Sitting at the bus stop, Roberta sighed, wishing for respite from the blood-washed headlines and photos of anguished families she had been subjected to all day long. The violence had screamed at her from newstands at the market, at the pharmacy, at the book store and at every bus stop. Including this bus stop.

Closing her eyes, she tried to rest, knowing the bus wouldn't arrive for another 20 or 30 minutes.

Then she heard something she felt she hadn't heard all day: someone laughed.

She looked up to catch sight of two men emerging from a truck. The shorter one laughed again, a brief near-giggle, and looked up into his friend's eyes, sharing a private joke.

Roberta watched as the two entered a nearby coffee shop, their arms across each other's shoulders. She saw movement and then realized that they had chosen to sit in the window seats, right in her line of sight. Well, that is, if she moved to ... this end of the bench.

The older one, the one who had apparently bequeathed all his hair to his friend, quirked his lips into a lopsided grin, reached out quietly and tucked a strand of hair behind his friend's ear.

The younger one flashed him a smile so bright that Roberta felt she could have been blinded all the way out here. On this bench.

The older one finished stirring his coffee and passed the spoon to the younger, who took it, licked off the remaining dribble of coffee, and smiled, before plunging the utensil into his own cup.

The waitress approached their table and the younger one smiled up at her, possibly engaging her in small-talk, while she refilled their cups. The older one smiled quietly, watching his friend watching her. When she left, he said something and the younger one punched his friend's shoulder.

Just then, the older one caught Roberta's eye and she blushed, ducking her head in embarrassment. He smiled, then returned his gaze to his friend, who had just tapped his fingers on the older man's wrist, possibly to emphasize some point.

Just then, Roberta caught a glimpse of the approaching bus. Standing in preparation for boarding, she saw the older man grab the younger man's fingers, look his friend right in the eye, and kiss the fingertips.

And just as the doors were closing, stealing one final glimpse, she saw the younger man's look of utter shock dissolve into joy.