First Love

I got on the train and took a window seat. The train left the terminus and I looked at my fellow passengers, there was the usual mix of regular commuters and people that, for whatever reason, were on this train.

My glance attracted the attention of a woman, seated in a seat some five rows away, that faced mine. She held her gaze for a second, a puzzled expression on her face.

I thought no more of it and looked out of the window at the inner city scenery rushing past. I glanced back at her and she quickly looked away. What was I to make of this? Was she looking at me, or was it a coincidence that our eyes met? I looked back at the passing scenery.

The train stopped and people got on and off. As the journey resumed I glanced once more at her. This time she held her gaze for a second or two more. I looked away.

Halfway into the journey, I looked once more at her. Gone was her puzzled expression, replaced by a half-smile. I self-consciously smiled back, my mind scrolling through my life trying to place her, without success.

The train reached my station, I rose and moved to the nearest exit. She now stood beside me. I had the chance to get a closer look at her, I still could not place her. I stepped onto the platform and headed for the station exit. "G'day Tony."

"What?"

"You're looking well, it's been a while."

I stopped and turned to face her. "Do I know you?"

"You used to, I expected that you would have forgotten me." There was that smile again. "You were my first boyfriend."

"Michelle? Is that you?"

"None other."

"What have you been doing with yourself these past thirty years?"

"The usual, married with two kids, no longer married and the kids have grown up and have lives of their own, and you?"

"Married, three kids, also no longer married. Look, do you have to be anywhere?"

"Not particularly, just heading home to my new house and a lonely meal. That's a hint by the way."

Christ, she hasn't changed much. Memories of thirty years ago, when she was my first love, and the year we spent together. We were very close and got to know each other, that was until she moved away and we lost touch. "I can take a hint." I took my mobile from my pocket, "Julie, yes it's Dad, I have just bumped into an old friend and I want to invite her to have dinner with us tonight, will that be a problem? Great, we'll be there in ten."

I turned to Michelle, "I hope that's alright with you."

"Very much so."

I had reached my car and opened the door for her. "Thank you." She said as she slid in.

"Why did we have to lose touch?" I asked, trying to find a reason, other than the fact that she and her family had moved interstate, and I had other things on my mind.

"Writing to each other was never going to keep the spark alight, was it?"

"At first I saw your face every time I wrote but, over time, the image faded."

We had arrived home and I ushered her inside to be met by Julie coming from the kitchen. "Julie, I'd like you to meet Michelle Jackson, my very first girlfriend."

"Hi Michelle." They hugged. "Did this idiot dump you for my mother?"

"It was way before your mother's time."

True, but how did she know that?

"Dinner is ready to be served, follow me." Julie led the way into the dining room. I held Michelle's chair out for her. "Would you like a glass of wine?" I asked her.

"That would be nice, thank you." The conversation while we ate could fit into the category of 'toe in the water', each of us testing the other to see whether to take the plunge.

Food eaten, wine consumed and the table cleared. "Okay," Julie said, "Spill, what's the story, how did two you meet and what happened to split you up?"

"Your father and I met at school and we grew closer two years before we were to graduate from high school. For one fabulous year, we were, as they say now, an item and yes, we were lovers. We were over the age of consent, so we weren't going to get into trouble for that reason. Then my father got a promotion and was transferred interstate. I was inconsolable when he broke the news and your father and I even contemplated running away together. Our parents put a stop to that little plan before it got started."

"We did try to keep in touch, but it was never going to work, we just stopped writing."

"So, for the past however many years, you have led separate lives and now, suddenly you meet up again. Are you hoping to get back together with Dad?"

"I hadn't really thought about it until I saw your father on the train. It took a while before I was certain it was him and a while longer before deciding that I would talk to him. My future depended on his reaction. I felt I was in with a chance when he smiled at me."

"When I first saw you my memory recall went into overdrive but couldn't remember your name. It wasn't until you told me that I was your first boyfriend that it all came rushing back. I was getting instant flashbacks, our first kiss, the first time that we'd made love, the time your period was late."

