Debbie Dingle stood in the pouring rain, in a lay-by about a mile from the town of Hotten.
Her eyes were searching for signs that the bus carrying Jasmine was approaching, but to no avail.
It had been almost two years since she had seen her former lover, on the run from the police for the murder of a constable, who tried to rape her. No contact, then out of the blue, a letter asking for a meeting, a last goodbye, before Jasmine Thomas disappeared forever.
That letter had brought her to this lay-by. At last the bus appeared and Debbie stepped back into some bushes to avoid being seen. Parting the leafs, she saw a solitary female alight from the bus. It was Jasmine.
As arranged, the two girls were dressed in similar hiking clothing, to give credence to their story of a pair, hiking in the dales, who just fancied a bed & bath for the night.
Debbie did not want to be seen greeting Jasmine off the bus, so stayed some distance behind as the other girl began to walk towards the town.
They met up on the outskirts, and for the first time in an age, the two former lovers, looked into each others eyes.
"Hello, you" whispered Jasmine.
"You look tired, but still lovely," responded Debbie, "lets get to the hotel."
Debbie had pre-booked in a small, private hotel, used a false name and was now paying cash for the room. As Jasmine tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, standing by the stairs with her Parka hood still up, hiding her face.
The receptionist, a girl from Eastern Europe by the sound of her accent said "the room has only one bed, are you ok to share?"
Debbie laughed and told her "we have shared a tent , hardly bigger than that coffee table, for two weeks, so a double bed will be no problem, we have no secrets."
With that the girl gave "Rebecca Smith" her receipt and the key to room 19.
Once inside the room, the two girls kissed. Memories of their times together came flooding back.
"I still love you Jazz" said Debbie using her pet name for Jasmine.
Jasmine was shivering with cold as she said "and I love you, and always will."