When Helen met Steve, her body became warm. It wasn’t a feeling she could put into words exactly, it was much more complicated than that. The only feeling she cognitively recognized was: he radiated happiness. During the months after they met, they always seemed to land in the same restaurants without planning. Helen always FELT Steve in the room, even before she saw him. When she finally caught sight of him in the room, she couldn’t take her eyes away, even though he wasn’t her type.
They spoke occasionally, but only small talk while waiting for tables or a quick wave as they passed each other on the way to or from their respective tables. Helen couldn’t bring herself to ask anything more probing than “How is your day?” or “How long is the wait?” when they ended up waiting for more than 5 minutes in the same restaurant.
There were several evenings where Steve was in a restaurant when Helen was on a date. Whenever this happened, Helen’s dates left annoyed and disappointed. Helen’s blatant staring at Steve even while she was asking them about their lives gave them the impression they will never garner her undivided attention.
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