Cutting through the cemetery will be much more pleasant than walking along the road.
Lovely morning again, sun's shining and there's a warm breeze.
I turn left into the cemetery grounds and begin following the path through; looking left and right at the headstones I don't see her approaching from the opposite direction until I hear the sound of footsteps. Looking up I see her coming towards me, the coffee shop girl from last week.
She's wearing her denim jacket again but this time with a tee-shirt and a short pleated skirt, she has a brown, leather tote bag slung over one shoulder and is carrying a childs scooter. She isn't as harassed looking as the last time I'd seen her but she was clearly in a rush to get somewhere.
She's looking directly at me and is smiling in recognition, she'd obviously seen me before I'd seen her and wasn't embarrassed by it.
We stopped, facing each other.
"Hi, how are you?
I laughed, "I'm good thanks. You?"
She giggled, "To be honest, I'm still buzzing from last week."
This straight out admission caught me slightly off guard "Oh....."
"But you didn't text me?"
The slight lift in her voice at the end made it a question and it put me a little bit on the defensive, "Erm......it was only 4 days ago, and despite what you said I was in a little bit of a quandary as to whether or not you really wanted me to. Heat of the moment and all that."
She smiled, "I know, I was only teasing and I did want you to."
I laughed again, any tension I'd felt gone.
"No kids or......?"
"Nope, both back at school yesterday and the 'or' is at work." She said this last sentence with a degree of pleasure, she was clearly relishing the time to herself.
I suddenly felt I needed to say, "I don't do that sort of thing on a regular basis you know." So I did.
She laughed, "It should think not, think you'd find yourself arrested or beaten up by some irate partner! But I'm very glad you did, but why did you pick on me?"
I shrugged, "It was just our eye contact, just seemed to mean something more than the usual. And how many times do people play the eye contact game then think back and realise that it could have actually gone somewhere."
For a second there was a pause in the conversation and, just as I felt she was about to make her excuses and go, I stepped forward, took the scooter out of her hand, spun her around and pulled her towards the far corner of the cemetery and the large yew tree there.
Instantly realising what was about to happen she moaned and pulled back, "I really don't have time."
I looked back at her, "That's what you said last time, and yes you do."
She pulled back for a second longer, looked around, laughed, then, with a muttered, "Oh God!" gave in.
I turned back and continued towards the tree, she, still with her hand in mine, followed.
As I reached the tree I glanced over my shoulder, still nobody else around.
The tree was huge, the trunk at least 3 metres in diameter, and probably hundreds of years old. I lead her around it into the shady corner of the cemetery and, putting the scooter on the ground, turn her to the tree. After slipping her bag off her shoulder and placing it by the scooter I step up against her back.
She groans, then, in a whisper, "I really, really don't have the time, supposed to be meeting a girlfriend for coffee."
Putting my hands on her hips and my face next to hers I whisper back, "Well, you'll have a tale to tell her won't you. Put your hands on the tree."
After a moment's pause she lifts her hands and, at arm's length, places them on the yew.