The flat was bright with the morning sun. He could hear Melissa talking to somebody in the first room off the hallway, her gran he guessed. She led him past the entrance to that room and up to the kitchen, which was at end of the hallway. She didn’t talk until the kettle was filled and switched on. “So.” She left the word hanging in the air for a moment. “How are you?”

He felt suddenly awkward. This wasn’t how he wanted to feel. He wanted to be happy, to feel that the unfinished something was about to happen, that he could see young women with long blonde hair and not feel that surge of emotions that kept recurring. “Fine.” he said simply. “You have a lovely daughter. She was being teased by some other children, so I rescued her and...” His voice trailed off. She was staring at him in the way he remembered and he felt much better. He continued, “Something she said made me think of you and I was feeling, well, excited I suppose. What with the heat, I was going red and she got upset because of her dad.”

“She told you?” She sounded surprised. “She never talks about it.”

“It felt pretty powerful, the way it came out. I think we have some kind of bond now, at least today.” He laughed. “You know how children are, she’ll have forgotten by tomorrow.”

“I don’t think so. I think you’ve managed to get her to face up to it.”

“It wasn’t me. I was just there at the right time.” He paused. “Where’s that coffee?” She grinned and took two mugs from a cupboard. “What are you doing these days?”

She scooped some instant coffee into the mugs. “I work for a marketing company, part time at the moment. I’m going back full time in the autumn.” The boiled water went into the mugs, then some milk. “There.” She handed him the mug then sat at the table and invited him to do the same. They sat there, silent, staring at each other. “What about you?” she questioned after a while.

“I got a degree, worked a bit, did a PhD and now I’m a technical writer. I’m giving a talk later today at King’s College. About some software my company’s developing. The latest drug design tools.” He paused and looked away. “I’m married,” he said quietly, “two children, a boy and a girl. We’re one big happy family.” His eyes wandered back to hers.

“Wait a minute, I’ll be back.” He continued sipping his coffee. Low voices came from the room down the hallway and he heard small footsteps enter the kitchen.

“I came to say goodbye.” It was Melissa. “Gran’s taking me out and mum says you’ll be gone when we get back.”

“Yes, I will. Goodbye again. Remember, people are never gone if you remember them and talk about them. Even if they’re with the angels.” She smiled at him, then turned and ran down the hallway, calling for her gran to hurry up. He looked after her and finished his coffee.

Return to stories