amazing experience every time.
It was comfortable striking up a conversation with her. I wasn"t as nervous as I thought I"d be when I finally faced her. She laughed at some of my training stories, and I found it so cute.
"Your phone, " she demanded out of nowhere.
Like a robot, I handed it over. She took a selfie with it and pressed on it, then I saw her phone light up. She picked it up and took a picture of me. I bet I was looking fl.u.s.tered at the moment.
"Now you have my number. No more middleman Kevin," she said, handing my phone back to me.
I smiled as I clicked on the gallery to see the picture she had taken. One word. Beautiful!
We talked for a while more before hugging it out and bidding goodbye. It all felt like a dream to me, but the picture confirmed it was reality.