"What do you want for your 19
th
birthday?" My best friend asked me, thrusting a candle into my hand.
I smirked at her, and joked, "A boyfriend!"
She laughed. "One who's good in bed!"
"Yeah!" I cheered in agreement. "One who gives me so much sex it feels like there's two of him!"
"How about smart?" She asked.
"Yep, and funny... um... good looking... but most importantly, I want him to treat me well. I don't want him to be a jerk like the last one!"
"Alright Shana, light the candle!" My best friend commanded. I found the request strange, but complied. She gestured for me to put the candle in the holder located in the center of the table. "Now, it's time to get drunk!"
She poured me another Long Island Iced Tea from the pitcher she'd made, and then poured one for herself. We clinked our glasses together, and exclaimed "Cheers!" It was fun to drink -- laughing, singing, and dancing -- until we both passed out.
The next morning, I woke up on the floor. I groaned, clutched my head, and slowly sat up. At first I didn't see my best friend anywhere.
"River...?"
"Oh, you're awake! Check this out," she beckoned. She was kneeling on a chair, leaning on the table.
I carefully got to my feet, and looked at the table.
"The wax from your candle melted into an interesting shape while we were passed out," she informed me.
Sure enough, there was now a puddle of cooled wax on the table in the shape of a heart. If a person were to cut two hearts out of paper, one slightly bigger than the other, and then layer them so that the smaller one was on top of but slightly to the side of the bigger one,
that
was what the wax heart looked like. I scratched my head.
"How'd it do that?"
River shrugged. "I think it's a sign that your heart will soon be joined to someone special."
"That'd be nice," I murmured, and then went in search of the bathroom.
*****
"Your name is Shana, right?" A cute guy asked me. We had at least one -- maybe two classes together, and I think we had ever since I started college last semester. I hadn't really paid him much attention because I was shy and tended to keep to myself.
"Yeah... and you're... J... something..." I cringed as I realized that I couldn't remember his name.
He smiled. "Yep. J.T."
"Really?" I asked, incredulous that I had actually gotten it right. Sorta...
"Have you ever been to the Fair Trade Café?" He wondered.
"No." I shook my head.
"Well then, come on! My treat," he invited me with a grin.
Ohhhh... This is him!
This
is the guy that River said I'd meet soon! I forced my shy nature to the back of my mind. "Um... okay."
He took my hand, and led me to the café, which was located off campus, but within walking distance. As we walked, I kept looking at our joined hands. My heart beat just a little bit faster than normal.
"So..." I searched for something to talk about. "What's this café you're bringing me to?"
"It's called the Fair Trade Café. It specializes in organically grown or humanely raised food -- local when possible."
"Sounds expensive," I murmured.
"Nah! Not really. I mean you
could
go to a fast food joint and buy a "value" meal for about 5-7 dollars,
or
for just 7-10 dollars, you can get a meal at the café that is chemical free and
won't
make you sick in the long run," he explained.
I laughed. "It sounds so simple when you say it like that."
"That's because it
is
simple," he grinned at me.
We soon arrived at the café, and sat at the counter. J.T. ordered a ham sandwich, and highly recommended that I get one too. I shrugged, and nodded. It came with a salad and a bowl of fruit. The trickiest part was deciding what type of bread to have it on. They had a variety of organic breads I'd never even heard of.
"Do you normally eat soft white bread or whole wheat?" J.T. asked me.
"Whole wheat," I replied.
"Then I recommend getting the sprouted sourdough. It's really good!" It was also what he had chosen, so I nodded.
When we got our food, I was amazed! I was expecting something that looked mostly like sandwich meat bought in a store, but this was slices of a real ham! It was also tender and juicy.
"Wow!"
"I know, right?" J.T. grinned at me.
After we finished eating, I glanced at the time and gasped. "I hate to eat and run, but I have to get to my next class!" I had plenty of time to get there if I left now, but if I didn't rush, I'd be tempted to linger or even skip it all together.
"Me too, let's walk back together," he suggested.
I nodded, blushing for some reason.
He paid the bill, and then took my hand again as we walked back to campus. I still had five minutes until class started after we got there, and he had to get to the other side of the building for his next class. Even so, we stared into each other's eyes for a moment.