They stood fairly close to one another: if they but slightly extended their arms, their hands would most surely touch. However they did no such thing, and only stood calmly with this short comfortable distance between them.
“Thank you for playing on Sunday,” he went first, “I see you got some nice feedback!”
“Yeah, everyone is so nice! I enjoyed playing – it was fun!”
Whilst he had no trouble looking at her with his ever-kind gaze, her eyes darted up and down, occasionally meeting his for a moment.
“Thank you for the Locus Iste. I was so excited to sing it!”
He let out his signature sigh (the one that seemed to communicate something he was not saying out loud) before replying with, “It is a gorgeous piece of music”.
She nodded with a smile, but her silence suggested she meant to say something else. (He was beginning to understand now how it was always when she got quiet that she most wanted to speak). So he remained standing next to her, waiting.
“Thank you for that Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago. I had a very pleasant time.”
“It’s my pleasure,” he responded, “I had a pleasant time as well.”
She met his gaze then, as if the honesty of his confession could only be checked and trusted by the look in his eyes. She was not particularly surprised to see that his eyes were clear and calm, and not afraid of her. There was after all a part of her deep down that trusted him. Only that part was so deep inside of her that she did not always have access to it, as if she had trouble believing in something she already believed. As such she continually needed the reassurance and evidence that he could be trusted.
Looking down again she cleared her throat. In a gentle, soft voice, he heard her say:
“I like how much we thank each other … I think – I think it’s a beautiful thing.”
She lifted her eyes once more, at the same time lifting her hand and placing it over her heart, and gave him a smile that seemed as happy as it seemed sad. But the eye-contact was soon broken as her eyes were beginning to water.
“Have a good day,” she said before giving him the chance to respond, and walking away from him with a small but quick step.
Words & Feelings 