February 10, 2017
San Francisco
The café was busy with the usual afternoon crowd.
Steve sat at a small table near the window, turning his coffee cup slowly between his hands.
It had been a long time since he'd been here.
The door opened.
Steve looked up.
Tommy stepped inside.
For a moment they both just stared at each other.
Then Tommy broke into a wide grin.
"Steve?"
Steve stood up.
"Tommy."
They laughed as they hugged.
"Wow," Tommy said, stepping back. "It's been... what? Fifteen years?"
"Something like that," Steve said.
Tommy shook his head in disbelief as they sat down.
"I can't believe it."
"You look good, man."
"So do you."
For a few minutes they talked about ordinary things — work, the city, how much San Francisco had changed over the years.
But eventually the conversation slowed.
Tommy leaned back slightly.
"I heard about what happened," he said gently.
Steve nodded.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
"You and Mizuki..." Tommy began.
He paused.
"You guys were really in love."
Steve stared down at the table.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
Tommy shook his head.
"I remember the two of you coming into the restaurant together."
"You looked like you were in one of those movies."
Steve gave a small, sad smile.
Tommy's expression softened.
"He was such a good guy."
Steve nodded.
"He was."
Tommy looked out the window for a moment.
"You remember how he used to carry those bags of food after work?"
Steve laughed softly.
"For the homeless."
"Yeah."
Tommy smiled faintly.
"He'd walk around the neighborhood giving it out to anyone who needed it."
"He volunteered everywhere too."
Tommy shook his head again.
"He was just... a genuinely good person."
Steve was quiet.
After a moment he spoke.
"I know he's gone."
The words felt heavy.
"But for a long time... it's been really hard to accept that he's not coming back."
Tommy nodded slowly.
"That kind of love doesn't disappear easily."
Steve rubbed his hands together.
"Sometimes it still feels unreal."
Tommy looked at him carefully.
"You know," he said gently, "not everyone gets to experience something like that."
"What you guys had."
Steve glanced up.
Tommy smiled faintly.
"It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime things."
Steve sat quietly for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Yeah."
Outside the café window, people moved along the sidewalk as the afternoon light faded over the city.