Auspice

She clutched the paper-wrapped package and splashed across the street. Others viewed her life as disorganized, chaotic. But beneath the frayed surface there was rhythm and structure. This meeting was not planned. He left a message while she was at the gym. The coffee shop was across from the printer and she was able to work it into the day without displacing anything important. How well he knew her routine.

She spied him at a table near the window. He knew she would be punctual and had ordered her favorite. She sat and tucked stray wisps back into her ponytail. Thanking him for the drink, she placed her package on the table and flashed that smile that made him hers. He had never before asked to meet her in the middle of the day. She opened the package from the printer and pulled out the new brochure, passing it to him. “Nice work! Didn’t realize you were such a geek.”

“Nerd. And I had help. I just hope it’s enough to bring in more donors.” She was proud of her work at the research foundation, and he was happy she had a cause to engage her while the kids were in school. She started telling him about her day. They were both so busy lately with their own projects. She didn’t know how he even found time to meet her. He looked older. Tired.

She told him about the trouble with their daughter’s recital and the latest struggle with the contractor designing their new deck. He nodded. She talked. He had always been the silent one. When they were out socially, she did the talking for him. She was almost embarrassed at his silence. It was not that he wasn’t intelligent. He was a brilliant man, well respected in his field, widely published and a popular speaker. She decided long ago that he just didn’t ‘get’ this social thing. He preferred to connect online. She didn’t think he had any ‘real’ friends.

She talked until she ran out of things to say. He reached across the table for her hand and she gave it a squeeze, before pulling away, straightening the brochures. Her phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen. “Soccer!” She hopped up and gave him a peck on the cheek. He stood, lips parted with intention. She was gone, breezing across the wet street, lights flashing as she unlocked the car. He followed. The car pulled away as he pulled the cold handle on the heavy pub door.