Its All In the Meeting.

My late mother said a great many things. People often said that the moment Cathy Berkins' mouth stopped moving, she would be dead. How right they were, dropped dead right in the middle of conversing with the milk man, G-d rest her soul. Endless amounts of rigmarole dribbled out of her mouth on a daily basis. Everything from inflation to marriages, divorces to deaths, so-and-so's new dress to Pastor Keith's new hair cut. The sky was the limit for her and her thundering mouth. I would often just stand and stare absent- mindedly as my mother went on and on incessantly; it came in one ear and out the other. Ironically, she was loved more than she spoke.

Of all the words and phrases that tumbled from my dear mother's mouth into my oppressed and aggrivated ears, nothing quite stuck like the phrase, " It's all in the meeting." She had said that on countless occasions, so it was - in all intents and purposes- bound to make a lasting impression. " It's all in the meeting." She was refering to lovers of course. My mother believed that the way two people met was the forefront to the courtship, the mirror to the marriage. I never really took her seriously until I witnessed it first hand. It was then when it all just snapped into place. It was all in the meeting. That auspicious little rendezvous held so many cryptic clues that pointed, quite discreetly, to the future path of the romantic affiliation. My mother was no believer in the mysterious, cosmic signs that circumnavigate our universe, but when it came to the meeting- she could see it all.

I will never forget the first meeting I witnessed. I was but a fly on the wall, but my soul  was wedged between the two star-crossed lovers of this particular introduction. It was a late morning in October. The autumn leaves were continuing their drying process on the once green oaks and the chilly breeze was blowing through the streets, encompassing everyone and everything. I scurried along the sidewalk, dodging various obstacles that deterred my swift ramble. I finally reached, The Coffee Bean, the famous dwelling place of New Yorks caffeine addicts. I pushed open the heavy doors and was punched in the face with the sweet aroma of cuppuccinos, croissants, and newspapers. It was my own little piece of heaven. I ordered my usual, Grande latte, not to mention macadamia nut biscotti and took my seat at a corner, window table, out of the way of the busy, opinionated New Yorkers. It was at this moment when the aspects of the meeting strated falling into place.

I took a casual look out of the window, and thats when I saw her. A beautiful young woman strutting along the sidewalk headed for The Coffee Bean.Heads turned as she walked by, but she didnt even notice. This was the type of girl who got what she wanted. Strangely, she had a humility about her.She flashed smiles but didnt necessarily expect them back. She had a sort of vulnerability. The mystery girl eventually reached the coffee shop and heaved the heavy doors open. The moment her striking presence entered the buliding, every pair of eyes were on her. She didnt see any of it, her eyes were fixed on the menu. She uuumed and aaahed for a while, much to the delight of the young college guy behind the counter. Her order was placed, it was handed to her, she flashed one of those smiles, and she started on her way out. Of course this type of girl was much to busy to stay and sit here with all of us jaded commoners. She pulled the heavy doors open one more time and found herself on the sidewalk once again. All the humans that were still wasting their time doing nothing in the coffee shop were left with a feeling of abandonment the moment the beauty left them to carry on with her occupied life.

The dirty,busy sidewalk of New York City, this is where it all happened. From my vantage point at the window table, I could spy on the whole magical ordeal without the slightest hint of awkward uncomfortibility. Our captivating female was just getting ready to cross the road. Coffee in one hand, phone in the other. The steam rising from her coffee cup seemed to be mocking the polluted NYC air. She looked left, right, and left again and began her hurried crossing. She had almost reached the other side when suddenly out of nowhere a cab zipped past her, missing her by a few inches. She twirled around on her heels and screamed after the taxi. I wasnt really expecting that but I enjoyed the spectacle none-the-less, apparently so did the rest of the coffee joint for they had all put down their caffeine and were now glued to the scene, even the college guy behind the counter had stopped taking orders.

The dishevelled beauty then took her still boiling Grande coffee and threw it at the cab. She threw it with all the adrenalin and anger still racing through her veins. The coffee cup hit the back window, its brunette wetness cascading down the once clean glass. I almost chocked on my biscotti! She had gone mad! I looked around, making sure that some other specimen had just witnessed what I did and much to my horror there they all were, standing behind me, ogling as if their pathetic lives depended on it. Our eyes were transfixed on the unanticipated scene. The tension in the room was so thick you could churn it into butter. The taxi, after the liquid attack, kept on speeding down the road and eventually turned down another street. We all stared after it with disdain, thinking in our secret minds that it was making some kind of difference.

The poor girl was left destitute. No coffee, no smile, no nothing. It was at this moment, when all hope and optimism disappeared , that he came running. It couldnt be real. Everyone, including me, sucked in their breath, fearing that the slightest exhale would disrupt the flawless moment occuring in the concrete paradise across the road. He reached her, she looked up at him, he smiled and then came her famous grin. She was back! Everyone in the hot, crowded coffee-fied room burst into applause. I even saw one middle-aged , cat-loving woman weep. This couldnt be happening! People were hugging, hand shakes were given, the euphoria was taking us all away on the wind of bliss. We stopped thinking about ourselves and our boring, empty lives. We were all connected in this strange, romantic, hopeful way.

The dream couple outside were laughing together, he touched her arm, and she blushed. It was love, every homosapien in the room knew it. The couple was standing there, talking as if they always had and would never stop. The rest of us on the inside, all high on the blissful legal drug,were smiling smug smiles, almost as if we organized the introduction ourselves. The handsome, mysterious man pointed to The Coffee Bean and all of a sudden there was chaos. Legs moved, chairs scrapped, tables were bumped, even a few coffees were spilled, and then finally- there was peace.

The girl entered once again finding everything exactly the way she left it- people pretending to be busy, trying to write, simulating reading, or playing stare -stare with starngers across the room, but this time  there was this one oldish lady crying. Her presence was the same but it was cloaked with something a little different, something very similar to the sun. The rescuer followed her in and looked around. He noticed nothing. All he could see was the dazzling damsel that agreed for him to buy her a new coffee. He couldnt beleive that he had her, and he knew-with every inch of his being- that he would never let her go.

That was my first meeting. In those few minutes I saw it all, my mother was right. I saw a man who saw what he wanted, he went after it, and he would never let it go. I saw a girl who was approached, then claimed, and now his; all she wanted was to be wanted, and now she was. This was a forefront to a very precious, passion-filled love that would probably last longer than the busy, roaring, capitalistic town of New York. The charming lovers left The Coffee Bean for the last time and before they slipped out of reach, I saw the man gently lace his fingers into hers.That was it, I finally understood my mother. She had been right all along. As I sat there in the unspoken wisper of true love and finished my latte, I couldnt help but smile....I, and the rest of these tedious bystanders, were just witnesses to one of the greatest and most extraordinary moments in the universe....a spontaneous meeting that grew into true love.