Faith, Defined

It was the last face she expected to see in that crowd. She shouldn't have been surprised, they were there, after all, to support his best friend the fillmmaker. It shouldn't have been completely unforseen that he might be there, too. Despite the fact that he lived 3000 miles away.

They had not spoken since his last visit. Life had gotten in the way for both of them. But he hadn't called to say he'd be in town. And he always called.

The first words out of his mouth were, ironically, "what are you doing here?"

She just looked at him. And he knew what she was thinking, but she said it anyway. "You're kidding, right?"

He sighed. "I should have called."

"Yes."

"But I didn't think I'd have time to see you."

"You're here for the film festival?"

"No, I'm actually here on a job. It just worked out that I could come tonight."

She raised an eyebrow, too stunned to speak. She would normally be ecstatic, but in that moment she was numb.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry," he stammered, as if he'd been caught red-handed. She continued staring at him in disbelief.

"It's been six months."

"No," he protested. "It hasn't! It couldn't have been that long."

"That's the last time you were here."

He continued apologizing to her as they stood ignoring their friends around them. She couldn't tell if she was mad or relieved, the unexpected shock of seeing him in person too disorienting for any other emotion.

And then he hugged her and the world came back into focus.

"It's kismet. I should have let you know, and this is the universe righting my wrongs."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. He could be such a sap. But she couldn't be mad at him. He was genuinely guilt-ridden.

And he always gave such good hugs.