As I slowly walk down South Water St. I see this sign saying Grand Opening. I look inside through the window and see an old man sleeping before a TV, with old books all around him. I slowly open the door and a bell above my head dings.
The old man wakes up and says, "Hello, take your time looking around, everything is half off."
I thank him and look around the store. I slowly make my way over to the old sport books; written about Lou Gerhig, Babe Ruth, Gayle Sayers, and other sports stars from the past. I peruse the books for a good twenty minutes. I pick up ten books and bring them up to the register. I put them down and ask the old man if there is a restroom in the store.
"Yeah, in the back next to the New Age section," he tells me.
"Thanks, I'll be right back to pay for these books."
It takes me some time to find the New Age section of the store. Right next to the bookcase is the door to the restrooms. I open the door and close it behind me...
The next thing I know I'm on a road in the middle of nowhere. I slowly walk on this road towards the south (I think its south I'm going). At the top of the hill I see a small village. I follow this road until it takes me to the center of the village. When I reach the middle of this village, I see an old man with a cart filled with goods to sell at a market; (I think). On the top of the cart is a long purple necklace case.
I pursued the old man to stop walking and I pick up the case. When I open it, I see a gold necklace with a heart pendent on it. I ask the old man how much he wants for it, but he can't understand a word I'm saying, so I just take out my wallet and give him two hundred-dollar bills. He smiles at me and shakes my hand. I leave the old man there and continue walking through the village.
Up ahead there is a little café that I slowly walk towards. When I finally get there I order a coffee and croissant. When my order is up, I get it and make my way outside to sit. As I'm drinking my coffee I see this old lady walking towards the cafe. This lady has curlers in her hair and she slowly makes her way towards me. She goes in and orders a coffee and walks outside to a table near mine. You can see the pain she is in as she tries to sit down on her chair. But she finally does sit and she smiles at me.
I finish my croissant and get up for a refill of coffee. When I go back outside, I see another lady approaching the café. She doesn't look a day over twenty and she's selling roses. I walk out and buy a dozen roses from her. After she hands me the roses, I hand one back to her. She smiles as I walk back into the cafe and give the old lady a rose. Smiling up at me, she gets out of her chair and hugs me...hard!
Then I hand out the other ten roses to assorted ladies in the cafe. The last rose that I hand out is to the most beautiful woman in the cafe. She has dirty blonde hair, crystal clear blue eyes and a smile that lights up the whole room. I hand her the rose and I lightly kiss her hand. She smiles at me as I sit down next to her. I ask her if she speaks English.
She smiles again and says, "Yes."
Then I start talking to her, learning that her name is Donna. She was born here in Cannes. The reason why she knows English is because her mother was from the U.S. For the rest of the time we talk, laugh and cry until closing time for the cafe. Then we walk hand in hand as we leave the cafe. She takes us away from the village and towards the sea. When we finally get there we both take off our shoes and walk barefoot across the sand.
I talk to her about my hope and dreams. About how I want to become a teacher, but so far I don't have a high enough g.p.a to become one. And she tells me how she wishes that she could go to college but she doesn't have that kind of money. Then I tell her that I would give her all the stars and I would make every dream of hers come true. Smiling at me, she says very little. She thinks about what I have said and everything else she knows about me. Then she leans toward me and lightly kisses me on my cheek. She is smiling shyly at me.
I look at her, feel the wind against my face and I see her hair blow in the wind as I smile back at her. Leaning down I to try to kiss her soft lips...but she sees that and runs away from me. I call out her name but she is still running towards town. I try to follow her, but I don't know my way through the village so I easily lose her.
Walking back to the beach, I try to replay the events of the night. I thought she was beginning to like me...did I do something wrong? I just sit there looking out at the water and stars all night long. The next day I go back to the cafe hoping to see her there again. I sit down and wait. The next time I look the time is four in the afternoon. Then an hour later she finally shows up. She sits down next to me and she tells me that she's been thinking about last night. She tells me that she's sorry that she ran off. I told her it's alright, I was moving a little too fast. She smiles at me and I tell her that I'm sorry too.
I said, "I'm sorry dear, I'll move this relationship along slower for you."
