Judy, a woman in her mid fifties was waiting for her shift to end and for the next worker to come relieve her of her duties. She didn't need much; she was on her own, just her and her dog living in a small apartment just down the road.
A young, tall, beautiful woman walked up to the coffee cart Judy was working and ordered two coffees. She made them quickly and the woman paid, taking both coffees to a bench just a few feet away. Judy followed the woman with her eyes, yet still tending to her other customers. She had seen the woman before but not for a while. She drank from one cup and set the other next to her, as if saving a spot for someone special. The woman looked around constantly, keeping an eye out for the someone the other coffee belonged to.
Judy received a call from Amelia, the young girl who was supposed to work the next shift, saying she'd be late, as her father had a heart attack. Judy was more than willing to take over Amelia's entire shift, but the heart attack hadn't been severe and the young girl just wanted to make sure her father was okay and could get home from the hospital.
So Judy kept watching the woman on the bench. She waited. And when nighttime came, and Amelia showed up, the woman was still on the bench. Waiting.
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Judy worked the cart daily, from early morning to mid-afternoon. It was late July now and the days were getting hotter. The young woman showed up every day. She bought two coffees, the same every day and sat on the bench. She would take a sip of coffee, look both ways up the sidewalk, and sit and wait. Judy's heart ached for the woman, knowing she was waiting for someone who wasn't going to come.
But that was the day things changed.
Amelia showed up on time to relieve Judy from her shift.
"Is she back today?" Amelia asked as she walked up.
"She always is," was Judy's response. The two women greeted each other the same way every day and they both looked at the woman on the bench with hopelessness. Neither woman had dared to ask the woman her name but Amelia always went to her to give her the coffee cake from the cart at the end of the day. The woman always looked thankful but didn't say anything. Judy and Amelia knew she hadn't eaten so it was the least they could do for her.
"Hold on!" Amelia called to Judy. Judy turned back and saw Amelia pointing towards the woman. Judy ran back to the cart to watch the exchange with her.
A young man in Army fatigues walked up to the woman on the bench. Judy and Amelia looked at each other, finally excited to see the woman find who she was waiting for.
The woman stood in front of the man, their bodies barely inches apart. Judy could feel her heart pounding in anticipation. The women looked at each other with smiles on their faces, thrilled to see one of those airport-reunions-where-girl-runs-to-boy-and-he-scoops-her-up.
The man reached his hand and grabbed hers. He held it tight in front of them, neither of them moving. He said something and her lips curled up into a smile. The soldier returned the smile and reached his free hand to her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. She moved her free hand to touch his chest, placing her hand over his heart.
"It's like a movie!" Amelia gushed.
The woman and the soldier still stood there, neither one had said a word to each other.
It was, indeed, like a movie, Judy thought.
"Excuse me?" A man stood in front of the women, waiting to be served his coffee. Judy and Amelia looked up at him, both snapping out of their reveries. The man ordered and Amelia made the coffee on autopilot.
The man paid and left and Judy and Amelia went back to watching the woman and the soldier. They were standing closer now than before, their faces inches apart. The mall had suddenly become quiet and the two coffee cart workers could hear what the couple was saying.
"I'm glad you weren't you over there," the woman said.
"Well, I had Parker to come home to. And you made me promise. I always keep my promises, especially to you," the soldier told her. She smiled at him again and broke their embrace. She picked up the coffee cup that had been resting on the bench and handed it to him. The soldier smiled at her and looked down at it. He tossed it into the trash can next to the bench, looked back to her and smiled.
"It's July. It's hot out and these fatigues aren't exactly the coolest thing to wear," he told her. She follows suit and tosses her cup into the trash.
"I've missed you," he told her. He lifts a hand back to her cheek.
"I missed you," she confirmed. She unexpectedly hugs him and he returns the hug without a second thought.
"Bren," he starts, but the soldier is cut short, her lips find his and the woman pulls him closer.
Judy and Amelia exchange longing looks of romanticism and turned back to the woman and the soldier. They were hugging again and Judy suddenly felt like she should look away, like she was prying into someone's personal life. But she had seen this woman everyday for almost two months. She needed to know how it ended.
"You…are late," the woman pulled back and said, poking the man in the chest.
"Well, you know, going MIA on a mission that went bad will make a person late for appointments," the soldier told her.
The woman's eyes widened and she pushed him. "Wait…that's why you were late? You told me May. One year from the day we left. One year. And you promised you wouldn't be you! You were just supposed to train. No being the hero!"
"Bren, I'm here, right? Look, I'm okay. They needed me and some kid gave up our location. We were POWs for a little while until there was a group of guys assembled to come get us. The men who took us didn't hurt us…roughed us up a little bit but nothing major. We all made it out of there alive. I'm fine, see?"
The woman looked the soldier over to examine him. She smiled, showing her approval of no injuries. The soldier smiled back.
"Booth…" the woman started. "I…Over in Indonesia, I decided that…I…love you," the woman said. The man grinned again and pulled her into a bear hug.
"I love you too, Bones," the soldier said, kissing her.
Judy sighed contently and walked away, wishing she could have a fairytale ending like the woman on the bench.