Reflected #1

                                                March 14, 2020

“Mei, is that you?” I squinted at the entrance of the café. I put the warm mug down onto the table and lifted my hand up to wave at the familiar woman.

The short haired girl turned around, gaping, “Wow, how are you?” She smiled kindly and confidently, immediately striding over to where I was sitting, a pen in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

“I’ve been good,” I said truthfully, “Please, sit down. It’s been forever since I’ve seen you. Let’s catch up.”

“Yeah, I haven’t seen you since, what, high school graduation, huh?” She sat down across from me and took off her coat and scarf, fully exposing her face, slightly flushed from the cold wind that blew outside.

“You look great,” she complimented, “What have you been up to?”

“I’m an editor now,” I chuckled, gesturing to the mounds of works I’ve yet to correct or better, “I’ve also been writing my own novels on the side, one on the way to being published.”

“Wow, that’s fantastic! I’ll definitely buy a copy of the book when it’s out. What’s it about?”

“It’s not much,” I shook my head, “It’s a love story for teenagers, well, it’s more like my diary being published.”

Mei laughed, “That sounds fun.”

“So, what have you been doing?”

“ I’ve actually become a speech therapist.”

The two of us continued to catch up over cups of coffee and pound cake in that tiny family run coffee shop on that rainy spring afternoon. Mei was the closest thing I had during my childhood and adolescence to a girlfriend. Seeing her that day really made me happy to see how much she had grown since. She was no longer a shy, quiet girl in the back of the room. She was now a confident, beautiful, outspoken young woman.

“I’m actually really glad I bumped into you by chance today,” she said, “I’ve regret losing contact with you so many years ago. But since it’s fate that we’ve met, I want to share a big piece of news with you.”

“What is it?”

“I’m getting married!”

My jaw dropped open in surprise, “That’s wonderful, Mei. When’s the date?”

She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope, inside a wedding invitation. “I hope that you will be able to attend my wedding this summer.”

“Of course,” I smiled, accepting the gold envelope. “I am so hap