City cars
rush, neon lights flash, and people fussle. She had missed the frantic
commotion of this city. She glanced down at her crystallized watch, and shook
her leg as she glared at the red traffic light on West 3rd Street. Her
eyes were fixed, waiting for the second it would turn green. When it blinked
green, she walked quickly across the street and raised her dark-shaded
sunglasses to look at each building. She tilted her neck towards the dark sky
and tried to find the building. One building stood out, it was made of clear
glass, which shined brightly in her hazel eyes. She knew it was this one, so
she walked confidently through the doors of the building. As she walked toward
the elevator, she slowed down her pace. In the elevator, she clicked sixty. She
looked at the number of floors and was amazed that he would be working in this
place. When the elevator arrived, she walked out and her heels clicked on the
white floors. She peeped at each desk and looked for the name, “Dane Rossiter.”
Finally, she came upon a desk where a paper lied on top, reading “Dane.” As
soon as found his name, she double-checked, and her heart skipped a beat. She was
overwhelmed that she wanted to hide quickly, but she had waited for two years
for this moment to come. She didn’t notice how much time had passed since she
stood there, and when she turned around, she saw him. Dane hadn’t changed at
all. His eyes were the same blue-green color, and his short hair was down in a
boring fashion. Dane shook his head to make sure he wasn’t in another dream. For
the past four years, he remembered her, Chloe Hall. Of course, he could never forget
her long blonde hair that she combed after lunch, and her pink lips that were
never chapped. They both stood there, in shock, unable to believe in the
situation. Although Chloe had expected this moment to come someday, she had
would have never expected it, except in her dreams. She waited for him to say a
word to start a conversation. His voice cracked as he said his first “hi” in
four years. Chloe smiled, that was the same “hi” when they met for the first
time. Without asking any more questions, she stood upright and said, “Let’s go
to a café”. Without a pause, Dane quickly agreed. He wore his black babari
coat, the same one he always wore in college. When Chloe saw it, she smiled to
herself.
The two
went outside on the crowded streets and walked awkwardly beside each other. They
turned right at the first intersection, made another left on the next block,
and walked straight towards a café named “Think Coffee” on 248 Mercer Street. As
they entered, they smelled the Americano coffee they always had every evening
after class. The café was packed with students and most of their sweatshirts
read “NYU”. After a couple sitting at the corner of the room left, they sat
down on the familiar wooden chairs. Dane stood up and said he
would get something to drink. Chloe sat down, looking around at the other
students, busily studying while laughing with their friends. One girl leaned
her head on her hand with her elbows on the table. Her eyes were fixed on the
guy that seemed to be teaching her. Chloe missed those times. The times when her
first love would teach her how to solve a math problem, although she already
knew the answer. As she was stalking the students around her, Dane held an
Americano for her in his bulky hands. She took a sip of the Americano, and it
was just how she liked it – dark taste and medium sized. Dane hadn’t forgotten what
she liked, and this made her feel especially delighted.
They
both sat there for minutes in awkward silence. Finally, Chloe decided to make a
conversation going, and asked, “So… you’re working as an architect right?” She
knew that this was an awkward question, since she came to see him to ask him to
build a house for her. Since Dane was in college, all he would do in his free
time was draw simple houses, and he especially loved towering buildings. The
two stayed up all night sketching out their dream house – white walls, four
bathrooms, five rooms, and a beach view. But, she asked that one question out
of all the questions she had thought of the night before. Dane answered, “Yeah..”
He seemed curious why Chloe had suddenly come to see him. Eventually, Chloe had
the guts to ask him a favor, “Can you architect and build a house for me?” Dane
seemed reluctant, and he thought for a few minutes. For Chloe, those five
minutes seemed like an hour. She bit her nails, dreading for his answer. Dane’s
face seemed dull and gloomy, but he replied back saying “fine”. Like any usual
architect, he interrogated her with questions on how she wanted the house to
look like, how many floors, and how many rooms. She was engulfed by all the
abrupt questions. She hesitated while saying, ”I want my house to have four
bathrooms and five rooms.” Dane couldn’t help but smile at her response. He
took out his four-year-old sketchbook and with his worn out pencil, he started sketching
the house she wanted. His sketching had improved from the last time Chloe saw
it. She glanced at him busily trying to draw the right house for her. As he was
thinking, his dark eyebrows gathered together like a unibrow and his wrinkles on
his forehead had not changed at all. While he was working, she quickly thought
again about the house she wanted. When he finished sketching, she looked
outside, it wasn’t that dark yet. After looking at her watch, she said she didn’t
really like the house. She told him exactly how she wanted it, and the two grew
closer as they tried to build the perfect house.
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