I've been here for a year. It's a nice cafe, quiet and out of the way. They serve pastries and have a fine selection of teas and flavored coffees. I used to bring my work with me, but I've found people watching to be far more enriching.

He would sit at the table to my right. A small man, back bent after years of toil. Under a wide brimmed hat he'd drink his coffee, leaning his cane against the table and watch the other patrons. Once in a while he'd strike a conversation here of there, yet young people today move too fast to sit and talk with a seventy year old. But he didn't mind, as I soon found out he already had all the company he needed.

I admit I didn't notice her at first. A lanky woman, seated in the far opposite corner, her thin legs stretched beneath the patio table. She hid behind a new book each week. I was never sure of what she read, though by their covers I saw they weren't in French. Her old eyes squinted hard to read each line. She'd nervously hand the waitor a prewritten order, after which he would serve her tea. She was new and didn't know the language. That didn't seem to bother the old man.

They first met when a breeze caught the old man's hat. He'd have lost it had the woman not stood and grabbed it midair. He bowed graciously and thanked her for the rescue. She simply smiled and returned to her book. From then on whenever she arrived, he would sit at his table and order her drinks. Each day he'd buy her a new tea or coffee. She'd send some back, but whichever she kept he ordered the same. I noticed when he bought a new jacket, the next day she came wearing a matching one. Once he had brought a copy of the same novel she had started. To her delight they finished it the same day. When he arrived one cold morning, she had ordered him a warm breakfast. I watched as he brought a French-to-Korean translation book. He carried it with him everywhere.

One day, she didn't arrive. I shared the old man's anxiety when she didn't appear for another two weeks. Each day, I watched as he sat in his chair, and waited for her to show. He broke into tears when another sat in her seat.

At last, she returned. Rolled to her spot in a wheelchair, anurse aided her reading and helped order a drink. Once the nurse went inside, her book fell. Before she could attempt to reach down, he had picked himself up and walked over. They shared a simple moment as he retrieved her novel. He nervously sat down and blushed as he tried to formulate a sentence. She smiled at his attempted Korean. That was the last day they arrived separetly. The first day they left together.