Gwen and Allen ate dinner and talked while they ate. Gwen listened as Allen talked about his work and what it was that he actually did at Nike. He spoke of his mother and father and what they had gone through over the last year and a half. He told Gwen how they had decided since they had a second chance to love they didn't want to waste any time loving.
"Are you and your parents close?"
"Yeah, we are very close. My mother, she is the strongest woman that
I know. Not for her being my mother, but for love for others that she
has. My pops, he's my true best friend. He taught me how to see more
than what the face value of something is. To look through my eyes and
see my vision not the visions of others and how not to be influenced by
my peers."
"How about you? Are you close with your parents?"
"Well we were close before they passed."
"Oh, I didn't know. I apologize." Allen said as he touched Gwen's
hand.
"No, not at all and how could you have known? This is only our first
date. Besides, they passed when I was fifteen years old. I have had time
to heal, but I still miss them."
"Of course." Allen sympathized.
"After they passed, I moved with my grandparents, who passed a few
years after the accident. Then all I had was my best friend Jes, so off to
college I went."
"Where did you go to school at?"
"I went to Clark-Atlanta University."
"So do you spend a lot of time with your best friend or do you spend a
lot of time working?"
"No I don't spend any time with my best friend anymore. She passed
away a few months ago. I have a few other friends CJ and Tanya, but we
don't spend a lot of time together. They work, I work, our schedules
don't allow it, you know?"
"Again I apologize for your loss."
"You know, I have come to understand, with time, that the way that
things happen have to be the way that GOD wants them to be, because
this is HIS world and HE is in control of it. I am still here, though I miss
my parents, my grandparents and Jes, I still have to live. On the other
side of the coin, it seems as if everyone that I hold dear to me, I lose."
Allen excused himself from the table and went to retrieve the bottle of
sparkling apple cider from the freezer and two glasses, all of which he sat
on the table for two that sat on the balcony. He returned and extended
his hand to Gwen and led her to stand. They walked silently hand in
hand to the balcony and sat.
"This is a beautiful view you have of the stars."
"You think so?" Allen said as he popped the cork and filled their
glasses. "This is where I come to do most of my thinking and my
writing."
"You write? What, let me guess, poetry right?"
"Yes, why is it that obvious?"
"Not obvious, I can just see that you are a very passionate man."
"I am. That is very true. I believe that if you don't have passion for
the things that you do, why do them. In life as well as in work."
"I agree. So are you prepared to read me some of your poetry?" Gwen
asked as she seductively sipped her cider.
"There is no need to waste
this beautiful night."
"Sure, I would love to."
Allen set his drink on the small circular table and recited from
memory one of his poems.