Root Beer-Float Kind of Smile

She was standing behind the counter, giving him this root beer-float kind of smile

Remembering the times from when they were young

Playing board games in the basement, that one time they went to Dairy Queen, climbing trees and bruising knees

Riding bikes, getting sunburnt at the pool, dreading going back to school

Snow days, hot chocolate, making ramen

Laughing in the back of the bus, teasing each other, listening to music

He left after getting his medicine and catching up for what felt like a few minutes, but was actually an hour

Wishing he could listen to her voice for forever

The rest of the day he reminisced and wished they could have spent more time together

As day turned into night, his car led him to their old neighborhood

Parking the car at the park, he got out and went for a walk

Seeing their old houses, the pool where they would spend hours, and where their fellow classmates used to live

Michael sat down in the middle of the road and began to cry

The soda shop saw Michael the next day

and the next

and the next

The third day she came back

Michael entered the store and felt his heart stop

Seeing the girl he used to know so well

She was surprised to see him, thinking that she might’ve been the only one who wanted to meet again

Michael ordered, sat and watched how she could gracefully run back from the soda fountain to the pharmacy

Only having a few customers on this day was a blessing in disguise.

They could’ve minded less about

The lemon sherbet that melted all over the counter