The Foyer

He waited in the foyer for her to arrive. He had longed for this day, imagined it in so many different surroundings. They had been apart for so long that he had almost forgotten what it was like to be with her.

She had arranged to meet him here because he worked nearby, and it was close to the train station. They used to come here, before she moved away, to watch movies and see plays.

She was late. He wasn’t worried. She was always running late, and so were the trains for that matter. He checked his watch again; half an hour. She would be here soon, he knew.

The door opened and he looked up, but it was just someone coming out of the rain for a while. Maybe she was doing the same thing, waiting for the rain to pass, at the station, or in a shop somewhere.

“Not long,” he thought. “She’ll be here soon.”

The sun was coming out, and the stranger had gone on their way. He looked around, took in the red walls and carpet, the drink machine opposite him, the food stand in the far corner, with the smells of popcorn and watered coke.

Another hour passed, two. “Why didn’t she just say so if she wasn’t coming?” He got a drink from the machine. “Ten minutes, then I’m gone. I don’t need this shit.”

He drank his drink and left, walking in the drizzle that had persisted after the rain. He didn’t notice. She was so much to him, and she had let him down again.

“Not again” he vowed. “This is the end. I’ve been taken for granted once too often.”

He arrived at his apartment and opened the door. There she was, inside. She was on the couch, her hair was wet and hanging over her face. Some of her makeup had run. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“I called” she said. “Don’t you check your messages? The train was running late, an hour or so, and it lost another half hour on the way. I rang from the platform back home.”

He didn’t say a word. He walked towards her and held her close. “I’ve missed you” she said. He held her back at arms length, smiled, and kissed her.

“I love you” was all he said.