"Where are we going?"
     "It's a surprise," beamed Marie, darting her eyes from the road for a second to catch my reaction. I smiled and relaxed in my seat, watching the scenery drift lazily by.
     "I hope you are hungry?" she asked.
     "I'm a little pensive actually. It's a little sad to be leaving. I'm a little scared to think about the future."
     "Don't think too much," she said, "let's have some fun!" I conceded to the idea, acknowledging the fact that most of my worries were out of control anyway. We pulled up to a plush red awning. A uniformed man approached hurriedly and opened my door, ushering me out of the car. He quickly rushed around to the other side and jumped into the newly vacated driver's seat. Marie sauntered around the back of the car and joined me in front of the restaurant.
     "Swanky," I said with surprised.
     "But of course," she replied and slipped her arm between mine and coaxed me to the door. The doorman bid us welcome and we went slowly inside, grinning from ear to ear like children on the brink of discovery. The royal treatment continued - we were shown to our table and promptly served bread and water while we perused the grand leather bound menus. I took a moment to survey my surroundings. The restaurant was lavish, draped in red trim. The muffled chatter of voices mingled with the soft chink of cutlery on china. The clientele consisted primarily of couples, each absorbed solely in the space they were occupying, engaging in animated conversations and doting silences. I leaned over to Marie and whispered secretively,
     "It feels like Valentine's Day in here."
     She looked around shiftily and leaned in towards me, whispering in reply as if to guard the secret,
     "I thought we would have some fun watching the people."
     The waiter approached and asked if we were ready to order. Marie shuffled herself back in her seat end endeavoured an air of seriousness.
     "No, not yet," she offered, a curl of naughtiness quivering at the side of her mouth. The waiter departed cuing our inevitable release of juvenile laughter.
     "You're silly," I said, allowing my laughter to subside. "I'm going miss you." A wave of seriousness crossed over her face and her eyes dropped to the menu.
     "Yes," she responded timidly. "What are you going to have?"
     I glanced back down at the menu, feeling an inevitable sadness chasing me, and the need to escape it. I closed myself off, reading each word slowly, one by one, filling my mind with their meanings so as not to allow emotions to set in. The waiter returned and immediately began to engage Marie. With a mixture of long deliberate words and pointing, she conveyed her choice. I did the same and soon we were left alone again.
     She tore a piece of bread and began to munch, then looking in my direction said,
     "Let's see what we've got here," and she raised her eyebrows and nodded her head a little inviting me to look at the same thing she was. Discreetly, I turned and saw a young couple midway through their main course. Each of them went through the motions slowly and deliberately and with an obvious lack of enthusiasm. The female partner had her back facing me, her shoulders hunched in a resigned posture.
     "I say they are newerlyweds."
     "New-ly-weds," I corrected, turning back to Marie. "They don't seem too happy for newlyweds - why do you say that?"
     "It looks like they reached that state of mutual boredom just after the excitement of the marriage is over."
     "I'm not so sure," I countered, glancing around again, "I don't see any rings on their fingers. I think they have just settled for each other because of a lost opportunity somewhere down the line."
     "Yes perhaps," she agreed, "but what do you mean ' settled'?"
     "Well in this case maybe they decided to stay together because they didn't want to be alone. Their lost opportunity left them lonely and so they grabbed the first chance that came along to counteract the solitude."
     "That's very perceptive for such a short look!" She exclaimed.
     "You know me when my imagination gets hold of me. I bet they came here tonight to try and recapture some of the magic - if there was any!"
     "Yes!" she replied emphatically. "But I bet the only magic they had was in the bedroom!"
     She chuckled and sipped her wine. I laughed along with her allowing my eyes to wander across the room.
     "Over there," I said with the excitement of discovery. She whipped her head around and hastily swallowed.
     "Ooh-la-la, papi!" she exclaimed.
     I almost choked with laughter, as her expression equalled the volume of her surprise. A couple sat around a table that was set for four people. The girl - and she most definitely was a girl - was wearing a spectacular dress, low cut and very revealing. Jewels sparkled on her ears and around her neck, and her face was painted to perfection. She sat bolt upright and somewhat serious, tipping her head slightly and opening her mouth to receive the gifts of food her partner was eagerly offering her.
     "He must be a hundred and eight!" shrieked Marie, attempting a discreet whisper but unable to contain her excitement. We both turned back to look at each other but that only served to increase our amusement. We simultaneously burst into laughter, Marie wriggling in her seat until eventually she had to lay her head in her hands. I, on the other hand, was fighting to avoid spitting out the mouthful of wine I had just gulped. The waiter stepped over to the table to serve us our starter and, dreading the obvious impact his presence would have on our situation. We both tried are hardest to suppress our juvenile antics until the waiter had finished his task.
     At last we managed to regain control but our curiosity had not diminished. We continued scouring the room for potential victims, insinuating our perceptions into the lives of the many couples lining the restaurant, telling their life stories as we saw them and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. From time to time I would update Marie on what "Papi" was hand feeding his little doll and Marie would provide similar details as to the quantity of wine the 'settlers' had consumed to get them through their ordeal. We finished our starters just as the girl took a 4-2 lead.
     Presently we were served our main course. Our conversation subsided and my mind started to wander. I began to think about what it meant to be here on my last night. I made half-hearted attempts at spearing my food with the fork, searching and jabbing until finally I gave up and just pushed it around from one side of the plate to the other, painting a trail in the sauce as I went.
     "Are you alright?"
     Her voice snapped me out of my daydream and I looked up at her.
