A Familiar Face

You saw a familiar face, and you began to smile. It was funny how you could still recognize a face even after three decades have passed. Even after no communication had been established in those decades. Even though you didn’t end on the best terms.

Yet you saw him and a smile swept on your face. People milled about, saying goodbyes to their loved ones, hugging their returning loved ones, crying and talking and laughing, living their lives, yet no one could witness the sensational moment that was happening to you. You had just seen the last person you thought you would ever see. Your first love.

“Dave,” you said to him, stretching out a hand. It took only a second of confusion, but it irked you that he wouldn’t recognize you as instantly as you did him.

“Victoria?” he asked incredulously, his eyes crinkling with numerous lines forming at the corners.

“The one and only.”

You were off the ground and swirling in the air a moment later. For a man of fifty, it surprised you how agile Dave was.

“How unbecoming that you would throw a lady in the air like that, Dave.” You tsked at him, playfully.

He beamed at you. “I can’t believe it. It’s been...so long.”

“Way too long.” You agreed, taking his hand as you both sat on the airport seats.

You stared at each other for a while. A world of stories and experiences passing between you. Too many events to recount. Where would you really recount from when uou were seeing the only man you ever loved after 30 years?

“So,” he began. “Are you boarding a plane?”

I gave him a watery smile. Even after so many years you both still had the same thought process, which was why it didn't surprise you that he asked me the safest question. “No, I’m not. You?”

“Nope. Waiting for my daughter.”

“Daughter?” Dave as a girl Dad was amusing to me.

“Yeah, she’s fifteen. Went to Berlin for a summer vacation with her best friend’s family. I was worried sick”

You smiled at his wistful tone, imagining a little lady just like him, with sand-coloured eyes and coarse hair defying her dad and charting her own path. “She sounds delightful, Dave. I’m happy for you,” you said.

He bowed dramatically. “What about you, Vee? Any smart-mouthed, stubborn kid of your own?”

You chuckled mirthlessly. “No, Dave. I’m doing great without rebellious teenagers sending me to an early grave...Oops. No offence.”

He smiled. “None taken. You’re still the same.”

“I wish I could say the same about you,” You replied, struggling to keep the bitterness from your tone. He made a move to speak, but you stood up with a start as you heard your flight being announced.

“Victoria,” he called you, pleadingly. He had the same look he gave you thirty years ago when you walked out of your relationship of three years. You realized then that you had intentionally not asked if that lovely daughter he was waiting for had a mother waiting at home for her. A mother he loved. But you didn’t. Because you were afraid of what you’ll hear, and afraid that it may chip away at your carefully constructed shell of carefreeness.

“It was nice seeing you, Dave,” you said, your smile brittle as you picked up your bags and began moving backwards to the boarding gate. “Let’s not wait another thirty years, yeah?”

Without waiting for a reply, you turned on your heels, and scurried away, hating yourself for making the same mistake you made thirty years ago, but understanding that a love between you and Dave was doomed never to be. You made a mental note, then, even as you turned and met Dave’s broken hearted expression one last time. Never say hi to a familiar face.

Jhymi🖤

Inspired by Freewrite Daily Prompt: Familiar Face.

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