Darren was not sure how long he stood there, at the street corner, but it felt like forever as he readied myself to enter the small cafe. His hands trembled slightly as he held the gift, wrapped in beautiful paper decorated with star constellations. He held the gift tighter to keep from shaking.
Although they talked over the phone, they had not seen each other face to face in a long time.
But what should he say? What should he do? There would be a lot of people there. People he did not know. Tora's new friends and coworkers would be there. What if Tora spent all her time with them and left him alone? Or worse, what if she introduced him? What would he do? What would he say to her friends?
His thoughts thrashed around in his mind, coming one after the other. He closed his eyes tightly and put the brakes on the oncoming attack. Darren paced around the block as he calmed his heavy breathing. His anxiety surfaced, but he pushed everything back down.
It's going to be okay.
Tora was his best and oldest friend, but they were separated for a very long time until they reunited several years back. They reconnected two years ago and stayed in touch. Still, they had not seen much of each other as Tora lived here in Los Angeles while Darren resided in Houston. They talk on the phone every now and then, but it was nothing compared to when they were children.
Darren was finally able to get a break from work and traveled to LA for her birthday, but things were not as they were before.
Darren looked down at the gift once more before he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to come in and wish me a happy birthday?"
Darren stopped with his back facing her. Even in a million years, he would still remember her silky voice.
His eyes remained on the ground before he slowly looked up at her. He lingered on the long flowing skirt of her flower dress as much as he could as he still had not the courage to see her face. She stood like an amazon, with one hand on her hip with a glass of wine in her other hand. He stopped at her neck, his eyes looking at the four parts of the star necklace resting on her chest around the v-neck of her dress.
Inhaling deeply, Darren took the last stride, lifting his head to meet her eyes.
"Hi, Darren," she says, a smile spreading across her lips. He staggered to keep his balance as she wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug. He returned the hug, awkwardly wrapping his arms around her.
"Hi, Tora. How did you know I was here?"
"I saw you from the window and decided to take the back door in the alley to surprise you." Tora finally released him and said, "Come on, let's go in."
Darren followed behind her into the cafe, which had a few people sitting there doing a mix of drinking and eating while conversing or working on their computers. He kept his eyes forward, making sure not to look at anyone even though he could feel some eyes on him. He followed her to the back end of the floor, where they climb a black metal staircase to the upper level.
"Don't worry. There aren't a lot of people," Tora says before stopping at the top of the stairs to turn to look at him. "Most of my friends aren't here."
They entered the second-floor lounge above the cafe. Darren quickly counted ten people scattered around the floor in small groups. There was a large dining table in the middle of the room, with many different assortments of food and drinks. There was a woman there serving herself as she spoke to the man beside her. On the far side of the room were large sets of windows with several stools that seated a group of three conversing at the window seats. It was an excellent addition to the lounge that allowed people to sit and enjoy the view of the bustling street below.
But someone was missing from the crowd. "Miriam isn't here," Darren commented.
"She had to work. We're meeting later tonight." Tora led him to a couch at the other end of the lounge, where there was a coffee table where her birthday gifts were set. He breathed a great sigh of relief when he saw no one in that corner.
Tora placed the glasses on the table before taking a seat. Darren did the same, taking a seat beside her. They sat silently, face to face after such a long time that Tora could not help but reach out her hand to touch his face. Darren's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, then dawned. Neither of them moved or said anything.
"You look well." Tora decided to make the first move, but that did not alleviate the awkward air in the room.
You look well? You look well?! she scolded herself internally. That was absolutely not something to say to your best friend whom you haven't seen face to face for a long time.
Tora removed her hand from Darren's cheek and pushed a tall glass in front of him. A frown formed on Darren's brow as he looks at the bubbles rising in the glass. He looked at Tora, then back at the glass, and back at Tora once more.
"Take it. It's only seltzer water," she said. "I remember. No alcohol."
"Thank you," he replied as he took the glass off the table. Darren sipped from the glass, letting the bubbles wash in his mouth for a second before gulping it down. He turned to see her looking at him while her head rested in her palm, letting her mass of curls to fall to the side. Her unnaturally brown eyes stared at him, examining him as she said nothing.
Darren smiled sadly at her. "I didn't think you'd throw a party." Tora did not like to celebrate her birthday. When she was young, as an orphan, she did not know when it was her birthday. Even though she found her birth certificate as an adult, she still did not celebrate it.
"I didn't want to. But, my coworkers found out about it and wanted to come to a party. I decided it would also be good to see you again, so I sent you an invitation."
"Tora, I want to see them." When he said that, the smile on her face slowly retracted. She looked at him, her eyes trembling slightly. "Please," he added.
She gulped loudly before she replies, "Okay."
She turned her back to him and lowered her head as she looked at her reflection on her cell's camera. As she touched the cornea, her eyelid batted in response as she used the belly of her finger to remove the contact lense. She placed the lens in the solution before doing the same with the other eye.
Tora slowly turned before lifting her head up, revealing a pair of beautiful silver-grey eyes. Her silver eyes seemed to have wanted to pop out of their sockets and shine, make themselves known. Her eyes contrasted brilliantly against her milk chocolate complexion.
"You look beautiful," Darren said.
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