“Okay. Are you happy?”
“I’m as happy as anyone else, I suppose.” I wasn’t sure where this was going, but I did give it some real thought. “Why do you ask?”
“Happy means different things to different people, right?” he asked.
“Of course it does.”
“But there are some things that everyone needs in their life to be truly happy.”
“What are those?” I asked.
“There’s many. Love, growth, certainty, uncertainty, significance. These are all important components of true happiness.”
“I see.” I thought over what he said for a moment, but wasn’t sure I understood where he was going with it or what it had to do with Samantha.
“You will,” he replied.
Gabe stood up and looked down at me. His shaggy hair was unkempt, and his tattered jacket had seen better days. He smoothed out the front of his coat with one hand before returning it to the coffee cup, which was surely keeping his hands warm.
“Is there anything that I can get you, Gabe? Do you have a place to stay? It gets very cold here at night.” He had to be sleeping somewhere, and with the storm approaching, I was concerned whether or not he’d be able to survive out on the streets. He may have been strange in many ways, but no one should be sleeping out in the snow.
“Oh, I’ll be just fine.” He picked up his small bag and readied himself to leave. “Don’t you worry about me, Jason. I’ll be just fine.” He began to walk away but then stopped and turned back around to me. “You deserve to have all of those things in your life, Jason, most of all love.”
“I have plenty of love in my life, but thanks, Gabe,” I replied. I had my daughter. I had my parents. I didn’t need more. I was content.
“There’s still a little piece of your heart that needs filling, my friend. Don’t turn away from it, even if it doesn’t make any sense to you. It will.”
I didn’t know how to respond to what he said. I felt like my heart was plenty full. Clearly our conversation was over, though, and when he was about twenty feet away, I called out.
“Take care of yourself, Gabe.”
“I always do,” he replied without turning back around. As he walked away, I noticed a limp I hadn’t seen before.
I sat on the bench for a few minutes, watching Gabe hobble away and mulling over our conversation. He was a strange guy, but he also seemed rather insightful in many ways. His constant reminders of Samantha were off-putting at first, but somehow it just made me want to get to know her, and a twinge of disappointment I hadn’t run into her yet crept into my mind. If she was here visiting, I was bound to see her at one of the many events over the next week, but what would I say? Hey, the homeless dude you bought coffee for the other day said that you need to be in my life, and I’m inclined to find out why. What do you think? Unlikely to happen.
Gabe had disappeared. I had lost sight of him, distracted in my own thoughts. I knew I needed to get off the bench and get going. The afternoon I had to myself would be over soon, so I decided to head over to the toy store. I needed to pick up the bike I had ordered for Emily and get it home before she got back to the house.
Chapter Seven
Samantha
I still had a bit of shopping to get done, but I didn’t want it to interfere with any of the family time we had planned, so I headed downtown while the girls were still at school, and Robin and Michael were still at work. Of course I wanted to get some coffee first, so I made the coffee shop my first stop. I had borrowed some new gloves from my sister, who thought my exchange with the mystery man was hysterical. She grilled me incessantly to try to figure out if she knew who he was. She probably did, and when I blushed telling my story, it sent her into full detective mode.
I grabbed my coffee quickly but cautiously this time, looking around for any hot guys I might accidentally run into. Alas, there were none, just the usual folks grabbing their afternoon fix like me while out running holiday errands.
The next stop was the toy store. I’d already gotten the twins a couple of cute outfits that I’d found in Florida, but being the cool aunt that I am, they needed fun gifts from me too. They no longer dressed alike, and while they were still very close at eight years old, they had developed different personalities. Daisy was much like her name, full of energy and a bit of a dreamer with an active imagination. She loved reading. Delilah was her scientific counterpart. She had explained to me how the cells in the body do a variety of things, and from what her mother told me, she enjoyed taking things apart to see how they worked.
The toy store in Friendship was small and unique, full of unusual gifts for children. Everything from children’s books to stuffed animals to mini laboratories was available there, so I knew I’d be able to find something fun. I could’ve taken the trek out to the mall, but it was over an hour away and would’ve been crowded with miserable people. Not to mention the fact that the gifts wouldn’t have been as cool and different. While meandering through the aisles, I found exactly what I wanted. An artist kit for Daisy and a miniature forensic
s laboratory for Delilah complete with fingerprinting and investigation tools. They’d love them.
As I walked toward the register to complete my purchase, I heard a familiar voice. It was him. The mystery man. He was in the toy store. My heart rate picked up, and my stomach dropped. I wasn’t sure if I was excited or scared, but before I could hide behind the giant teddy bear in aisle four, I was spotted.
“Samantha?” he asked. He knew my name. How did he know my name?
“Oh … uh … hi there,” I replied, attempting not to look like I was about to hide behind a colossal stuffed bear.
“How are you?” he asked, grinning broadly. He was just as handsome as I’d remembered with his closely shaven beard and striking blue-gray eyes that shone from the light in the storefront’s window.