Eyes of a Storm

Andrew preferred milk. Steamed, with a touch of foam. Emma liked hers black. And both were best enjoyed in the near corner booth of the Magic Bean on a Friday afternoon.

The first one there ordered the drinks. That’s how it was the first time they went, and that’s how it was every time since. Most of the time it was him due to a rather unlucky lab he had scheduled first thing in the morning. But he didn’t mind, if these coffee dates were the tradeoff.

Perhaps because Andrew had his head in the clouds on the sunny walk over, or maybe it was the excitement of their impending graduation, but the sight of Emma already sitting in their booth with two steaming mugs on the table in front of her made him stop dead in his tracks— a look of shock plastered on his face—half way through the door. Much to the annoyance of another man trying to leave at the same moment. She waved to him with a smile that still made his heart flutter without fail.

Andrew apologized to the man, stepping the rest of the way inside and with three long strides was at their table. He gave Emma a quick kiss before sitting across from her and taking his mug.

“I can’t believe you beat me here,” he said.

“Don’t sound so surprised, given I’ve been letting you get here first all this time,” Emma replied slyly.

“Oh ho ho, you let me?”

Emma took a sip with a mischievous grin. “Absolutely.”

Andrew shook his head but did a rather poor job of hiding the smirk that grew from the corner of his mouth and spread across his whole face. He couldn’t be mad at her. He learned that a long time ago, when she had accidentally stood him up for a dinner date without realizing it. She felt so bad about it the next day when he brought it up that he panicked and insinuated it was his fault, some scheduling mix up with a talent scout looking to recruit him for a modelling job. She, of course, didn’t buy it for a second, but chose to laugh it off as if that was at all possible.

That’s when he knew.

“Well then, if what you say is true,” Andrew rolled his eyes. “And trust me I have my doubts, then I presume there’s a reason you chose today to beat me here?”

Emma waved him off. “My day can wait, I wanted to hear about yours first.”

Andrew drummed his fingers on the table. “Okay, picture this.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I’m walking out of lab today, which seems altogether unnecessary for the last week, but I have a reputation to uphold so I made sure to wait five minutes before falling asleep this time. Anyways as I’m leaving, a man in a surprisingly well tailored chicken costume walks by.”

Emma chuckled and shook her head.

“I know, I know, a bit odd as it is, but far from the strangest thing I’ve seen around this place. I brush it off, move on to my next class. Well then I make it out of that one and bam! I see another one! He was a bit more frayed, a bit less chicken-like. Okay, so there’s two chickens walking around on a Friday, curious but not implausible. But then, I see three more run by! Naturally, I had to follow—”

“Oh you had to, did you?” There was that smile again.

“Of course, any good sleuth knows that a coincidence is never just a coincidence. But get this, by the time I catch up, there’s six chickens lined up in a row!”

“And why were there six chickens?”

“You know I never did figure that part out.”

“Some detective you are.”

Andrew waved off the backhanded compliment. “That’s beside the point, I had a better idea. What does one do to get the attention of a flock of chickens?”

“I don’t know, what?”

Andrew paused for dramatic effect. “The chicken dance.”

Emma covered her mouth with both hands to muffle the sound of her laughter. “You did the chicken dance with six guys in chicken suits? In the middle of campus?”

“Bingo!” He threw his hands out over his head and smiled as Emma shook her head in embarrassment.

“There was only a small-ish crowd, I’m sure it’ll only be somewhat easy to find the video. But hey now it’s your turn, let’s see if you can top that.”

Emma’s smile began to falter and she dropped her gaze to her coffee. He waited, hands resting clasped together on the table, as she stared into her mug. The steam wafted across her face.

She shifted in her seat before speaking. “I got the job offer.”

“What? That’s fantastic!” Andrew reached for her hands but she pulled away and shook her head.

“It’s not here. It’s in New York.”

His heart dropped into his stomach. “I didn’t know they had any New York spots available.”

“They don’t, which is why this was all the more unexpected.” She looked up from her mug and out the window, still avoiding his gaze. “Apparently someone else fell through at the last minute, and they need to fill the role as soon as possible. My resume came up, and they saw that we graduate next week.”

“And? What did you tell them?”

“I said I needed the afternoon to think about it.”

“Emma,” Andrew exhaled. “What is there to think about? You have to take it.”

“But that wasn’t the plan,” she said, calm but firm. “We were supposed to go together, in a few years. Once you got your doctorate. Not now, not like this.”

Andrew shook his head. “Plans change. I don’t think you would ever forgive yourself for not taking this, and I know that I would never forgive myself if I was the reason you passed on your dream.”

Emma let Andrew take her hand and they sat in silence until both of their mugs were empty. Neither spoke, both wanting to preserve the illusion of joy they knew they should be feeling, but weren’t. Once both mugs were empty they rose, hand in hand, and set them on the dish tray on the way out the door.

Only once they were outside under the gaze of the setting sun did Emma look Andrew in the eye. He said nothing, instead letting himself get lost in her gaze. Her eyes were a storm and he was at their mercy. They drew him in and tossed him around like a boat in stormy seas, until he could no longer remember which way was up. Deep down, there was no question of what had to happen next. But wasn’t that also the point, after all? To witness the depths of her regardless of how choppy the waters got? The journey was what made it all worth it, regardless of the end.

Emma closed the distance and pulled Andrew’s head down to hers. Her kiss was hard and desperate. They were the air in each other's lungs and the beat to each other’s hearts.

If Andrew could stop time just for a single moment, he thought, he would choose this one. Bury himself in her soul just to show her that he would do it all again, over and over for an eternity, no matter how much it hurt. Because she deserved every good thing that came her way and more.

And then she pulled away, and all he could do was let her hand fall from his as he stood there on the sidewalk. He watched her go, his tempest, as she disappeared into the crowd.