She was stunningly beautiful. Her olive complexion, emerald green eyes and long raven black hair reminded me of an Egyptian princess-an Egyptian princess walking on Fifth Avenue. Her nails were perfectly manicured and painted cherry red and the delicate diamond ring on her ring finger sparkled in the sunlight.??She was wearing a sleek black dress complete with matching stiletto heels and holding a rather large GUCCI handbag. Her poise, her style of walking, the way she flipped open her cell phone all reflected class.-New York City class. Her heels clanked on the pavement as she walked towards a nearby coffee shop and with a swish of raven black hair, she was gone.

I stood there leaning against the wall, breathless. Was I in love? But she was married! No, it could not be love. I hardly knew her and ‘love at first sight’ surely did not exist, except perhaps in movies. This was more like fascination. Who was this enchanting woman? I had to find out.

I was about to stride towards the coffee shop when a red-faced Frankie appeared before me. Frankie was my boss. Pudgy with tiny, bloodshot eyes, he resembled a walrus in many respects. Gritting his teeth, he told me that lunch break was over and that I should get back to bartending or else I was toast!

‘Give me ten minutes!’ I muttered and without waiting for a reply, hurried towards the coffee shop.

Running a hand through my hair, I entered and licked my lips nervously. There she sat, serenely sipping on a cappuccino. I chose a nearby table and sat down, my heart pounding frantically. I turned to look at her and to my surprise, noticed a queer sort of expression on her face. She looked terribly apprehensive and was constantly biting her lower lip. Her eyes also looked red and puffy. Had she been crying? Maybe it was a trick of light. Her shoulders were also slumped and it seemed as if she hadn’t had a good nights rest in ages. It looked like this glamorous woman had it all, what could possibly be troubling her? She fondled the flower in the vase in front of her with a wistful expression and then suddenly pulled off all the petals aggressively. Confused, I looked away.

Just then her phone rang and she answered it almost immediately.

“Hello.” She said in a shaky voice. “Yes Marc, we’ll go over the divorce papers tonight when I get home.”

There was a pause.

“But can’t we think it over? Marc, I don’t want to do this to Halie again. The poor girl has had enough of divorces! I want her to have a proper family life.”

An even longer pause.

“You’ll never understand Marc! Mother was right about you! We come from two completely different lifestyles. I shouldn’t have married below me! And I didn’t choose my work over you both! I work hard! I put my sweat and blood into this job! Being the director of the biggest fashion chain in New York is no joke! I earn all this money for my family! It because of me that Halie has the best private education, the most expensive Barbie dolls…”

She broke off in mid sentence, slammed the cell phone onto the table and covered her face with her hands, overcome with emotion. Her long raven black hair cascaded over her shoulders and her diamond ring sparkled away.

With a sudden jolt, she stood upright in her chair. Taking a deep breath, she fixed her hair, straightened the creases out of her dress and reapplied clear lip gloss onto her lips. After a few puffs of blush powder, she gracefully slid out of her chair and marched out of the coffee shop, ready to face the world again.

Within a matter of ten minutes, I felt as if I had known the woman for lifetime. I knew not her name but I understood her and felt and sympathy towards her. I had never seen such a strong woman; I was in awe of her. Sighing, I got up to get back to work. I decided that till my shift ends, I would cheerfully pour people drinks to make them forget about their worries and lament with them over their woes. They would drown all their sorrows in alcohol and would sing and dance the night away. I guess most people need to get away from themselves for a while, now and then. Not everybody has the courage to face life.