An older story, originally broken into three parts. Not sure if it is completely romantic towards the end, but what the heck.
I found it hidden away in the bottom of a drawer, a twenty-year old photograph of me and Jessica hugging and smiling. She'd been wearing her one-piece swimsuit, conservative in comparison to what the other girls had worn, but to me it had given her additional mystique. I just had to sit as I stared at it. What had happened to us? Not that we had ever really been boyfriend and girlfriend, but when she was gone I finally realised that I'd fallen in love with her and that now it was too late. I wiped a tear from my eye and continued to stare.
The photograph had been taken when eight of us eighteen-year olds had gone on a caravan holiday at Easter. By the end of the summer Jess was gone, but just looking at that picture of us with our arms wrapped around each other brought memories of that week rushing back. I was one of the few to have passed my driving test and have access to a car. I suspect that was why I was invited and I'd asked Jess if she wanted to come too. We took two cars down to the holiday site. The other six were all steady couples and it made the sleeping arrangements difficult for me and Jessie until I decided to sleep in the car and let her have the final space to herself. I was never sure whether she was disappointed or relieved by this. The eight of us had a great time, out on our own for the first time. It was a week long party of fun. John, the other driver in the group had taken the photo of me and Jess on our last day, just as we were packing everything up. He'd given it to me when Jessica had disappeared from our college lives that autumn. For months I'd carried it around with me until I realised it was hindering my attempts to get on with a normal life. So I had stashed it away in the drawer and tried to forget Jess.
I looked down again and saw her happy face and was determined to find out where she was, where she had gone. Our best guess at college was that her parents had moved away and she had gone with them, but there had been no sign of this when the summer holidays had begun, the first we knew about it was when she didn't appear for our first term. I scanned the picture and posted it on Flickr under the title 'Jessica, where are you?' with a comment underneath asking everyone for any information. I did the same on Facebook. I also got in touch with some of my old friends to ask if they had heard anything of her. Then I had to wait.
-----
It was a long wait too. I had to fend off several cranks pretending they were Jessie, but none of them knew the right answer to the question 'where was the picture taken?' It may have been possible that she wouldn't know that, having seen it only briefly, but I felt she'd know. After two months the picture had many, many views and nearly as many comments, but nothing from the person I wanted to see it. And then one evening after I'd started to give up hope I got a friend invitation on Facebook from a 'Jessica'. I checked that it was real. It seemed to be from her so I accepted. I also sent her an e-mail, asking if she really was the Jessie in the picture. Then I waited again. 'Kashmir' was playing on the radio when the reply came. All it said was 'Now do you believe it's me?' Attached was an almost identical photo.
We exchanged e-mails for a few days. I skirted around the questions I really wanted to ask and just asked safe questions about how she was and where she was. Her replies were always friendly and any questions she asked were in the same style as mine. It turned out she was living about an hours drive away, in a town I'd passed through quite a bit, but didn't know particularly well. After a week of pussyfooting around I asked if we could meet, expecting the answer 'no'. I was more than a little surprised in that case when she said of course. I thought a neutral venue might be best, so suggested a pub called 'The Black Buck' about halfway between us. Another quick agreement and then a time and a recognition signal were arranged in case we'd both changed too much.
-----
On the way over I thought about the fun times we had had together. Not just me and Jess, but our whole clique. We must have been the worst set of prefects the school had ever had, breaking more rules than the rest of the school put together. As I got closer to the 'Buck' I began to get vague pangs of worry, but tried to put them from my mind as I swung into the car park.
I paused at the door to the pub, suddenly unsure that this was the right thing to do. Maybe it would be better to remember Jessica as she was, or as I thought she was, rather than build this up as a grand reunion and find out my memories were totally at odds with a girl I hadn't seen for twenty years. I took my hand from the door. Suddenly there was a fondly remembered voice behind me.
"Second thoughts, huh?"
I span around and was greeted by the dazzling smile from the photograph. I grinned back.
"Sort of. Too late now though." I held out my hand. "It's good to see you again Jess." She shook my hand, an amused look on her face and then pulled me close and hugged me.
"It's good to see you too Dave. It's been too long."
"It has Jess, it has." I pushed the door open "C'mon, I'll get the drinks in."
