Love in Disguise

James tapped the wooden table impatiently, watching condensation gather around his untouched whiskey glass. He listened intently to the low hum of the café that blended into the patter of rain against the window. Outside, the amber glow of the city hid behind the curious horde of people, their shadows masked by the night.

He glanced at his watch- 7.45 p.m.

He sighed, Elise had been late. She had chosen this place for its serenity, unpretentious display of depositions. Here time crawled slower, a thousand whispers resonated within its walls- a perfect place, she vouched, for people who had met over text.

They had met over a blind dating app- maybe not met per se but they had exchanged messages—long, meandering texts filled with book recommendations, thoughts on existence, and the shared grief of feeling a little misplaced in the world. James had felt something in their conversations, something rare that he hadn’t felt before- the rush of dopamine was certainly addicting for him.

8:03 PM. His worst fear started to shape into reality and he feared Elise might have changed her mind.

He sighed, gulping down the bitter bourbon in an instant. It was foolish of him after all to think she would ever come, that she would be as charming and poetic in life as she was in texts.

Just then the café door chimed. Instinctively he looked up- but to his dismay found no one.

Another 5 minutes passed in vain. Ultimately James got-up, picked-up his coat and made his way towards the door. Perhaps it was his own fault to harbor such expectations, to assume a connection even before it was formed.

But as he turned toward the exit, he collided with someone.

A woman.

A handful of napkins were sent fluttering to the ground with the impact. The woman gasped, taking a step back and letting her fingers brush past his wrists.

“Oh god, I am so sorry” She knelt down to gather her scattered belongings.

“It’s alright” James assured, helping her in the ordeal. He mustered a faint polite smile as he got up.

However, as their eyes met, a flicker of familiarity passed over his heart.

She was gorgeous, but not in a very obvious way. Her expressive dark eyes, and long brunette strands carried a certain charisma, and her half-smile conveyed an inside joke. Her coat, that was almost slipping off her, was a little too big for her and was contrasted by her black turtleneck.

“Were you leaving?” Her expressive eyes foraged his for answers.

“Yeah… I wished to meet someone but I think today’s not the day” James’ lips turned into a forced smile.

She glanced at the table behind him and then rendered her signature half-smile “Well then I hope you don’t mind sharing a drink with a stranger?”

Her directness took James with a surprise, who scourged her eyes for any hint of sarcasm.

“Well don’t you have to meet someone?”

“Does it matter if I had to?” she responded, her words carried an air of sultriness that bewitched him.

Perhaps it was her charm- the way she looked at him, or maybe it was the burden of being stood up for his first meeting that still lingered in his chest that he submitted to her request.

“… Sure why not?”

A grin played on her lips. “good choice.”

They took a seat, albeit at a different table and just like that his evening brought him something new.

***

Her name was Lisa- short for something she would just not reveal, she asserted with a playful smirk.

She ordered red wine, and taking a sip through her cherry red lips, asked if he believed in the power of fate.

James smiled “I believe that fate is a mere series of coincidences… we name it fate to cope with its consequences”

Lisa twirled her glass between her fingers, her eyes fixated upon the torrent of red liquid inside as she responded “Yet we find ourselves in-front of each other, amongst the millions in this city”

Her words carried some bespoken charm that made it seem easy to talk to her. Though she wasn’t the Elise he had been waiting for, or whom he had been texting for the past few days, a sense of familiarity passed over him just watching her listen and talk. It seemed she had already heard him, known him… or maybe it was the burden of not seeing Elisa that still hovered over his heart. He just couldn’t decide.

They talked in poetic words- of books, of how people love to pretend to be what they are not. She asked him why he was still single, and he told her the truth—that love had always felt just out of reach, like a firefly chasing the moon… never destined to get it.

She locked her eyes onto his- “Maybe you aren’t looking in the right place”

James found himself dumbfounded at her comment, at her intense gaze. He broke away the contact, and looked around. The café seemed more serene as people started to leave. They ordered another round of drinks, and sipped it, occasionally exchanging unspoken thoughts through stolen glances, sneaky smiles.

“You seem like someone who is always waiting for something” she murmured, finally breaking an air of silence.

James swallowed realizing the gravity and accuracy of her words “I suppose I am”

Perhaps it was Elisa or maybe something else in his life that he didn’t even know himself... but he was always chasing butterflies. Meanwhile Lisa read between the silence, her fingers tracing an absent-minded pattern on the wooden table.

“Sometimes you gotta meet people without expectations, by forgetting the idea of who they are so as to truly see them. A rear-view mirror is never the best judge for the road ahead.” Her eyes melted something inside him, her smile spreading warmth in his forlorn heart. Something shifted inside him as the aptness of her words struck him, his lips returning her a faint smile.

***

It was already past midnight by the time they stepped out of the café. Time had seemingly flown-by in their mutual company. Outside the city had quietened and the rain was reduced to whispering dribbles against the pavement.

They walked together, stealing lost glances and exchanging doting smiles, until they reached a corner where their paths diverged.

“This was nice, meeting you this evening” She said, her fingers intertwined in her clumsy locks.

“It was wonderful meeting you too Lisa” James agreed, and for the first time in a long while, he actually meant it.

She looked into eyes, a laugh… a loving glance hidden behind them, before reaching out to her pocket and pulling out a napkin.

“Before I go, I wish to make this evening a bit more poetic” She said, scribbling something onto the piece of paper.

“Open it after I leave” She placed the paper in his pocket, and leaned in for a quick peck on his cheeks before turning back and walking away.

James watched her go, a weird ache rising within his chest and then, not before she had disappeared fully, did he pull out the napkin.

"Some arrive later than we wish,

Their absence a dagger, a silent anguish.

Yet destined hearts will always find their way,

No matter what fate tries to take away."

And beneath it, a name- Elise.

James’ hand trembled slightly as the realization dawned upon him… the woman had been Elise all along. She had been there from the moment he had stood up to leave but wished to meet him, not as the woman he anticipated, but as somebody unburdened of them.

James let out a soft, disbelieving laugh, a strange warmth spreading through his chest.

The blessed night had been kind to him- he had not only found love, his connection but granted him the quiet realization- sometimes the best things in life arrive disguised as accidents.

He folded the napkin, with a smile lingering on his lips and quietly tucked it back into his pocket. A peculiar warmth spread through him as a thought of Elisa passed through his heart. He smiled, albeit inwardly, and walked into moonlit night, carrying the magic of this evening with him- A love in Disguise.

-The End