I remember sitting there, minding my own business. The wind was a slightly moving napkins about the table. In frustration, I put my glass on the stack to keep it from dancing in the breeze.

As I sitting, waiting for Charles to arrive for our lunch, she walked by.

It was a fleeting moment, to say the least. But my slouched pose suddenly corrected itself. I was no longer concerned with the wind or its affect on napkins.

She was crossing the street, coming toward the cafe. She was wearing a red summer dress, and it being an August evening, it fit perfectly.

She waited for traffic to pass, and my gaze cut through my sunglasses. Prancing across the street, she walked by.

I couldn't stop staring.

"Hi there," she said.

Taken aback, I meekly replied, "Hello."

She smiled and stopped.

"Is this seat taken?"

I hesitated.

"Uh, no. No it isn't."

"Oh good, I could use a rest. I have been walking quite some time."

Charles never showed. Some thing came up, some thing I will never remember as to why he wasn't there.

But, it never really mattered that he didn't show up.