"I'd forgotten about that, trust you to remember that one, you were scared let me tell you, you had visions of having to marry me."

"That part didn't bother me, what frightened me was having to front up to your father to explain how it was that I'd got his daughter pregnant. I was shitting myself."

"In a way, I was sort of hoping that we would have to get married. My father had just announced that he had been approached with the offer of an interstate promotion. I thought that if I told them that I was pregnant and wanted to stay with you, that would have solved the problem. Then my period arrived." Michelle looked at Julie. "Your father was relieved, I was disappointed."

"How is it that you're back here?" I asked.

"When my husband asked for a divorce with the intention of marrying his secretary I thought that I should come back here to relive happier times. I didn't know if you were still around here, or if you were happily married with a family. I contacted Fliss, you remember her, and she filled me in on your current status. I decided to come over, I didn't get as far as what I would say when I met you. It was all up in the air until I saw you on the train, then it became clear. I just had to talk to you and find out what the lay of the land was. I'm glad I did."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, we both might have changed too much for this to work out. For all that you know, I could be a crazed axe murderer."

"That would never have happened. I remember enough about you to know that."

"I don't know about you two," Julie said, "But I need my beauty sleep."

"Good night then." Michelle said.

Julie stooped and kissed Michelle on the forehead, "Now don't stay up all night chatting."

"We won't." I told her.

"Now, tell me about your life on the other side of the world." I said.

"Dad was a Mining Engineer and Western Australia was where it was all happening. He was transferred to supervise the ore loading facilities at Port Headland. We could have all moved up north, but it was decided that Mum and I should stay in Perth so that I could complete my education. I met my future husband at Uni and we got married just after I had graduated as a Teacher. He got a good job in miming administration so he was based in the company's head office. We bought a house and, after five years, decided to have a family. Tim and Andrea arrived and I gave up work, fully expecting to return when they were old enough. Graham had other ideas, he said that his position dictated that his wife did not need to work. I never went back, I realise now that I should have."

"Was your marriage happy?" I realised after I had asked the question that I was half hoping that it hadn't been.

"It was at first, but as time went on I came to realise that there was something missing. He wasn't you. When we were together you were the spark that encouraged me to be a better me, to allow my personality to shine. With Graham there was none of that, he assumed the dominant position in the marriage and all was fine as long as I accepted that situation. As the years ticked by I began to reject our position. I wanted to be a better me, he saw that as undermining his authority. We drifted along on two separate paths until he broke the news of his infidelity. Tim was working in the UK and Andrea had just got married to a nice young man, so I accepted my fate with as much good grace as I could muster, and here I am. Your turn."

"My story is different to yours in that my marriage was a happy one. Janice was a lovely girl that I met at Uni, she was studying Marine Biology and I studied Meteorology. We both recognised the importance of each other's work and encouraged each other's successes and helped each other when we failed in what we were doing. As a Meteorologist I got it wrong more than her, it goes with the turf, it has never been an exact science and if I can get it right eighty percent of the time I think I'm doing well. Jan took time off when the kids came along and I took leave to help after each birth. Sarah and Ben are both in happy marriages and in good jobs, Julie is getting there, at least as far as work is concerned, she's following her mother and has work lined up when she graduates."

"Speaking of her mother, where is she?"

"Her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean."

"I'm sorry, how did she die, or is that a sore point?"

"It was a heart attack. It wasn't until after it happened that we found that this was apparently caused by some genetic predisposition to heart disease. We weren't aware that this particular one had skipped a generation, otherwise we might have been able to avoid it, who knows."

"Do you miss her? Don't answer that, I shouldn't have asked you that."

"It's alright, yes I do, we had a wonderful life together. The kids helped me cope with my loss, Sarah in particular, she told me that Jan had no further use for her earthly body and had moved to a higher level of consciousness. I drew great comfort from that."

