Becoming a couple

Despite Rebecca's words being said too soft for Anthony to hear them, and despite her being overly harsh on herself, the underlying message had somehow reached Anthony regardless of that. Suddenly the dots connected, for the otherwise so smart man, who only seemed to have trouble with decoding signs of love, and his eyes widened. He realized that it hadn't been two ordinary mugs that Rebecca had been holding, but a set. A couples set. Which meant that Rebecca was considering them becoming a couple!

He jumped up from his crouched position and ran to where Rebecca seemed to be heading. She was just placing the mugs down, holding onto them with a lingering touch, when Anthony turned around the corner and approached her. He reached over to her hand and pulled them away. When she turned to face him, Anthony said with panted breathing from his nervous running, "I, I changed my mind. We should buy those mugs. I like them and I think they will be a great addition to my collection." He then smiled at the perplexed Rebecca, who didn't quite know how to respond. After some blinking, where Anthony was still holding onto her hand, Rebecca said, "Oh, uhm, are you sure? Okay, if you want them, then let's."

Without hesitation and a genuine smile on his face, Anthony said, "I'm sure. Let's go." He grabbed the mugs in one hand, and continued to hold onto Rebecca's hand with the other, as they made their way to the register. Rebecca seemed in a bit of a daze as she followed Anthony silently, staring back and forth between their connected hands and the image of Anthony's back. Anthony didn't let go until they reached the counter and he needed to reach for his wallet. That is when he realized he had been holding Rebecca's hand without asking her, and he noticed the dazed look on her face. He quickly apologized before he turned away to deal with the payment of the mugs. In this moment Rebecca was still in her own world as her eyes remained glued to Anthony, shifting only from his back profile, to his side profile.

Meanwhile Anthony had made his decision and was running through ideas of how to make his feelings known to Rebecca and formally ask her to be his girlfriend, without the need of postponing the declaration beyond today. As they continued to walk through the busy shopping street, Anthony's eye fell on a cute little shop on the opposite side of the road. He stopped and pointed at it. "Should we get something to drink and have something sweet over there. It seems like a nice place, don't you think?" Rebecca followed the direction of where Anthony was pointing and noticed the small bakery, almost hidden by the surrounding, larger shops. She didn't know the place, but had no particular objection to having a nice piece of pastry and a cup of freshly made tea. So, she responded to Anthony's suggestion with, "Uhm, yeah, why not. Let's do that. I could use a break from all the walking around."

With that having been settled, they crossed the road and walked up to the shop. They walked inside and a small bell made their coming in known to one of the people who worked there. The person who came over was a sweet looking older lady, whose entire image just made you feel at home, while still being stylish in a old fashioned type of way. She was wearing bright colours and her eyes shimmered in a way that made you believe she was half the age she actually was. Immediately both Rebecca and Anthony felt pleased by their choice to have a bite and something to drink here, although for very different reasons. Rebecca just felt comfortable here and Anthony saw in the lady, who was very likely one of the owners, the perfect partner for his imagined set-up.

After they were greeted and welcomed, the lady asked them if they would be sitting down or having something to go. Both of them simultaneously confirmed that they would be sitting down, after which the lady smiled and directed them to where the tables were. This was when Rebecca interrupted the lady and asked if she could make use of her toilet first. The woman agreed and pointed in the direction of the toilets. Rebecca walked off, giving Anthony the perfect opportunity to make the woman his accomplice. He told her of his plan and asked her to help him out. He also requested the table that was the furthest in the back or any table that gave them a bit of privacy, as he knew that Rebecca wasn't too comfortable with any type of public declarations. Especially the type of declaration he was about to make.