My girlfriend and I sat in a small cafe. We had both ordered chai lattes, and small croissants. "So, how are you doing?" I asked her. She smiled and took a sip from her latte. Then sighed and put the cup down. 

"I'm fine." Her eyes darted away from me, and her smile fell.

I reached out and put my hand on her hand. "Are you sure?" She shook her head, and turned back to me with a small, sad smile. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess," Then she pointed to someone across from us in the cafe. "I don't think that person knows how sandwiches work." Then she looked back at me and smiled.

"Mary, I can tell when you try to change the topic." I said quietly. "Please tell me what's wrong. You haven't laughed or smiled in weeks. I'm honestly worried about you." Mary's face crumpled up, and I saw that she was about to cry. I picked up our lattes and croissants, and put them into a small take-away box.

Then I grabbed her hand, and we walked out of the cafe. We hopped into a taxi, and went to the park. I knew Mary loved the park, so maybe she'd tell me what was wrong there. When we got there, I paid the cab driver, and we walked to the middle of the park. "You know, you can tell me anything. That's what we promised each other when we started dating."

Mary looked up at me, and I could see her face was tear stained. "Alice, I'm fine," Suddenly, my phone buzzed. I checked it. 

"Shoot," I said. "I'm supposed to be at a meeting in 5 minutes." I tried to text my boss, but the text wouldn't go through. Mary laughed. 

"That's what happens when you don't have reliable Wi-Fi."

I kissed her forehead. "I have to go," I whispered. "Please call me if you need me, or if you just want to talk to somebody, okay?" Mary nodded. "Go home and get some rest," I told her. "I love you."

I ran for a taxi, and within minutes, I was at my meeting. My boss droned on for at least two hours, and then the meeting was over. I walked up to my boss and asked her if I could have the rest of today off. She thought, and then asked, "Why? I'm perfectly okay with you taking today off, if you make it up soon, but why?"

I pulled her over to the side of the room, and looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. Then I dropped my voice to a lower volume. "I'm not sure if I should be telling you this, but my girlfriend, Mary, is quite upset. I have to go home and make sure she's okay." My boss's eyes softened. 

"Okay," She said. "Take as much time as you need until she's okay."

I nodded and exited the building, catching the bus to our apartment. I checked my phone, and found several unread messages from Mary. I called her on the way back to the apartment, and she picked up immediately. "Hey," I said quietly. "I'm sorry for leaving you in the park. Are you okay?" She sniffed on the end of the line, and I could tell she'd been crying.

"Yeah, it's j-just-" She broke down, and started sobbing. "I just need you Alice. I need you."

"I know," I said soothingly. "I'm coming home right now, okay?" She sniffed again. "I'll see you soon." With that, I ended the call, and prayed for the bus to go faster and traffic to be nonexistent. It took twenty minutes, but the bus eventually crawled to a stop at my apartment complex.

I hurriedly thanked the driver, and started running to my apartment. Unfortunately, it was on the 4th floor. I raced up four flights of stairs, and unlocked the door. "Mary?" I called. 

"In here," came a small voice. I walked into the living room, and saw Mary sitting on the floor.

I walked over and sat on the floor with her. Reaching forward, I tucked her hair behind her ear. "Hey," I said softly. "I'm here now. What happened?" Mary looked at me, her eyes brimming with tears. She started to choke out a few words, but couldn't.

I enclosed her in my arms, and held her until her shoulders stopped shaking. When I let her go, she took a deep, but shaky, breath, and looked at me sadly. "Alice, I don't know what's wrong." She paused and sniffled. I handed her a tissue box, and she blew her nose before starting again. "Nothing really is wrong, but I just can't be happy. I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey," I said, looking her straight in the eye. "There's no need to apologize, okay? I just want you to be happy, and I'll do anything to see you smile again. And if you can't be happy, that's okay too. Just stay with me." I booped her on the nose, and she smiled. "There we go," I said. "That's a nice smile." Mary laughed, and I laughed too. We sat there, laughing like two idiots.

"Come on," I said, pulling her up. "It's lunch time!" Mary smiled again, and shook her head. "You and food," she murmured. She came with me anyway. I pulled her out the door of the apartment, and locked it behind me. Then I pointed in the direction of the sandwich cafe. "Away we go!" I shouted.

Mary laughed, and dashed down the steps with me. We jumped into a taxi, and went to the cafe we'd been at that morning. I sat us down at the same table, and we both ordered chai lattes and a croissant. I smiled at her, and put my hand on hers.

"Don't ever stop smiling."