A Second Chance - I

As she saw Rafael dodge the opposition and dive towards the hoop, Ashley hoped he would dunk the ball. And yes – the ball went flying through the basket in the last few seconds of the match…! Rafael’s team had won!

Everyone lifted Rafael in jubilation. Amidst the chaos, their eyes collided and she could sense the euphoria he was feeling. His enchanting smile was magnified in this moment of extreme joy. He held her eyes, gave her a thumbs up but before she could mouth ‘well done’, Rafael was pulled down on the court and everyone huddled around him. So much emotion over a month end basketball match, Ashley thought smiling to herself. Only men could conjure up the energy for this.

As the huddle broke, she picked Rafael with ease. Of course, the fact that he wore his favorite black jersey made him easy to pick, but she could have picked him out of a ground full of similar clad people.

As he walked out of the group of excited men, his eyes connected with hers. And he smiled just for her. And the world ceased to exist. The noise, the commotion, all disappeared as he started walking towards her. She got up in time to receive a bone crushing hug from him. He got into an animated description about how the game had gone. She did not stop him even though she had just seen the entire match from court side seats! As they walked away from the court, Ashley realized just how much she looked forward to their upcoming vacation. They barely got quality time together nowadays.

As Rafael headed to wash up, she proceeded to the bar as always.

‘What should I get you?’ asked Jim.

‘Why don’t you surprise me today?’, Ashley smiled back. The bartender smiled and walked towards his work station.

It was a bar just like this one where Michael had asked her out. She always wanted her partner to be her best friend, someone she knew inside out. And one who knew her as well. She had known him for close to 4 years by when she had realized he was going to be a very vital part of her life. Saying yes seemed so natural.

She met Rafael the first time when Michael took her home to meet his parents. Rafael was Michael’s older brother. During the days leading to the wedding preparation, she got to know Rafael better. Lunches, dinners, movies, shopping trips. Some with Michael, some without.

But a dark Christmas morning, four months before the wedding, Michael went to pick some lumber and never came back. A trailer had lost purchase on fresh show and crashed headlong into Michael’s car. Had he lived, he would have been a vegetable. Mercifully, he had died on the spot.

Ashley did not remember much apart from going home to be with her family. She had quit her job and left the city where everything reminded her of Michael.

When she had moved back to the city after two months, her old boss was more than willing to take her back. Rafael helped her find a convenient apartment, was around to help her move. He asked her out two years after Michael died.

Rafael’s voice broke her reverie and brought her back to planet earth.

‘Are we being adventurous today?’, Rafael slid on the barstool next to her and looked at his green concoction quizzically.

‘It’s got kiwi and lime’, Ashley mouthed while sipping her drink.

‘Why does your drink look so much easier on the eyes’, Rafael had not even touched his glass,’ Like I have always told you - Jim likes you better’. He took a tentative sip of the green liquid.

’Did you like your drinks ?’,pointed more towards Rafael than Ashley.

‘It’s not as bad as it looks actually. It’s quite nice. Well done Jim. Tell me, how are your classes going?’

She could not take her eyes off Rafael. He was everything to her. She would never have imagined the gaping hole in her heart to disappear one day. Soon, it would be five years since the fateful accident. She could think about Michael without an ache in her chest. She could remember him fondly for who he was, for what they had shared.

She had never thought she could be happy again. But she was. Life had given her a second chance. She had found love again.