The Restroom Door

As I slowly walk down South Water St. I see this sign saying Grand Opening. I look inside through the window and see an old man sleeping before a TV, with old books all around him. I slowly open the door and a bell above my head dings.

The old man wakes up and says, "Hello, take your time looking around, everything is half off."

I thank him and look around the store. I slowly make my way over to the old sport books; written about Lou Gerhig, Babe Ruth, Gayle Sayers, and other sports stars from the past. I peruse the books for a good twenty minutes. I pick up ten books and bring them up to the register. I put them down and ask the old man if there is a restroom in the store.

"Yeah, in the back next to the New Age section," he tells me.

"Thanks, I'll be right back to pay for these books."

It takes me some time to find the New Age section of the store. Right next to the bookcase is the door to the restrooms. I open the door and close it behind me...

The next thing I know I'm on a road in the middle of nowhere. I slowly walk on this road towards the south (I think its south I'm going). At the top of the hill I see a small village. I follow this road until it takes me to the center of the village. When I reach the middle of this village, I see an old man with a cart filled with goods to sell at a market; (I think). On the top of the cart is a long purple necklace case.

I pursued the old man to stop walking and I pick up the case. When I open it, I see a gold necklace with a heart pendent on it. I ask the old man how much he wants for it, but he can't understand a word I'm saying, so I just take out my wallet and give him two hundred-dollar bills. He smiles at me and shakes my hand. I leave the old man there and continue walking through the village.

Up ahead there is a little café that I slowly walk towards. When I finally get there I order a coffee and croissant. When my order is up, I get it and make my way outside to sit. As I'm drinking my coffee I see this old lady walking towards the cafe. This lady has curlers in her hair and she slowly makes her way towards me. She goes in and orders a coffee and walks outside to a table near mine. You can see the pain she is in as she tries to sit down on her chair. But she finally does sit and she smiles at me.

I finish my croissant and get up for a refill of coffee. When I go back outside, I see another lady approaching the café. She doesn't look a day over twenty and she's selling roses. I walk out and buy a dozen roses from her. After she hands me the roses, I hand one back to her. She smiles as I walk back into the cafe and give the old lady a rose. Smiling up at me, she gets out of her chair and hugs me...hard!

Then I hand out the other ten roses to assorted ladies in the cafe. The last rose that I hand out is to the most beautiful woman in the cafe. She has dirty blonde hair, crystal clear blue eyes and a smile that lights up the whole room. I hand her the rose and I lightly kiss her hand. She smiles at me as I sit down next to her. I ask her if she speaks English.

She smiles again and says, "Yes."

Then I start talking to her, learning that her name is Donna. She was born here in Cannes. The reason why she knows English is because her mother was from the U.S. For the rest of the time we talk, laugh and cry until closing time for the cafe. Then we walk hand in hand as we leave the cafe. She takes us away from the village and towards the sea. When we finally get there we both take off our shoes and walk barefoot across the sand.

I talk to her about my hope and dreams. About how I want to become a teacher, but so far I don't have a high enough g.p.a to become one. And she tells me how she wishes that she could go to college but she doesn't have that kind of money. Then I tell her that I would give her all the stars and I would make every dream of hers come true. Smiling at me, she says very little. She thinks about what I have said and everything else she knows about me. Then she leans toward me and lightly kisses me on my cheek. She is smiling shyly at me.

I look at her, feel the wind against my face and I see her hair blow in the wind as I smile back at her. Leaning down I to try to kiss her soft lips...but she sees that and runs away from me. I call out her name but she is still running towards town. I try to follow her, but I don't know my way through the village so I easily lose her.

Walking back to the beach, I try to replay the events of the night. I thought she was beginning to like me...did I do something wrong? I just sit there looking out at the water and stars all night long. The next day I go back to the cafe hoping to see her there again. I sit down and wait. The next time I look the time is four in the afternoon. Then an hour later she finally shows up. She sits down next to me and she tells me that she's been thinking about last night. She tells me that she's sorry that she ran off. I told her it's alright, I was moving a little too fast. She smiles at me and I tell her that I'm sorry too.

I said, "I'm sorry dear, I'll move this relationship along slower for you."

Again she smiles at me and tells me thanks. We begin to talk again at depth. Same as yesterday we sit there and talk laugh and cry. But today I pay more attention to what she says. Like yesterday we are the last two to leave the cafe. We walk the same route down to the beach, but today we happen to catch the sunset over the water. We sit on the sand and watch the water crash against the beach. She lays her head on my shoulder enjoy the beating of the water in our ears. I'm happy and content.

She looks at her watch and sees that it's midnight. She gets up and tells me that she has to leave. I kiss her lightly on her cheek and ask if I can see her again tomorrow.

She says, "Yes, but met me at the cafe again."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, Donna."

She smiles, then leaves me alone on the beach again. Now I go wondering the streets trying to find a motel or somewhere I can stay the night. I finally find one and I crawl into bed and fall asleep.

I wake up the next morning feeling like a new man. Eight hours of sleep will do anyone good. I slowly make my way back to the cafe and order a coffee and a bagel. When my order is up, I get it and make my way to sit outside. As I sit outside drinking my coffee, the same people I've seen the past two days walk past me. I sit there and countdown the hours until I see her again. The sun gets lower as each hour goes by.

Soon it is the hour when she has showed up the two other times. She is nowhere to be seen. I sit there for another hour. but she never shows up. I take my time and walk down to the beach. As I walk I hope she is down there. When I finally get to the beach...I look up one way but I don't see her. I walk down the other way for a few miles, but I see no one. Then I feel a tap on my shoulder...I jump, but it's her and she's smiling at me.

"Why are you smiling at me?" I ask her.

She says, "Because you are the first guy to go looking for me."

I can't be mad at her anymore. She just looks so beautiful standing in front of me with the sunset behind her. I smile back at her and remember the necklace that I bought from the old man. I take it out and give it to her. She's surprised as she opens the case. As she does this she smiles at me, and then starts to cry at the same time.

"Oh, Joseph...this is too much...I can't take this from you."

"Yes, you can Donna...and it would look lovely on you," I tell her as I take the necklace out and help her put it on her.

She turns around and looks at me. I look deep into her eyes and I smile at her. She smiles at me as she reaches up and softly kisses me on my lips. I look down at her and smile at her again. We sit on the beach together holding hands and looking at the stars, the moon and the water. I tell her that if I could, I would give her the moon and the stars. She tells me that I am a silly man and she smiles a big goofy smile. We both sit there until midnight again and she tells me that its time for her to leave. Tonight I insist that I walk her home.

She says, "Okay."

We slowly make it back to her place and I kiss her on her cheek. I ask her if I can see her again tomorrow. She says, "Yes, and tomorrow I'll meet you at the cafe. This time I promise."

She closes the door behind her as I slowly walk my way to the motel in town to stay another night. I wake up the next morning and follow my way back to the cafe. I greet the old lady, and the old man. I order tea and another croissant. As like the past couple days I go outside and wait for Donna to show up. Today she comes early and here to the cafe. She sits across from me and we hold hands. I gaze into her blue eyes and smile at her. She asks me what I'm thinking.

I tell her," I'm wondering what it would be like if you were my wife."

What happens next will be in chapter 2, hope you do enjoy this. Please vote.