When Hearts Break and Heal

I gave her hair a gentle tug to snap her out of it. "Looks don't save lives. Time to get back to work."

But this girl went wild, shaking my arm and pointing ahead.

As luck would have it, it was Gustave again.

We ended up on the same path, walking in the same direction.

He had always been six feet tall, but now he seemed a bit taller, wearing glasses, a suit, and speaking in a refined manner—like a true gentleman.

This was the same boy I once thought of as childish.

"Hello, Mr. Watson!" Lesley greeted him cheerfully.

I stared at him, expecting him to turn away like before.

But to my surprise, he nodded at us and walked over.

Lesley, accustomed to socializing, started chatting and laughing with Gustave while we still had some distance to cover.

I, on the other hand, just nodded and gave polite responses.

Gustave said he was heading to the school cafeteria for lunch.

Lesley immediately got excited, tugging at my sleeve and pouting.

"I think university food has such a nostalgic flavor, Judy. Should we join him for lunch?"

I hesitated.

Gustave smiled and said, "The food here is quite good. Please join me, Ms. Steele. My treat."

"Oh, we couldn't possibly impose," Lesley said, blushing and then turned to me, pouting again.

"Mr. Watson invited us, Judy. It would be rude to decline."

I sighed deeply.

I thought, "Silly girl, haven't I ever treated you to a meal?"

Fine, let's go!

I had to admit that the university was impressive.

My previous school had only five cafeterias, but this one had over a dozen.

Gustave, being the only one familiar with the campus, led us to the second cafeteria.

Lesley never took her eyes off him.

"Mr. Watson, is there anything particularly good here? I like spicy food..."

Coincidentally, Gustave also had a penchant for spicy food.

He immediately recommended a few places and pointed out the directions.

I wasn't sure if Lesley would actually enjoy the food, but it seemed she was happy with Gustave's accompany.

She giggled. "What about you, Mr. Watson? What are you having?"

I wasn't sure if it was my imagination, but Gustave seemed to glance at me before calmly saying, "I'll have a light chicken noodle soup with extra parsley and no onions."

"Mr. Watson, you're so health-conscious! No wonder your skin looks so good!" Lesley's flattery was relentless.

Gustave just smiled and turned to ask me, "What would you like to eat? The chicken noodle soup here is really good."

I casually pointed behind him. "Anything will do."

As long as it wasn't the same as his.

Even though, back in college, my favorite was the light chicken noodle soup with extra parsley and no onions from the second cafeteria...

It suited my taste and was cheap, but I just wouldn't have it now!

The meal itself was unremarkable, except that the March weather felt unexpectedly stuffy.

Near the end of our meal, Gustave's phone rang. He glanced at it and hung up immediately.

I didn't think much of it until it rang again.

Lesley, being observant, said quickly, "Mr. Watson, if you have something to attend to, please take the call. We'll finish our meal on our own."

Gustave put his phone on silent and said, "It's nothing. Just friends wanting to celebrate my birthday, reminding me of the time."