1
'Hello Elspeth...hello!'
Elspeth was startled out of a moment's daydreaming. She had heard a happy, familiar, voice call out her name, softly and discreetly. It had been a way of talking to her that she had grown fond of from the moment that she had first met him. Now a charming young man stood by her table, and she looked up at him. The favored coffee shop and its sunny terrace were a popular haunt for both shoppers and idlers in this part of London, with parks and smaller open spaces easing the pressures you felt from city living. A close friend had just left her and now she had the opportunity to bond once more with someone she cared for; where strained circumstances had obliged them to lead separate lives; so many days that were different from all that had prevailed before.
'Guy! How wonderful to see you!' she smiled in evident pleasure, her eyes darting over him and noting the changes in his appearance that the stresses of settling matters with Melanie, her daughter and now his ex-wife, had wrought upon him. She met his kisses on both cheeks and gripped his jacket for an instant only. Even in his casual, dressed-down, way of it, he looked smart and proud of his appearance. She had always liked that about him.
'It's the same for me,' he acknowledged. Guy looked at her as if to be reminded of every detail of Elspeth's studiously managed appearance. 'You were far away. Am I disturbing you...are you waiting for someone?'
Elspeth met his continuing, wondering, gaze upon her; a sign of his engagement with her that she would never have tired of.
'Neither of those,' she said on a sweep of her hand to brush away at her auburn hair, sparkly bangles sliding down her wrist. She noted that he followed her every move and would see that her wrist braces had been forsaken for her meeting with a friend. She had been studious in her choice of clothes and had done so to lift her spirits; chosen some black slacks to accompany a white blouse with its ruffed neckline; a collarless soft coral pink jacket, decorated in a white floral pattern, a finishing touch. 'Guy...oh, Guy! It's been so long. I wondered when I would see you again...if I ever would.'
'I would have contacted you, eventually, after the dust of the divorce had settled.' He smiled on looking at her. 'How could I not have done so after the times that we had together?'
She was thrilled to have him flirt with her and smiled softly at him. 'I'm so glad to hear you say that...'
Elspeth could not keep the relief from her voice. It went along with the happiness to have him standing before her and to feel that a time of separation had finally come to an end. She made to get up from her seat, but he gently put a hand on her shoulder in restraint. She met his wondering smile.
'Don't get up. I won't intrude on you for too long. It's been a while since we last saw each other...Els. I have wondered whether to call you.' She chose to believe him. Guy had repeated those few words of regret and now she met his look upon her and saw Guy shrug. 'It's been a while, too long since we talked of things that interested us...how close we once were, Els.'
'And we have met again....' She answered with wonder to be heard in her voice.
Her ex-husband Ken had his work and pre-occupations, and her daughter, Melanie had infant Jenny to contend with and her father's remote ways of it, at times. Guy, on the other hand, was cut from a very different cloth and doted on his only child. Access always brought its strains on him; she knew that and she had learned of the difficulties in their marriage when on that Florida holiday, their last time together as a supposed family. It had been over nine months ago, a time when, just like him, she could forget everything that she knew would in time take its toll on her.
She smiled at him and couldn't keep her lips from trembling. 'I'm glad that you're seeing me looking my best, as I would have liked for you.'
Guy had chosen to sit down beside her, shifted the chair to be closer, and reached out to touch her hand for an instant. He knew not to grip it too tight.
'I still see the woman on that beach, the woman that I saw laughing and daring to go out in the surf with me. I'll never forget those times we had together...just you and I.' he paused. 'I also asked you not to wear the braces...'
'I remember that swim with you so vividly...'
Guy had flirted with her, cavorted in the surf as if they were lovers. She had known only too well how he had felt. She had also known of his loyalty to her and the memories of times that they had been able to share. It was only in the mayhem of him and Melanie pursuing a 'quickie' divorce, and she was having troubles with Ken, that she had come to believe that Guy would not forsake her or stay away. He would not think of it, and she was heartily gladdened by his ways both then and now.
He looked across the narrow space between them and she sensed he now had something on his mind. 'I have taken a few days off from being a lawyer. The past few weeks have been manic for many reasons...along with having a long case to settle, so I've earned some rest. May I take you out to lunch, perhaps take a cab to a riverside restaurant...get out of the crush?'
'And pick up from where we left off?' she asked, surprised at her brazen way of saying that.
'That too,' he murmured in reply, a hand brushing her thigh for an instant. He had been captivated all over again by her, the older woman with grace, a soft voice, and a spirit so strong. Her debilitating condition was taking its toll but her undoubted beauty still shone through, which was evident in her wonderful smile. 'I'll call in, say in half an hour or so?'
'You know where I'm now living?' she asked in some dismay. 'Melanie at least told you that, did she...along with every other little snipe she aims my way now.'
He took her hand, shamelessly. 'Live on, Elspeth, and let the dust of the past settle. It's what I intend to do. We can help each other and can do that now, can't we. in every way that we want?'
On an unlikely, but meaningful kiss, they parted.
2
Elspeth rushed to get home to her apartment.