Blue Eyes

Karly strode briskly to the corner, moving past New England Victorians nearly identical to her own. Years ago, when she and her mother and sister had first moved in, she’d thought the Victorian was magical. Like something out of a storybook. Now she saw the neighborhood for what it really was: peeling paint, tiny yards framed by chain link fences, sagging porches covered with frayed Astroturf where junked sofas were
parked like abandoned cars.

She reached the corner of Monument and Main. The Green Leaf Café. In the winter the place was so packed it was hard to move, but now that it was summer and the weather was nice tables and chairs spilled out onto the sidewalk. A group of Benton College students sat huddled together, laughing and talking and sipping seven dollar Chai teas.

Karly surveyed the group and felt her heart skip a beat. He was there. Blue Eyes. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt featuring the logo of a local brew, his feet tucked into a pair of Columbia sandals. Standard Benton College attire. He looked cool and relaxed, his arm draped over the back of an empty seat, maybe just a hint of boredom in the way he drummed his fingers against the chair back. His posture told her everything she needed to know. He came from money. It was impossible to sit like that if your bills were late. It took money —a lot of it— to be bored at eight-thirty in the morning.

She fought a sudden impulse to turn around and find a different route to Linda’s. Ridiculous. She’d never even spoken to the guy. Just seen him around town a few times. Yet she couldn’t stop her gaze from moving back to where he sat, as though pulled there by some invisible force. Before she could drag her gaze away he shifted slightly and his eyes locked on hers. A half smile curved his lips and he gave a small nod of acknowledgement. A jolt of surprise shot through Karly, leaving her momentarily immobile, unable to do anything but return his stare.

Finally, she let out a shaky breath and turned away. You don’t even know him, she scolded herself. Just keep walking. Play it cool. Yeah, right. Like that was even possible when you were packed into a skirt one size too small and carrying a super-sized box of Luvs, extra-absorbent.