Old Friends

Chapter One

Dublin, Ireland. December 10th, 2016

"That'll be twenty- eighty four please," An older woman with a thick accent stated while handing her customer a receipt.

The Market was crowded that day in Dublin. The city had just began to experience their worst winter in over forty years. People swarmed through every corner like zombies aiming blindlessly for anything they were able to get their hands on. The rosy cheeks of children, excited for Christmas, smashed against windows that peered across the cobbled stoned street into the toy store. Parents continued to reluctantly drag them away to continue shopping in the local Grocery. The milk, eggs, bread, and butter shelves were already empty.

The Cranberries's "Dreaming My Dreams" played on the radio, slowly calming the frantic Irish crowd.

In Isle 6 stood a red haired woman stood in a thick coat with a knitted scarf wrapped around her neck. Her red lips hummed along to the music and she tapped her foot along. She closed her eyes, lost in the hypnotizing voice of Deloris O'Reerdon.

Perhaps getting a little too into her favorite band, the woman must have forgotten that she was holding a pickle jar. The glass jar slipped from her hands right onto the marble floor. The sound of glass shattering instinctively made the lady hop back in caution, all while coming back to reality.

Her eyes turned wide open and her cheeks grew bright pink. She wiped the pickle juice from her face, doing her best not to draw attention to herself.

"Clean up in Isle 6" a store clerk announced over the store.

"Just great," she thought. "First my car breaks down and now I'm causing a scene at the grocery store. Best day ever."

She helped the assistant clean up her mess and quickly proceeded to gather her items before the Irish-vulture-citizens had robbed the store of everything.

"Potatoes, chicken, milk, pickles, strawberries, shampoo, and teabags, " she remembered as she walked to check out.

Snowflakes landed in her red curls and she met the brisk air of a Dublin winters she left the store. The hectic Christmas- ready atmosphere flooded her surroundings. Pale, freckled faces, wearing red and green, rushed through the streets carrying presants and goodies for the coming holiday.

The lady walked alone. No husband, no boyfriend, no close family, no children, no nothing. Just her and her groceries on the snowy, cobblestone streets of Dublin. The joy of the holiday season kept the Irish tempers down and peace through the city.

But that only lasted for a matter of two minutes before someone shoved through the crowd at the stop light and managed to knock the young woman right over, along with her groceries.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph," she exclaimed as she plopped down on the cold ground, causing a commotion. The flustered woman looked up at the man who rushed past her. He had dirty blonde hair that was muffled and carried a black suitcase. The snowflakes landed softly on the cuts and bruises marked on his hands.

He must have realized what he had done because about three seconds after knocking the woman over, he stopped and looked back at her.

"Aye, why I'm terribly sorry love."

Her eyes shot up to meet his at the sound of his voice.

"'Love'. There was only one person in her whole life who has ever called her 'love'." she remembered. "No. It couldn't be. He said he would always come back for her, but he never did. He left her in highschool. He left without saying goodbye to her. Without telling her why. Or when. Or how he got there. Or-" suddenly a million thoughts rushed through her head as she remembered the worst night of her life."No. He died in highschool.That couldn't possibly be him." she said to herself. But she prayed that it was.

"I didn't plan on knockin ya ov-" he suddenly stopped as soon as he saw her face. His green eyes went wide.

"Why do I know this woman?" he thought. "Where have I seen her before?"

And then, it hit him like a deer in the headlights.

"Julia" he sighed, smiling softly.

She stared at him in total disbelief. Disbelief that he remembered her. Disbelief that he was somehow alive.

"Barbie?!"

He nodded, helping her up from the ground. She dropped what was left of her groceries and immediately jumped into his arms, hugging him. They embraced eachother, warming one another in the frosty air. He rubbed his hands through her red curly hair. It still looked the same from the last time he saw her. Tears began to slowly stream down her face. He heard her sob and hugged her tighter, rubbing her back.

Oh how they missed eachother.

She leaned out of his arms and examined his face carefully. "I thought you were dead," she exclaimed. "How the hell are ya alive?"

"I said I would always come back for ya love. Why'd ya give up on me?" he looked into her eyes and spoke in a thick Belfast accent.

"I didn't, Barbie. But when yer parents told me you'd died, I didn't know what to do. I didn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. I prayed every day, hopin' that you'd show up, that you'd come back, because I knew that the Barbie I knew couldn't possibly have gone that quick." she explained, still frazzled.

He pulled her into another hug.

"Aye lass, you're right." he whispered, rocking her back and forth still in his embrace. "You've got me back now, and yer not gonna get rid of me that easy," he chuckled against her. He felt her smile back at him. After, She pulled away to look him in the eyes again. "Even though they told you I was dead, I wasn't. But I'll get into that story later. The point is," he explained, "that I've been wanting to tell you something since highschool, but I never got the chance because... Well circumstances shifted. But now that we're here, I want to say it now in case i don't get another chance."

Butterflies tickled all around in Julia's stomach. She knew what he was going to say. She had dreamed of this moment. He felt the same way about her as she did him. "I lo-"

"Ay get out of the way lad, some people actually have to cross the street not stand there and wait for the light to turn purple," a man shouted at Barbie, interrupting him.

"Damn it." he thought.