"Listening to you I realise where your marriage succeeded while mine did not. You and Jan saw the importance of each other and each other's work. If we'd been married I would have been the one to enjoy that. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"I understand what you're thinking and, if the shoe was on the other foot, I would be thinking the same way myself."

"I wonder," Michelle paused. I had a good idea what was coming. "What would you say if I were to suggest that we should attempt to recapture how we felt all those years ago?"

"That we have nothing to lose and plenty to gain." I stood and held out my hand to her. She came into my arms willingly. The kiss took us both back thirty years. "Come."

"I fully intend to."

Our lovemaking was as good as I had hoped and better than expected, Memories surfaced of long ago as we touched those places that had brought so much pleasure in days gone by. "Goodnight my love," I whispered to her as I withdrew, "I don't know about you, but I don't have the staying power that I once had."

"You did very well for an old fart. Certainly well enough for me. Good night". she whispered, her head on my shoulder, her hand on my now flaccid cock. "You can go to sleep now, both of you, you've given me enough pleasure to be going on with." She gave him a squeeze.

I was in that half-awake state, thinking of what had just happened to me. Michelle was laying beside me, her arm over my chest, breathing deeply. I didn't want to disturb her and was thinking of ringing work, and asking for a personal day, when Julie tapped on the door,

"I'm off to work. See you this evening Dad, see you Michelle, it's been great meeting you, I hope I'll see you tonight as well"

"'Bye love." I said.

"'Bye Julie, I'm glad that I met you and I hope so too." Michelle was awake.

We heard the front door close behind her.

"Mmmmm, this is nice," Michelle whispered, "I am glad."

"So am I."

"Do you have to go to work?"

"I should, but I won't. I think that I'll ring and take a personal day. I want to see where this leads us."

"So do I. While I was psyching myself to get the courage to meet you, I was thinking what it would have been like if we had run off together and got married when we were not much more than kids. On the one hand, we didn't have the experience of living together, but that wouldn't have been an insurmountable problem, I don't think. The other thing was, that, being so young, we would not have been able to find good-paying jobs, not without finishing our degrees, so we would have struggled financially and that would have placed a strain on our relationship."

"I know that this is going to sound weird, but we are better off now that we have both had the marriage experience, with different partners certainly, and it has been different for both of us, but getting together now, having the experience of young love, and then marriage, we are better able to appreciate what lies ahead for us. Having said that, we'll have a problem, our kids. Julie I think, having met you, will be okay with us getting together. Sarah and Ben should be okay, especially if we can use Julie to set the scene for them. What about your kids, do you think that they'll accept me?"

"If they know what's good for them they will. I think that they'll be okay with you, having witnessed the slow decline of their father and my relationship and having him want a divorce so that he can marry someone not much older than they are."

"Okay, we play it by ear, we'll see how we get on together and, if it works out, I suggest that you contact Tim and Andrea and invite them over to meet me."

"I think that it's way too comfortable in this bed to get out just yet," Michelle was stroking him. "Do you have any suggestions as to what we can do to while away the time?"

I kissed her and my finger slid into her. "Does this answer your question?" He was soon inside her.

"I've had a horrible thought." I said'

"Oh yes, and what would that be?"

"Do you remember all of those years ago when we got carried away on didn't take the necessary precautions...?"

"Not to worry on that score, the big 'M' slid through my life three years ago, we can go our hardest now without having that worry hanging over us."

"Phew, that's a relief." I said as I unloaded into her. She joined my orgasm with one of her own.

While she was showering I rang work. "Hi, it's Tony Broad, I won't be in today, I have a family issue to attend to. I'll be in tomorrow, I'll explain it all then."

Michelle and I swapped places and while I cleaned up the mess around the old boy, she scrounged around for breakfast. "I remember that we used to have coffee and toast for breakfast whenever one of us slept over, so tadaa, I give you coffee and toast."

I kissed her. "I see that I'm going to have to watch my weight with you around, I get by on coffee and coffee."

"Too much coffee may not be a good thing, you do know that, don't you?"

