Love, After All: Part 2

Daisy and Jimmie kept finding themselves back at Bound & Bejeweled, almost as if the cozy coffee shop had become their unspoken meeting place. They never explicitly planned to see each other, yet somehow, they did.

Jimmie learned that Daisy had a deep love for poetry, often scribbling her thoughts in the margins of books she owned. Daisy discovered that Jimmie had always wanted to write but never found the courage to put his thoughts on paper. Their conversations were effortless, stretching over the pages of novels and the steam rising from their coffee cups.

One evening, as the sky turned dusky purple outside, Jimmie sat across from Daisy, watching her flip through The Sun and Her Flowers. A soft instrumental jazz track played in the background, wrapping them in warmth.

“You know,” he said, breaking the silence, “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who looks at books the way you do.”

Daisy glanced up, amusement twinkling in her hazelnut eyes. “And how’s that?”

“Like they’re people. Like they’ve got hearts that beat and stories to tell even before you open them.”

She tilted her head, considering his words. “Maybe because that’s how I see people too.”

Jimmie exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of his past heartache loosen just a little. Daisy had a way of saying things that made his world pause.

The next time they met, he brought her a book—A Love Supreme, a poetry collection she had once mentioned in passing.

Daisy ran her fingers over the cover, her lips parting in surprise. “You remembered.”

“Of course I did.” He smiled; a bit nervous. “And, uh… I was wondering if maybe you’d want to get dinner sometime?”

Daisy’s fingers tightened around the book. The past still lingered, a soft ache in the background of her mind. But there was something about Jimmie, something patient and real.

She took a deep breath, then smiled. “I think I’d like that.”

And just like that, love, after all, found its way into both of their lives again—one quiet moment at a time.