Natural (Disaster)

Meeting Again

Mia



Monday morning came fast after my eventful weekend, but no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get that girl on the beach out of my mind. There had been something about her that called to me in a way I had never felt. Sadly, I hadn’t thought of asking for her phone number and only knew that she lived somewhere in the next town over. 

I sighed to myself as I fixed my messy bun and checked the time on my phone. Just a couple more hours. I had the breakfast and lunch shifts at the small diner that I worked at today, which meant a very early morning for me and I was feeling it. 

“Are you almost done back there?” I heard my boss, Mr.Jackson yell back from the counter. 

“Yup! Marv is finishing the food now!” just as the cook placed the last few items on the plates I was waiting for. I grabbed them and quickly took them to their tables. 

“Those were the last orders as of right now. Do you want me to go prep anything for the dinner crew tonight?” I asked with a smile when I made it back to the counter and Mr. Jackson. 

“No dear, you’ve been running around all day already, the boys will be coming in a little early anyway, so I think they’ll be able to handle it just fine on their own.” Levi’s Place had been Mr. Jackson's business venture when he was a young man in his twenties and had now become a family business that his two sons helped him with. “In fact, if you would like, you can take off a little early today,” he said warmly. 

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“I may be old, but I think Marv and I can handle this for an hour just fine” he chuckled. 

“You got that right!” Marv yelled as he poked his head out of the kitchen with a grin on his face. “Just because we’re old don’t mean we ain’t pros, right Levi?” he winked at Mr. Jackson before getting back to work in the kitchen. 

“See? Nothing two old fellas can’t handle, so go on and enjoy the rest of your day. It looks gorgeous outside!” Mr. Jackson said to me. He really was the best boss I could have asked for. He made a point not to overwork any employee, always scheduled us fairly, and made a point of adding “bonuses” whenever the diner was doing exceptionally well to thank us all for our hard work. 

“It is a sunny 75 degrees today, maybe I’ll go for a nice long walk on the Constitutional Trail”. I smiled back at him, knowing he wasn’t going to stop trying to convince me. 

“That sounds like a perfect idea to me!” he said as he grabbed my bag for me and led me towards the door. 

Constitutional Trail was one of my favorite places to go and walk. As I walked out of the diner, I decided to walk to the bus stop down the way and take it to my favorite trails. I only had to wait a few minutes until the bus pulled up and I could step on.

“Hello, Oliver!” I greeted the bus driver as I scanned my bus card. 

“Miss” he nodded to me before moving to close the bus doors as I took my seat. It would be a short ride, but I just hoped that a nice long walk would help clear my head. No matter what I had tried, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head. Those amber eyes seemed to have burned into memory, vivid and clear whenever I closed my eyes. 

I jumped up as the bus pulled to a stop and quickly made my way to my favorite area. There were miles of lush trees here. Tall spruce trees, red maples with full branches, and swaying elms. As I walked into the trail and the shade cast by them I took in a deep breath. That’s when I felt it, a strange pulling feeling. Without thinking, I turned toward the gazebo at the far end of the tail and I saw her. She was leaning calmly against one of the railings, eyes closed and as her eyes opened they instantly met mine as she smiled.