"I just need to check they're holding my room for me, and then I'll be in. Get me a Tia Maria and coke?"
"Of course. I wish I'd thought about getting a room too. Just have to hold off on the alcohol I suppose."
"Oh, you can share the room if you like. I'm sure they won't mind." I had a flashback to the caravan. Jessie saw the look cross my face. "You don't have to if you're worried what people think you know." She smiled that smile again, more knowing now. I grinned back.
"I think we're both grown up enough now to handle it. Thanks Jess. But I sleep on the couch if that's okay?"
"Sure Dave, if that's what you want. The room may not have a couch of course." She gave a wicked grin and went to find out about her reservation. My head spinning slightly with the suddenness of everything, I went and got the drinks in.
As we sat sipping our drinks we began to reminisce about our days at school together, the things we did either as a pair or part of a larger group. The jokes we had played or seen, the mishaps, the teachers we played up. The time passed swiftly and so did the drinks. I went to stand as the bar was closing and found my legs belonged to someone else. Jessica caught me before I fell and led me to what was our room. I couldn't understand it, my brain was functioning normally, but the rest of me was on holiday. And Jess had drunk as much as me, but she didn't seem to be affected. She opened the door and sat me down on the edge of the bed.
"I'm sorry Jessie; I seem to have got carried away with the drinking." I was really upset that I may be ruining our reunion.
"It isn't the first time I've carried you to bed." She said soothingly.
"It isn't? I don't remember being this bad with you before."
"The Christmas we were eighteen? Leaving school at dinnertime and not going home until six o'clock? I got you home that day, and without your mom finding out."
"You did? I don't recall..."
"Of course you don't. You barely remembered your own name, let alone mine, kept calling me Belinda, very disconcerting for a girl."
"I apologise extremely belatedly." My mind began to wander, but still connected to my mouth unfortunately. "Belinda? Belinda? I wonder... I know! Belinda Carlisle! I had a crush on her back then."
"I didn't really want to know that."
"Sorry." Suddenly I began to feel really queasy. My hand went to my mouth and I stood and began to stagger in the direction I hoped the bathroom was.
-----
It was embarrassing, throwing up like that in front of somebody I hadn't seen for twenty years. I felt so foolish, and really, really ill. Jessica seemed to just take it in her stride, as if happened all the time. She turned the shower on and told me to get under it, leaving me to it. I struggled out of my clothes and sat beneath the stream of hot water. It didn't do much for the thumping in my head, but it did make me feel less queasy and I didn't get the whirling pits when I closed my eyes.
It must have been more relaxing than I thought. I awoke with a start as daylight was creeping through the window. I held my head and struggled to sit up. I was in the bed. Guiltily I looked around me; there was no sign of where Jessica had slept. I slid out from the sheets and had another shock; I was naked! And the only one who could have moved me from the shower was Jess. Hurriedly I pulled on my boxers and trousers, wondering where a :) my shirt was: And b :) where Jessie was. Had she been forced to sleep in the armchair? Or had she slept in the bed beside me? I was going to feel guilty whichever it was. I was looking for my socks and shoes when Jess came into the room with my shirt.
"You're awake then? Good. I've managed to get your shirt cleaned and dried." She said, handing me the garment. I took it and began to put it on.
"Jessie, I'm so sorry. I've been nothing but a problem for you all night."
"Calm down Dave. It wasn't the first time I've put someone to bed, I got a lot of experience of that while I was in the RAF."
"But I took your bed and everything." I paused. "You joined the RAF?"
"Ten years." She said proudly.
"There is so much about you I don't know anymore. I should have asked you all those things before I met you again."
"Dave, you haven't changed a bit. You still worry about so many inconsequential things." She smiled. The word 'inconsequential' made me look from the bathroom to the bed for some reason. Jessica saw the glance and laughed. "Yes, I put you in the bed. As I said, it wasn't the first time."
"But... but, I was... you saw..." I spluttered, going a deep red. She was still grinning.
"If you must know, I didn't look."
I managed to calm down. I looked at Jessica and realised I was still hung up on her. I had to do something.
"Jess. Can we talk? There are a couple of things I need to say, and maybe a question I need to ask."
"We spent most of last night talking didn't we?"
