A Short Valentine's Day Story

I was in my usual Starbucks on Valentines's Day, not too early, getting a prepatory Espresso Truffle Mocha before my trip to the zoo with my parents. (Hey, I can't spend ALL my time exploring the dark underbelly of humanity.) Titan was tied up outside, as usual, watching me through the window, and as I looked at him, I happened to catch a young couple out of the corner of my eye.

They were young, maybe late high school or early college, and obviously very much in love. They sat on stools shoved as close together as possible, and had their legs intertwined on the rungs, the way you do when you're so in love you want to actually climb into the other person's skin. He had his knee between hers, she rested a hand on his thigh. They were sharing an iPod, and as I happened to look over, he leaned into her space--not that he had far to lean--and kissed her delicately on the cheek as she looked down shyly.

She had her hair wrapped--they were both Ethiopian, so, freaking gorgeous--but besides that, they were in jeans and hoodies, very modern. I thought about how young they were, and how far they had to go in life. I thought how much they were changing the world, just being a young first-generation couple in America with a hair wrap and an iPod, about how in love they were and how excellent that was. They weren't thinking about their age or their parents' country or all the challenges they would face, both together and separately. They were just bathing in each other.

I'm not sure if I can ever fall in love like that again--not sure I want to, really--but it's sure pretty to watch. A thousand blessings on that couple for making my Valentine's Day.