Chapter 1: A supermarket encounter

Have you ever bumped into someone in a supermarket or something and you know you know them from somewhere, but can't place where or even remember their name? That happened to me last Friday doing my weekly food shop in my local supermarket.

We came face to face with our trolleys and looked at each other, both frowning trying desperately to remember why you know the other. I couldn't have guessed how the chance meeting would change all of our lives the way it did.

I was fortunate that she was having the same difficulty in placing me. I steered the trolley round her, stopped and turned around. She had turned too.

"I'm sure I know you from somewhere but damned if I can remember where," she said.

"Yes, I was thinking the same. A long time ago I think. I'm Jacqui Etheridge?" I replied.

"No, means nothing. I'm Barbara Jones?"

"Nope. Still nothing! I was Jacqui Ryder before I married."

"Oh yes, from primary school. Now I remember. I was Babs Reilly then," she said with a relieved expression.

"Oh, of course. My god that was, what, twenty one, twenty two years ago. I haven't seen you since I was eleven! I'm surprised I recognised you at all. We've both changed so much."

"We must get together and catch up. Are you doing anything this afternoon?" she asked.

"Not till about four o'clock when I pick my kid up from school. Want to come for a coffee? I only live up the road from here." I wrote my address on the back of a scrap of paper and gave it to her, she promising to come about 1.30pm.

I heard her walking up the gravel drive right on time. Since our chance meeting I had tried to remember things about her. I know she was in my class but I don't remember being best friends or anything. I found an old class photo and picked her out fairly easily. She had changed, obviously, but still had the same smile.

When she came in I made some coffees and we chatted for nearly two hours, giving potted histories of our senior school days and work etc. She had married and had a son, Simon but things had gone wrong and they had divorced recently. She had only just moved back to the area which is why we hadn't bumped into each other before.

We had a lot in common with the failed marriage. I had also married and had one child, and like her, it had ended in divorce not so long ago. I had been lucky and had come out of the marriage with a house and a reasonable settlement but she was obvious struggling financially, and she and Simon were living in a small rented flat while she tried to find work.

The more we talked, the more I remembered her from school. Although never close friends we had played in the same group of children and I remembered her having a special girlfriend, a big girl that always seemed very cuddly with her. They always walked around arm in arm or holding hands and gave each other sloppy kisses when they met or said goodbye. I wondered if they had kept in contact.

"Do you remember Mary that you used to knock about with at school?" I asked.

"Yes of course," she answered straight away, "She always used to call me her girlfriend. Why?"