The splash of her shoes against the wet snow was the only thing Rose would allow herself to concentrate on. Splish, splash, splat, crunch on the salted sidewalk. Her day had truly been horrible. She couldn't allow herself to focus or pay it any attention. She told herself to tune in to that moment, that present moment -the slight creek of the branches as a light wind whistled around her head, blowing her hair and carrying a slight dusting of snow across her path. The streets were quiet, save for a small dog barking from a nearby house. She let herself feel the peace of that moment. She let herself dismiss the worry and anger that fired in her belly.

She was doing so well.

Then she saw it: that quaint little coffee shop where she met him -where it all began. It was all she could do to look the other way and pretend it was only a figment of her imagination. She tried. She really did try. But, instead, some force beyond her control -some puppeteer of sorts- seemed to fiddle with her strings and abruptly steer her across the street and to the shop's entrance. No, no, no. She did not want to be here, really. She did not want to go in. She did not want the familiar smell of freshly ground coffee beans to arouse their memories, to arouse her emotions, and allow her to break down. But, somehow, Rose's hand dramatically lifted, her fingers wrapped delicately around the door knob, and something beyond her control caused her to twist the knob and allow the coffee bean aroma to seduce her into her past. Terrific, thanks a lot.

It was as if Ben was there, sitting and waiting for her -a warm, welcoming smile slowly lighting his face as he saw her enter. Or, at least, that's how she had always envisioned it. She never even noticed him the first time. She had sat at her usual table with her usual drink with a usual book on a usual day -but who knew that that day would have turned out to be so unusual for her.

"Great book," Ben casually interrupted her intense concentration.

"Oh," Rose smiled coyly. "Yea, it's good so far." She was trying to avoid conversation. Rose was there to sip her coffee and read her book -nothing more, nothing less.

Ben got the hint at first, but it wasn't long until he persisted further.

"You know, he has this other great book called-".

She fell for it. He reeled her in...and the rest is history. It wasn't all bad, by no means. He became her best friend. He became comfort and joy. He became so many things to her. And, despite

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