"Hold the elevator, please!" A woman's panicky voice made me look up from the email I was reading on my cell phone.
Her voice was familiar, a ghost's from my past. I dismissed the idea as soon as the improbable thought entered my mind. It couldn't be her. What were the odds?
I extended my arm in-between the closing doors and they slid back open.
"Thank you," the woman, whose face was hidden from me behind the three gift wrapped boxes she was balancing in her arms, said to me.
"What floor?" I asked her.
The sound of my voice had an effect on her. She stiffened, and slowly peeked out from behind the gift-wrapped boxes to get a look at the owner of the voice that had sent a chill through her.
We stared at each other in silence for a few reflective seconds, taking in all that was familiar, and all that the passing of seventeen years had daubed our faces with.
"Gil?" Bianca asked in disbelief.
"Yes," I chuckled.
She smiled and replied, "You look good. A lot grayer, but it suits you. It must be close to twenty years since we last saw each other."
"It's not quite twenty years," I smiled back at her.
"How have you been? What are you doing with yourself? I can't believe this is happening," she laughed nervously, "What are the odds of running into each other?"
"I don't know what the odds are. But, it's good to see you again," I replied just as the elevator came to a stop on my floor. "You didn't tell me what floor you needed to go to."
Bianca laughed and blushed, "Sorry. Nineteen, please."
I pressed the nineteenth floor button for her, and said, "Nice seeing you again. You look good, Bianca. Enjoy your party." I stepped out of the elevator.
Bianca stepped in-between the elevator doors to keep them from sliding shut, and called out to me, "Wait! That's it? You don't want to know why I left without saying good bye to you. I mean, after all we shared, you aren't the least bit curious? You aren't angry at me?"
I turned around to face her, and replied, "You had your reasons. That's good enough for me, Bianca. I could never be angry with you."
She huffed and replied, "I'm not the innocent, naive, little girl you knew all those years ago, Gil. I can look after myself, no need to go easy on me. I'm in town for three more days. Take my cell number. Call me, please." She pouted the word please.
I chuckled as I prepared to enter Bianca's number in my cell phone. "You are much bolder, and much more confident than I remember you. I like that. And I see you remember the effect a pout has on me. Give me your number, I just might call you."
She gave me her number and asked, "At the absolute least, meet with me over coffee?"
I grinned and winked at her, "We'll see."
Bianca laughed, "Jerk." She gave me her big, trademark smile. The sparkle in her eyes was just as I remembered.
Bianca was eighteen years younger than me. We met shortly after she had relocated to Toronto, from Montreal, when she was twenty-three years old. I met her at a neighborhood bar I frequented on Friday nights on my way home from work. She was in her graduating year of university, and working as a bartender to make ends meet.
I was struck by Bianca the first time I laid eyes on her. I had turned forty-one a few days prior to meeting her for the first time. She gave me a sparkly eyed smile, said hello to me, and asked what my poison was, as I took a seat at the bar.
Just shy of eleven months later, I was informed by the owner of the bar that Bianca had moved back to Montreal, on what seemed to be a whim, to get married. She never said good bye to me, or kept in touch. Bianca did cross my mind many times over the years. I was certain I'd never see her again. As to being curious as to why she left without saying good bye to me, I never was. She did what she had to do, and I respected that.
The next day, I called Bianca early in the afternoon. She answered my call, "Hello, Gil. You had me worried. I wasn't sure if you were going to call."
"You weren't worried in the least, Bianca. That cursed pout of yours saw to that," I chuckled. "I thought you were probably out late last night, and figured you could use a late brunch, instead of just coffee."
Bianca replied, "Oh, Gil. I just finished a very late breakfast. The party was a lot of fun. It was a house warming, slash, divorce party for my friend, Dana. I've never seen her so happy."
I chuckled and replied, "If you are up to meeting with me, say when and where. Or, I can pick you up."
There was a short silence before Bianca replied to my offer. "What if I come to your apartment? I am a short cab ride from you. You have coffee, right? We can sit and catch up for a bit."