She heard him say something above the droning background. It was early evening and the dinner crowds were building up. She ignored him and looked away, as disappointment began to build within her.
She took a deep breath and decided to take a different tack. She turned to face him. "I realized its been a long while since we spent time together..", she began, "..and I thought it be nice to be here together." She swallowed air as she gathered her thoughts. "..But its obvious you have other things on your mind, and I'm not very welcomed here..." her voice trailed off as she felt tears welling up. "..I just wanted to be with you.. and.. maybe you'd want to be with me, too.."
He took her hands and pressed them first to his lips and then against his cheeks. "i'm sorry..I'm sorry," he stammered. He'd had an exhausting week, he said, and its all built up and consumed his mind. He hadn't realized that was all he'd been talking about.
"I want this moment with you to be special, too" he said, "It's not fair that I talk about all this".
He got up and moved over to her side of her table. "From this moment on, lets talk about us".
He put his arm around her waist and leaned back against the seat, resting on her shoulder as she ate. He shifted his focus on her. The glint in his eye soon returned and before long, they were in each other's company once more.
She enjoyed his presence, and as the chattering on the background began to dissipate, so did their voices, until they were merely whispering at each other, interspersed with little kisses and rubbing of cheeks.
Before they even realized it, the waiter came with the check, as the till was closing. As the lights began to dim, they walked out, holding hands and their arms around each other. He felt the burden of the week lift off his shoulders, and her smile was once again curled in the corners of her mouth.
Reluctantly, he shut the car door, and as she wound down the windscreen to say goodbye, he bent down an kissed her. And she pulled his face near and kissed him over and over, until what seemed an eternity.
He stood there as she fired the engine. And he stood there as he watched her disappear into the night.
