Her friend Jeanne had tried without much success to get a hold of her over the previous two weeks. And at 9AM in the morning, Sienna had received a text message from her, 'You, me. Lunch today'. Right away, Sienna knew she had no way out of it.
"I might come in a bit late this afternoon," Sienna said to the girl she shared the office with. The girl gave a gentle nod without looking up from her computer. She was chasing a deadline she didn't know she had.
Jeanne was already at the cafe when Sienna arrived. At the entrance, she ran her eyes across the room and noticed a girl in one of the booths waving with a grin. Sienna walked over and the girl stood for an embrace that was a bit too tight for Sienna's liking.
The lunch went 'okay' as far as Sienna was concerned. Jeanne said it was really nice and they should do it more often. Sienna gave a smile and an almost silent grunt.
On her way back to the office, her phone buzzed with a reminder of the meeting later that evening. She shut her eyes, took a deep breath in, exhaled and sat with her thoughts for a minute. She didn't know how she felt about him, she didn't know anything about this stranger. All she knew is he held lot of power over her. She didn't know how, or why, but that it infuriated her.
Later in the evening, she slowly made her way towards the entrance and stood outside the door for a while. People walked past her and into the room, some smiled at her, others gave nods, one or two said a silent 'hi'. She replied to them all with a smile, a genuine one. She closed her eyes, took one last deep breath and walked in. She was certain to find him in there. In her chair.
He wasn't.
Her eyes quickly scanned the room, but he wasn't there. A ridiculous wave of relief flooded her chest and it is only then that she realized her hands were slightly trembling. She made her way to the water dispenser, got herself a cup of warm water and silently went to the window seat. Her seat.
Mariam started the meeting, welcoming everyone in her ever calm and kind tone. She asked people to introduce themselves, and they all did.
People spoke, and Sienna tried to listen. When her turn came, she spoke, briefly. Told them about work, her roommates, told them about the meme her mother had shared with her. Most chuckled when she read it out to them. And the circle moved on.
Sadie was the one speaking when the door opened. She was telling the group something about wanting to spend less time on her phone. Saying she'll try find some outdoor activities.
No one turned their head to look at the door. They were accustomed to some members walking in late, and for that reason, everyone's gaze remained at Sadie. But not Sienna, she turned to look, almost unconsciously, what if it was him? What if it was the tall stranger who walked out during her moment?
It was him.
Her hand started to tremble, and she almost dropped the plastic cup of water she was holding. Quickly, she looked away but could feel his movements.
Silently, he walked to the stack of chairs in the corner, picked on and joined the circle.
There was a shift inside her body, she could feel it. Her heart beating fast, her shoulders getting tense, her palms sweating. She hated it all. Most of all, she hated how much he mattered.
By the time the session ended, she had managed to calm herself down. She wanted to leave immediately after, but thought better of it and decided to stay a while longer. Just to seem polite.
Slowly, she walked to the snack table where she noted Dan had brought them brownies. She reached for a paper plate and helped herself to the brownies just as someone stood beside her.
"I see why you like that chair so much," he said, his voice low and heavy.
She turned, confused. "Huh?" She almost chocked on the brownie when her eyes met his. There he was, his tall figure very much intimidating her. She felt her hand tremble but did a great job of hiding it.
He turned his head and pointed to the window. "That seat, I get why you like it so much." His voice was very different from what she imagined it would be. It wasn't unkind. It was heavy but in a gentle way.
It took her a moment to respond, mayhap because she was still trying to find her composure and her tongue. "Hmm."
"I wasn't trying to steal it or anything," he chuckled as she reached for a sugar packet.
"I didn't think you were. Besides, it's just a seat."
"One you are very attached to," he pointed out also helping himself to a brownie.
"Hmm, maybe."
They stood there for a while, adjacent to each other. Each doing their own thing, coexisting.
"I'm Elmer by the way," he said softly.
It is only then that she turned fully and looked at him. Quickly studied his face and realized it was somewhat softer than what she had thought.
"Sienna."
He was nodding, like he already knew her name. Maybe he did, she didn't know.
The moment was broken by Dan who came in and asked how the brownies were.
"They're delicious Dan," Sienna said with a bright smile and he left.
Elmer took a step back, gave Sienna a nod and walked away. She stood by the table for while longer, her coffee cup still in hand, unsure of what had just happened. Her gut told her it was something. Something small but not nothing. And as of that moment, that was enough for her.
For the rest of the evening, he was the sole thought on her mind. And in bed, with her diary, she found herself writing away with so much ease, words just seemed to flow. She managed two whole pages, and it is only after she went through it again that she noticed it was all about him. Not about work, or her day, or her family or even the meeting, it was all him. She held the book and stared at it for a while, wondering how she managed to write so much about someone she knew so little about. Knew nothing about really, besides his name. She even got mad at herself for feeling the way she did about him.
What had he done that moved her that much? Just the statement he said? Or maybe it was him taking up her seat like that. The more she thought about it, the more she got angry at herself, angry that she wrote two whole pages about some stranger with no justification whatsoever. But despite feeling that way, she still found herself with a faint smile playing on her lips. She closed the diary and slid into her sheets.