And she smiled…
She tilted her head and she smiled. That is all the response she had for my verbose questions of how she was doing, where she lived, did she publish her novel, was her health ok. My mind was racing with images, like a bad video collage – licking off the ice-cream from her chin; her grateful kiss after I heartily ate all her burnt cookies; her daily coffee deliveries at the bank I worked in; the big fight on the streets; her angry face as she walked away with her bags in tow…
I put aside the newspaper I had not yet begun to read and pointed to the park bench I was sitting on. She sat down without a word. My mind refused to slow down, “she is still mad at me, she obviously looks single, here’s my chance, oh why did I ever let her go”. A few minutes of painful silence followed before I could say, “So, you still walk in the park to clear your head?” She smiled again and nodded. “I miss the coffee you used to make for me”, I persisted, hoping she would say something. She winced and I quickly added, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so love lorn”. “No, that’s ok. I make better cookies now, though”, she replied with a laugh. And we soon eased into a conversation. We exchanged stories of our once common friends and our new habits.
Life at the park seemed like any other day. But mine wasn’t. I felt like it was a brand new day of a new life. I turned back to her and immersed into our friendly banter.
I noticed the two policemen only when they were standing right before us. They were looking at her. I turned to her to see her face pale with fright. The taller of the two policemen holding out handcuffs said, “You are under arrest. Your bail has been revoked, it is best for you to come quietly with us”. Teary eyed, she held out her arm and got up to leave.
I stared at her with my mouth open to say something but I couldn’t find the words. She looked me deep in the eye and pointed to the newspaper by my side. She then walked away slowly with a policeman on either side. I unfolded it to see the headline of the day – “Bail contested in bank fraud case”.
I looked up and she turned just then, tilted her head and smiled, a weak mysterious smile.