It was just after 5pm when Ethan strolled out of the main glass doors of the large office building in London's financial district. He had been in the UK for about a month, as part of a 6-month secondement in the legal department with one of his employer's largest clients. Although things were busy, his work schedule was nowhere near the crushing 24-7 demand that he had experienced in his own firm back in the U.S. Still, a few weeks in and the novelty of being able to eat dinner outside of the office had not yet worn off.
He did still have some things to work on once he got back to his flat -- everyone in the company was busy getting things ready for the upcoming fall campaign, which meant all sorts of compliance and IP protection questions being escalated to the legal group at a rapid-fire pace. The campaign was a big deal to the company; he'd even heard rumors that they were flying in someone from the U.S. to meet with the executives and designers, though he didn't yet know what about.
It didn't leave a whole lot of time for socializing outside of the office, but Ethan tried to sneak in a little time for himself each evening. Although he was there for 6 months to make a good impression on the client and ultimately steer more business to his firm, he wasn't going to simply let the opportunity to see London pass him by for half a year.
Ethan's plans to explore a bit on his own had taken an unexpected turn when he bumped into a few expat friends on the street. Rather than seeing the sights and playing tourist, he wound up doing a little pub-hopping, meeting new people, and trying different varieties of beer. All in all it was still a fun time, just not what he had originally planned.
After the group had parted ways, he found himself wandering a couple of the local restaurant rows, looking for one more drink to top off the night, along with perhaps a quick bite to eat to stave off any unwanted hangovers. Eventually, the smell of Asian-inspired cooking (and the sight of a few well-dressed Asian waitresses) enticed him into a local Thai place. It was small, but not packed at that hour, and he was able to get a seat without waiting. He ordered a glass of water and a Singha beer, and was about to settle back and peruse the food offerings when something -- or more precisely, someone -- caught his attention from the periphery of his vision.
At a table across the room from his, he spotted an attractive brunette looking down at an open menu and a cell phone in her hand, her facial features cast aglow in the faint blue halo of the digital screen. She looked vaguely familiar, and as he continued to scrutinize her, he couldn't deny an abiding conviction inside of him that he knew her from somewhere. Still, as he scoured his memory, nothing quite came to mind until...
"Lynn?" he said softly to himself.
If it was her -- and he wasn't sure yet that it was -- then it had been years since he'd last seen her. They had gone to college together, sharing a few classes and an occasional flirtation, but despite his best efforts, nothing had ever happened between the two of them. Still, the more he took in her face, the more convinced he was that it was her. He had less-than-secretly lusted for her a long time in school, and despite the passage of time, her visage was not easily forgotten. From what he could see of her from his table, time had been good to her, and almost immediately he felt that long-forgotten ember burning to life within him.
As he continued to gaze across the room at her, his beer arrived and he took a large gulp, hoping to gain a little liquid courage while he decided what -- if anything -- to do next. Catching his waiter, he asked him to convey to Lynn that her first drink was on him. Then he sat back and waited, nervously sipping some more of his beer.
Ethan realized he had been holding his breath as the waiter set a glass of wine at Lynn's table, watching perhaps a bit too intently as she looked to where he sat at the bar, not exhaling until the moment that she smiled at him in surprise.
So, she remembered him, too.
But what next? She didn't approach the bar, and it seemed that they were both frozen in place, exchanging stolen glances but neither one taking the next step. He wondered if maybe they would just leave it at that, a fleeting moment among many in their lives... and then decided that he wouldn't be happy with that. Maybe nothing would happen, but he wanted to try. And besides, he didn't have much else to be doing at that moment.
Grabbing his beer, he tried to stay cool as he approached the empty chair at Lynn's table.
"Hi," he said with a warm smile as he approached. "Mind if I join you?"
