Julia sat contemplating a complex molecule as she swirled a vodka martini in her hand, the olive rotating on the rim keeping tempo. She was sitting at her kitchen island with sheafs of paper and a laptop spread in front of her. ‘I wonder what they want to synthesise this molecule for’ she thought, placing her glass down without taking a sip. Her phone began to ring. “Hello?” she answered not recognizing the nameless number.,


    “Hello Julia, it’s me Joe”. Julia sucked in a cool breath, pulling the phone away from her ear and staring at it.


    “Hello? Hello?” Taking a minute to adjust her mental state, Julia returned the phone to her ear.


    “Hello Joe. Long time no speak… Glad you hear that you’re alive at last”


    “Ahem well, yes. Sorry about that. In fact this the reason I rang, I thought we could catch up maybe? Then I can tell you all about my, er, adventures the last few years. And to be frank, I need your help.”


    “I… I don’t know Joe, your disappearance was very hard on me, I mean, it’s been almost 5 years! Not one word Joe, whether you were alive or dead. I even pulled in a few favours at work to see if we could track you down.’ She picked up her drink, downing it, as the olive bounced erratically. Stolen story; please report.


    “I know I did you wrong back then, but to punish me like this… I don’t know whether I can see you again.”


    Joe was silent for a time. “Look Julia, I think we both need a fresh start yeah? We have too much baggage and it would be better if we left that behind us. To be honest, I need to see you in a professional capacity anyway.” Julia was silent so long that Joe began to feel nervous.


    “I don’t mean we won’t ever talk about what happened, but maybe now for both our sanities, we could brush it under the rug temporarily?”


    Julia remained silent as she studied the olive in her glass. She wanted to say no, to cast Joe off into the wake of her past but that same wake dragged her down. Memories came unbidden of their past, and of Joe’s recovery post coma and she felt her heart weaken. For her, those memories were some of the most precious and those resultant searing emotions had their respective effect on her reason.


    “Okay, we can meet down in Kent then, come to Canterbury and we’ll meet in the Buttermarket, outside the entrance to the Cathedral” her tone was cold now, and Joe sighed.


    “When?”


    Julia flicked through her phone calendar.


    “Saturday at two”


    “Okay”


    “Okay see you then” She hung up the phone, a smile belying her face. She quickly dismissed it with a shake of her head “Idiot” she intoned berating herself.