     "I'm not very hungry," I replied, laying my fork on the plate and leaning back in the chair. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second.
     "You are sad?" she said, sure of the answer to her question.
     "Yes," I said, forcing out the word with a surge of emotion.
     "It is because you are leaving?" she said in the same confident questioning tone. "Why are you sad to be leaving when you have so much adventure ahead of you?"
     "I never found her, you know."
     I fidgeted with the fork for a second then lay my hands on the edge of the table.
     "I had this romantic notion that I would come back and everything would be as I imagined, as it appeared to be going before I left. I don't think I ever really believed it but I would have at least like to see if the spark was still there."
     "You were away a very long time," offered Marie. "Did you expect her to wait for you?" I shuffled in my chair, feeling the discomfort her words brought to me and the sudden necessity to acknowledge the truth.
     "That's just it. We never made any plans together because we never told each other how we felt. Now I just feel like I might have missed the opportunity."
     "I think so too," she replied, laying down her cutlery and sitting back in her chair. "But what will you do about it? It's not good to keep thinking about it and upsetting yourself."
     "Yeah, I know," I conceded. "I think I'm sad because I am leaving everything behind this time." She folded her arms and said in a soft voice,
     "I am sad about that too."
     I glanced over to her seeing her wearing a nervous smile. A wave of warmth began to grow inside me, a sensation born from the comfort and security of our friendship.
     "I am going to miss you too, Marie."
     Our eyes connected in a momentary pause. The charge of emotion grew until she dipped her head and leaned forward across the table. Her eyes once more found mine, but this time they possessed an eagerness, an excitable expression that was punctuated with a mischievous smile.
     "We need to have some fun - lets go dancing!"
     I let out a chuckle of relief and felt the tension flee from my body. She raised her eyebrows and beamed at me, coaxing my response.
     "Yes," I replied with conviction, "that's exactly what we need."
     We collected ourselves together and summoned the waiter to settle the bill. As he returned with the black leather-bound book Marie said to me under her breath,
     "5-2 now, but it looks like the game is over."
     She directed me with a dart of her eyes and a flick of the head. I turned around to see the girl rising feebly from her chair. Her partner quickly followed, lagging behind somewhat as she hurriedly made her way to the exit, grasping at her stomach as she picked up speed. I looked back at Marie as she finished signing the credit card receipt.
     "Ooh-la-la!" she said, tickled.
     Gathering our belongings we made our to the door. She bumped me softly with her shoulder and asked,
     "Es-tu prêt?"
     "Oui," I replied and hooked my arm inside hers.
     We strutted arm in arm, beaming childlike at the doorman as we approached. He stepped back, pulling the door and nodding appreciatively as we crossed the threshold. No sooner had my foot touched the pavement when from behind, a man careened out of the restaurant, slamming into me and knocking me off balance. He half turned his head and waved his hands out apologetically, continuing hastily towards a figure doubled over at the curb. Marie grabbed tightly onto my arm, steadying me and stopping me from falling. I regained my balance, thanking her and assuring her I was not hurt. She rooted in her pocket and handed a piece of paper to the valet.
     From across the way came a violent wretching sound. I felt Marie's grip tighten in reaction and I too jumped back. Our eyes sought the source of the disturbance and we both saw the rushing man sliding on the slippery ground until he came to a halt at the curb. Another wretching echoed followed by the splat of liquid on concrete. The man raised his hands up in the air in apparent disbelief, his body partially shielding the convulsing body of his partner. She threw up once more and some muffled, angry words drifted in the damp night air.
     "I guess he didn't run fast enough," said Marie with a note of concerned sarcasm.
     I smiled a little but found it impossible to draw my eyes away from the scene. The man was becoming more and more animated and his anger appeared to be growing. I began to relinquish my grip on Marie's arm, as the husband seemed to reach the height of his frustration, storming back towards us and then into the restaurant. The girl slumped and sat on the pavement, breathing heavily and brushing her hair away from her face. I took a cautious step forward, sensing Marie's touch leave my arm.
     "Do you think we should go and help," I heard her ask.
     I took another step and then another moving gradually closer. I felt aware of Marie moving alongside me, yet following my steps and staying behind me. As I arrived at the girl's side I could her breathing more audibly, mixed with crying. I knelt down to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. She jumped and gasped a hard breath, whipping her head in my direction. My hand sprung back as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Her mouth fell open further with surprise; her breaths shortening and again she brushed the hair away from her face. I watched her in silence as she regained her composure. I felt Marie kneel down close beside me.
     "Angelisa?" she said in a soft questioning voice.
     Her gaze turned to Marie, a look of bewilderment crossing her face, her fingers digging into her eyes as she pulled away the tears. She turned back to look at me and I placed my hand back on her shoulder, squeezing gently while feeling a trembling as my nervousness began to swell inside.
     Form behind us came hurried footsteps and soon in a few seconds we were joined by her partner. Her handed her some tissues and took her hand, coaxing her to stand. We continued to hold each other's stare and I felt Marie's hand rest protectively on my shoulder.
     "Will you be alright," she asked with a tremble in her voice.
     "We are going to go home now," replied the man, cradling her at the waist as she began to stand. We all rose in unison, Angelisa's eyes and mine glued to each other. Slowly she opened her mouth and her eyes widened.
     "My husband is going to take me home now."
     She bowed her head and stepped slowly and deliberately, her husband steadying her. I span to watch her walking away into the night. Marie's arm slid in between mine and I gripped it letting my hand search frantically for hers. My fingers locked into her and squeezed tightly.