too late?
I sat down at the table, out of breath and embarrassed. She was engaged in a conversation with someone I didn’t recognize and the round table was half empty and cleared away of food. He was nowhere to be seen, and I began to panic slightly, wondering if I had missed him.
She glanced at me, meeting my eyes as soon as I was situated in the chair, but she did not stop her conversation with the man sitting next to her to actually greet me. Her eyes were steely and her face stern and even though I knew I was slightly older than her, I felt exactly like a young child who had been naughty.
I bit my lip and started to feel very small. I knew I was wrong coming here now, when she had to have been waiting for me for over an hour, but I wanted to at least offer her an apology and set up another time, if she even wanted to see me again.
Caught up in my nerves, I hardly felt the touch on my shoulder, and only when he said my name did I look over to see who was speaking. Apparently my face displayed more anxious fear than I intended because his quizzical expression softened with a slight smile as he looked at me.
“What are you doing here?” he asked gently, sitting beside me. “We had just about given you up.”
“I got caught up with something and lost track of time," I admitted, taking one of his hands in mine. "Do you think she’ll forgive me? I swear it wasn’t intentional.” It was funny, I was definitely still nervous, but having him beside me now made me feel at least a small bit better.
“She’ll probably look angry for a while, but she won’t hold a horrible grudge. I promise.” There was a slight pause before he said, “I unfortunately have to leave though, or I’ll be late for a meeting of my own.” He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly, and then caught the eye of his sister and gave her a slight smile before he walked out.
He glanced back once, and then a second time when he saw that I was watching him, his expression inquiring as if trying to read my thoughts. I tried to give him a smile, but for some reason it hurt, and the smile felt more like a grimace. And then he was gone and I was left to my own devices.
-dys [this is actually completely based on a dream I had]