After breakfast, we strolled to the local supermarket for the ingredients for a special dinner tonight. Then we drove to Michelle's compact house to pick up some clothes and toiletries for her and drove home.

Dinner was well in the thinking stage when Julie came home. "I get the impression that you two are looking to make this a permanent arrangement, would I be wrong?"

"No, you're not." Michelle said. "We've had a long talk and have decided that this is meant to be."

"That's great. Now I have a surprise for you." The doorbell rang and she dashed to answer it. "Michelle, I'd like you to meet the rest of the family. This ugly beast is Ben and his lovely wife Amanda, and this is Sarah and her husband Simon. You lot, this is Dad's first and greatest love, and it looks as if she will be his last love."

Ben wasn't able to shake her hand because both of his were occupied carrying two large family-sized pizzas, and Amanda had a bottle of red wine in each of hers, so it was kisses for the both of them. Sarah was carrying a box containing a cheesecake while Simon added to the wine supply.

It turned out to be some party and the consensus was, that Michelle was a worthy replacement for their mother.

The kids left, except Julie that is, and, after cleaning up, we went to bed.

I got up early to beat Julie to the shower and I had breakfast under-way when she came into the kitchen. "We, that's the family, want to know how you did it."

"How I did what?"

"Find someone so like Mum."

"If you think about it, when I met your mother I realised that she was so much like Michelle. I couldn't believe that myself, they could have been sisters., so, in a way, I've been married to Michelle all along, she just had a different name for a while."

"Who had a different name?" Michelle rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she came into the kitchen.

"Dad was just explaining to me that our mother was so much like you that he has been married to you all along, just that for a while you were called Janice."

"That's most unfair." She came to me and we kissed, "Ah well, better late than never."

"What are your plans for today?" I asked Michelle.

"Seeing as how you're abandoning me, I decided that I'm going to make myself useful. Tonight dinner is on me. I want to show you that I'm not just a pretty face. Come prepared for a culinary masterpiece. Now kiss me and go to work."

"Come on Jules, we don't want to miss the train."

I arrived at work to be met by an inquisition. James, my 2IC want to know what it was that kept me from work. "It must have been important, this was the first time in living memory that you've taken a personal day."

"It was, On my way home from work the night before last, I saw someone on the train that I thought that I recognised. I couldn't remember her name, but I was certain that she was someone from my past."

"I didn't think that you had a past."

"Well, I do. The instant that she spoke to me I recognised her as Michelle my very first girlfriend. We were joined at the hip for a year until her father was transferred across to the other side of the country, to Perth. We lost contact. That was until two days ago. We are back together."

"You don't muck around do you?"

"When you meet her you'll see for yourself why I wasn't about to let her go again. Spread the word, Saturday at my place for a barbecue, bring your own booze, I'll provide the food. Shall we say eleven-thirty for twelve?"

"Who's going to be here to do the hourly forecast updates?"

"We can link my computer at home to this one, it'll provide the data and we can distribute it from mine."

We had two days before the weekend and I was subjected to constant scrutiny about who this woman was that had bewitched me and dragged me back into the real world following Janice's death. All they got from me was; "You'll have to make up your own mind, but, be warned, anyone that doesn't like her had better start looking for another job." Unsurprisingly, no one took me seriously.

Saturday couldn't have gone better if we'd tried. We didn't try, we were just ourselves, I was the king of the barbecue while Michelle was the queen of the salads and side dishes. A large tub of ice kept the beer and champagne cold and provided ice for those with spirits.

"This Michelle, she doesn't look like Janice, but personality-wise, she could be her twin." James, my 2IC said as he stood beside the barbecue watching me sizzling steaks and managing a large pile of onion caramelising on the side.

"We knew we were at the right place, we could smell the onions as we came around the corner," Ben said as he and Amanda arrived. "I suppose he's told you that if you don't like Michelle you' netter start looking for another job. I ask you, what's not to like?" Michelle kissed him as she took the plates of salad from Amanda and the two of them headed for the kitchen.