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"Just a friend. Show me your carnation, right now," Cristina shouted. Greg, a little taken aback stood up and reached up for a flower in the lapel of his coat. He handed her the red carnation and this time a wave of red filled her cheeks.
"And, you don't have a profile photo on the dating site because you only joined a few days ago." Cristina shouted fixing Greg with a determined stare.
Shocked, Greg paused before replying. "How did you know that?"
Cristina stood up, reached for her coat, took the white carnation from the pocket and jammed it into Greg's hand. Greg couldn't believe his eyes.
"So, you're "SundayCoffee?" Greg smiled in disbelief.
"Yes I am. And you must be NewToThis?" Cristina snarled.
Cristina grabbed her phone and stood up, "One minute I'll be right back. Don't you go anywhere. I'm not finished with you yet," she barked at the bemused Greg. He sat there patiently waiting for the fire to fade as it always did with Cristina. He straightened his tie and wondered who was about to get a blasting on the other end of her phone. He wanted to smile but decided it wasn't a good idea. Give her a few minutes and he knew everything would be fine again.
Sally picked up on the first ring. "Hey Cristina, so how did your date go? Is he hot?"
Cristina shouted down the phone. "He is. And you already knew that. I walk in here and the date is Greg. How could you do this to me Sally? I trusted you."
"What on Earth are you talking about. If the guy is like Greg don't blame me. I was just trying to help."
"Come on Sally, you were setting me up with Greg all along. The two of you must have had a right laugh stringing me along like this for weeks. Grooming me to join that site, getting my hopes up, then this. I don't find this in the slightest bit amusing. In fact, I
think its down right cruel messing with my head like this."
"Calm down just one minute Cristina. I have never even met Greg, how do you think I could have conjured up this absurd scenario. Think logically for a minute."
Through the haze of her anger Cristina saw that she was wrong. Greg had been genuinely surprised to see her, he was a terrible liar, he hadn't expected to see her, his face had given that away. And Sally have never met him. She suddenly realized, she'd got it all wrong. She apologized profusely to Sally and rushed back to Greg for more humble pie.
Cristina slowly and cautiously took her seat next to Greg. "I'm so sorry Greg. Really I am, I thought meeting you was a set up planned by my friend Sally. I just spoke to her and as she rightly pointed out she doesn't even know you. I feel like such a complete idiot. Please forgive me."
Greg reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Cristina. That's one of your most endearing qualities. I love your fire, it's exciting. And you never let it ruin the day, if you're wrong you say you're sorry and it's over. I love that about you." Greg smiled and looked across the table at the woman he had loved and lost. The woman he had not stopped thinking about everyday since they had split up. He had missed her so much.
Cristina felt Greg's reassuring hand on her shoulder and she felt calm again, he always had that effect on her. "Thank you. How come you never said anything before?"
Greg paused before moving his mouth closer to Cristina's ear and lowering his voice. "There's a lot that went unsaid before. I suppose that happens over time even when you really care about someone, you stop saying the little things, the little things that matter a lot. You wait for the big moments like birthdays, like Christmas and like Valentines Day but it's the little things we do each day that say a lot. You know what I mean. Even going out for a meal can become old after a few years. It's just too easy to opt for the nearest place because it saves time, because it's convenient. But that misses the whole point which is to spend that special time together in a place you enjoy.
"Lets change that right now. We have a lot of catching up to do. Let me get your coat, we're going out to dinner, right now, to that Thai restaurant you always loved."
"Really? I have'nt been there since "us". I still remember what I ate there on our first ever date but maybe it's not the food that makes it so special. Maybe it's something else." Cristina joked and beamed at Greg.
Greg laughed and helped Cristina on with her coat, he held the door open for her and as she walked ahead, gently placed his hand on the small of her back, just like he used to, just like she remembered, just the way she liked him to.
* * *
"I love London on a Sunday morning," Greg declared as he walked hand in hand with his sweet heart.
Cristina squeezed his hand. "Really? So do I. Funny that. So, where are you taking me on this fine morning good Sir?"
"There's a great coffee shop just down this street. I think you'll like it. I went on a date there once. Did I ever tell you about that?"
"No, I don't think you did tell me. Tell me right now or I'm taking the next train home," Cristina teased.
Greg felt her warm hand in his and looked Cristina in the eye before continuing. "I met this girl on a dating site. Funny thing is I could hardly make out her photo but her profile made her sound like just the kind of girl I like so I thought, what the heck, lets give it a try. Then I met her, and I was blown away. She was a stunning English rose. She dressed well, walked like a model and spoke well. She was everything I'd ever wanted in a woman."
"She sounds amazing. I'll have to meet her someday," Cristina joked. "So, when did you know you were in love?"
"I knew the moment she turned her head. When I called out her name, the way she turned her head and the way her long blonde hair swept past her collar. That was it. I was hooked."
"Sounds serious. What are you going to do?" Cristina giggled.
