A Rendez-Vous

When you go south by car from Breda to Antwerp you have to pass the border between The Netherlands and Belgium. Here is a place called Hazeldonk. It used to be very important, but since there are a lot of treaties between the countries in Europe there is no border-control or customs any more. So Hazeldonk changed into a stop for people who like to have a coffee or such before plunging into the traffic-junction of Antwerp.

We decided to have this coffee and entered one of the two restaurants that are situated over there.

It was around 11 am and there were only a few people: two salesmen, one slim and giggling, the other fat and really laughing out very loud. They must have been exchanging experiences or such.

At another table a man was sitting behind his coffee while reading a newspaper. He was somewhere in his forties and looked quite distinguished.

After we had bought our coffee and were seated, a woman of around forty came in. She was slim and well dressed and immediately walked to the man. He jumped up, helped her out of her coat which he hung over the back of the chair opposite his, and sat her down at the table. Then he walked over to the counter and came back very quickly with two coffees.

He sat down but came to his feet again. He leaned over the table and wiped her cheeks that were slightly red now. She was crying silently. He took her head in his hands and placed a little kiss on her lips. Then he sat down again and started to talk.

He went on and on and she only nodded once in a while and shook her head once too. Again he came to his feet and wiped her cheeks again and gently placed a kiss on her forehead. He talked some more but she hardly reacted.

Finally he came to his feet, grabbed his coat, leaned over the table and kissed her once more on her lips. He walked out and she stayed behind. A minute later we saw him passing by in his car.

She took a handkerchief from her handbag and wiped her eyes. Her eyes wandered around the restaurant and rested on the newspaper that he had left behind on the table. She tilted her head a bit to see a headline, but wasn’t bothered to get the newspaper in her hands. She blew her nose in the handkerchief and put it back in her handbag. Then she got up, put on her coat and walked towards the door.

The fat salesman was laughing again and slapped his knees.

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