I can hardly believe it myself. Once more, just as I did twenty years ago, Im twirling around the dance floor with you, waltzing as if time were a lazy river. Do you remember our last encounter? It was the schools formal. We glided together, the air buzzing with happiness, and I found myself drowning in the depth of your eyesdeep, deep blue, like the English Channel on a stormy day. That evening I wanted to tell you the big news: we were about to become parents. The moment I blurted it out, you snapped at me, as if Id just cut a rope.
Youre getting ahead of yourself, you said, sounding like a schoolmaster shooing a pupil. Well have to wait. It hit me like a splash of cold rain. I knew it wasnt the right moment, but what could I do? Nothing could be changed. We went our separate ways, yet the love I felt for you lingered on like a stubborn teacup stain. Youd pinched my heart then, leaving my soul in a thousand shards. I was certain youd never look back, never have a change of heart. Your temperament was as hard as flintexactly the thing I found oddly charming about you.
Our former classmates kept me posted on your private life. I learned that youd married, had two grownup lads, and were now divorced. You still popped up at every oldschool reunion, always asking about my whereabouts, while none of the other alumni knew a thing about me. I never attended those gatherings. I was terrifiedterrified that if I stared into your eyes again, Id simply sink and never surface. That fear clung to me for about ten years.
Then, out of nowhere, He appeared. I leapt into marriage without feeling much for him beyond gratitude. He sensed that, and didnt rush me. He welcomed my daughter as his own. By the way, I named the little girl Loveno other name crossed my mind. Her curls reminded me of you, all tangled and bright. My husband adores me; I feel it in every fibre of my being. His deeds, his words, even the way he looks at me whisper the same thing: tenderness. About five years into our marriage I realised Id fallen for my own husband! He managed, somehow, to hug me with his words and become the anchor that steadied me. He found the tiny key to my soul, and I slipped through his door into a room of kindness and understanding. No one could ever trespass on that love.
Love saves everything, Vince. You never truly loved me; I was merely a youthful amusement for you. Thats the way the cookie crumbles.
Oh, what am I rambling about? And you, Vincehow are you keeping?
Ah, Ethel lifes a bit of a scramble, like trying to herd cats without a leash. The boys are on their own, each with his own worries. Im on my own, but I think of you often, I replied.
Hmm My husband and I have three kidsLove and a pair of sixyearold twins. And do you recall your old school chum, Jimmy Ustin? I asked.
Ustin? Of course I do! He was not only a mate but the only mate I ever truly had. After school, Jimmy fell off the radarno answers to calls, dodged meetups. I havent heard a word from him since.
Vince, come over to the window. Look at the school yard.
Vince turned to the open sash and couldnt tear his eyes away from what he saw.
I get it, Ethel. I get it now What a tangled web of fate! he murmured.
On the school playground, there stood Jimmy Ustin, cradling two little tots in his arms. Beside him was a twentysomething girl with those same seablue eyes that had once held me captive.
Goodbye, Vince! Im off to my family, she called.
Ethel, why did you decide to turn up at this reunion after all these years? he asked.
Ive stopped being scared, Vince! Im looking at you now, and my heart is finally quiet.
