Midday Merlot

The Saturday morning farmer’s market was busier than normal. I was making my last stop. Mulling over local mushrooms and wild salmon when I felt the urge to look up. There I met his gaze. A tall handsome man with shoulder length dark loose curls started back at me. There was no sudden jolt of panic or need to turn away. I felt something familiar in his eyes even though I was sure we never met before. We were held there for a few moments held by something that I feel to naive to mention. Within that moment I snapped myself to wake up. I broke his gaze and tried quickly to gather my basket to disappear into the crowd. To my dismay there the stranger stood only a few steps from me. The look on his face pierced my heart as if he felt some betrayal at my attempt to escape. I couldn’t leave and slowly took a few hesitant steps towards him. He waved and slowly filled the space between us. “It’s not polite to stare” I said making every attempt to sound more confident that how I felt. Sure the warmth of his brilliant smile would melt me into the cobblestone path. “I’m so sorry I hope I didn’t startle you.” “Would you like to get a cup of coffee” No of course not nothing is weird about a handsome guy starting at me let alone inviting me to coffee.

I hesitated wondering why I felt so comfortable with this stranger and still my legs felt ready to reveal my false confidence. We walked over to a neat little French pastry shop with the best Chocolate croissants. We sat outside under a canopy of light blue umbrellas with delicate lace lining the edges.

His name was Daniel, a chef from Seattle. He spoke of his Afro Latina roots and his culinary travels. Internally I was in awe and mildly jealous. To travel the world learning so much about different cuisine and being a successful business owner I was happy for him. I felt a bit dull expressing my career of earning my associates degree in Environmental Science only to bounce from job to job hoping for something grand to pop up. Now I’m scrapping by as a freelancer writing for blogs and creating the occasional art pierce I was proud of. I seemed to be holding his interest as he smiled at my excitement over the little things. The fall leaves changing to my overzealous plans of ending pollution. Being with him I felt like my dreams could come true somehow. As we chatted the crowds faded and the sun had passed its peak. On que Daniel looked down at his watch and noted it was 12:23 My heart sank as I looked down at my greens which seemed less enthusiastic about their day.

Daniel and I exchanged numbers while sitting on the train. Luckily we were both heading in the same direction. I was so glad for more time with him. His engery was so warm I didn’t want to be apart. My stop came up first and interestingly enough we both got off. We walked to our cars and gave each other a tight embrace. As we pulled away I couldn’t help but feel sadness as our fingers lingered on each others arms. Looking into those brown eyes that captured me at the market I felt helpless. I didn’t know what to say, how could I express my feelings to this stranger that no longer felt like a stranger to me. His heart felt close to mine and the thought of us parting ways here was a weight I couldn’t bear.

My eyes wandered to his chest watching it slowly rise and fall I didn’t need to meet his gaze. I traced patterns of lines across his neat shirt imagining what the moments without it would look like. I knew he felt the same as he gently touched my chin to meet his gaze. Again the warmth there took my breathe away and left my mind and heart in a desperate battle for control.

He drew me closer and held me tighter than before. I stood allowing myself to release and fully understand his embrace. His cologne was perfect on him and his curls brushed lightly against my cheek. Feeling his arms tighten around me I felt his heart against mine.

We were not going home alone.

As I pulled into my drive way I let the ac blow on my face for a few moments closing my eyes and willing my heart not to beat out of my chest before shutting off the engine. It was a little after 1 when we arrived at my little home.

Home.

My mind couldn’t help but wander. Just before the dreamer in me could run off I heard a gentle tap on my window that snapped me back to reality. There he was. He opened my door and extended his hand. “I keep startling you huh?” I met his gaze with a smile. “ I was just thinking that this is really bold of me, not many women take their stalker home with them” It took a moment but he became a bit flushed then and I couldn’t help but laugh.

Stepping inside I felt proud, home was actually one of the few things I got right. Simple but tasteful and actually organized today. I quickly removed my shoes and dashed to the kitchen to save our greens. Filling the sink with a bit of cold water while putting the rest of our haul away. As I kept myself busy I yelled out to Daniel to make himself at home. He suddenly appeared bare foot as well with two wine glasses. “Why don’t you pour the merlot while I do the cooking?” “Yes chef” I smiled admiring his frame and brushing his back gently as we passed. I poured our glasses sat down on the other side of the marble island and watched the master at work. It was like watching a dance. He quickly became familiar with the layout of my kitchen, studied the ingredients in the fridge and pantry, tied back his loose curls and went to work.

I felt a bit displaced, I greatly enjoy cooking but watching Daniel at work was a joy. His passion for cooking was overflowing. Between the mouthwatering scents of his cooking, his graceful moves and the moments his gaze met mine I was in heaven. The merlot was the perfect touch. A few sips and I was feeling like this evening couldn’t get any better. If it did and we all know deep down I hoped it would I may float away. Before I knew it we were side by side eating a wonderful dish of beautifully seared salmon with feta and herbs, on a bed of greens.

We sipped our wine and spoke about art. He admired my abstract pieces on canvas the few that I really adored. I consider myself an artist when I’m alone. To the rest of the world I don’t feel that exciting. He seemed drawn into my work. I sat quietly swirling my wine glass gently, eyes closed and giving myself permission to be in this moment. The entire world faded away and nothing was left but us, the scent of great cooking in the air and the feeling that we didn’t expect any of this today.

As he gently took my glass and placed it next to his on the coffee table I felt at ease. Settling in close to me I nestled into his arms. So warm such a perfect fit. He ran his fingers up and down my neck and shoulders slowly with enough pressure not to tickle me but just right for a gentle sigh to leave me. It surprised me and I tried to shy away from it but it was too late. He pulled me closer and once again there was no escape. We hesitated only inches from one another’s lips breathing in the last of the solitude we no longer needed.