“Sure, I’ll get you a table,” he spoke after what seemed like forever. Had his mind also been racing? Had he been checking me out, too? Now, not only the upper corners of his mouth were smiling, now all of his face was smiling, but he quickly turned around and led the way.

Possibly, he had said something more than that, but I don’t recall. I don’t recall much except for a brief moment when I saw him smile. It was the most gorgeous smile I had ever seen. It was so captivating that my entire attention was glued to him and how he looked and moved. His movements were elegant and sleek; they were so delicate that they almost appeared invisible. Watching him was like watching a cat – or no, not a cat; his energy was much more powerful and fierce than a cat’s. Watching him was like watching a supersized lynx.

‘Who are you?’ my mind was racing while I followed his lead. I was in a dream-like state: You know when at one moment you are doing this and that, and just a moment later, time and place have entirely changed? Well, that’s exactly what it was for me. The next moment that reached my consciousness was when he brought me to the Maître d’ girls; they got me someone to guide me to my table, and gone he was. I followed the man to seat me: After the initial steps up, now it went a few steps down to a sunken seating area. Clusters of people were scattered at tables. Most were in couples or groups, but then I saw a man at a table all on his own. ‘Yay! I wouldn’t be the only lonely one,’ I thought, but I was wrong because he had a laptop with him, so he didn’t really count as a lonely one; he was a busy one. But then, I had a notebook with me, too. Ha! And an actual paper version it was, writer’s style – figure. Seating man led me to the bar with the opened window front facing the street, which I’d just passed by.

‘This is exactly where I had hoped to be seated,’ my heart jumped.

I took a seat and breathed.

A deep breath.

In.

Out.

Another one in.

And out.

What had just happened out there?

Was I dreaming?

I felt drunk. Whilst my brains reemerged from the foggy haze, the only picture my mind could see was Mister Blue Suit and me standing in front of each other – just as if I’d set my mind’s camera to hover high above my right shoulder to get an eagle’s eye of the two of us. Snapshot: I saw me from my back and him upfront, slightly off to the side for that I could kind of see both of our faces. Astonishment. Dropping jaws. A time-out for the eternity of a split second.

And now here I was, sitting at this window bar table, in this restaurant. To my left, three seats were empty, while I had occupied the far-right end of the bar. A good place, perfect to see what’s going on outside as well as inside. Also, it looked easy here for people to get in contact, at least way less formal than getting in touch with someone sitting at their own separate table. But for now, I was very glad that no one else was sitting here. Another breath. In. And out. What had just happened out there? And what was I going to eat? I was hungry.