Memoria Sobre La Construccion de Un Ferro-Carril de Puerto Berrio a Barbosa: Estado de Antioquia (1880)

They met when he passed the counter where she had just finishedmaking a purchase. She turned quickly, they bumped together, and thesmall bag he was carrying flew out of his hand. When it hit the floor thebottle of shaving lotion inside broke, splattering its contents around thearea. As they both knelt on the floor to retrieve the soggy bag, she said, I’m so sorry, that was clumsy of me. It’s OK, he replied, it was only a small bottle of shaving lotion, itcan easily be replaced. Both raised their heads and their eyes met at thesame time. For a moment they looked at each other’s face. What an attractivegirl. He thought. What a nice looking man, she thought. Please let me replace the shaving lotion, she said. No, no, that’s not necessary, but I’ll tell you what you can do. She hesitated for a moment then asked, And what would that be? We are right next to a coffee shop; would you have a cup of coffeewith me? She looked at her watch, and then at him again for a moment, and said, Sure, I guess that’s the least I can do.