this part of her life forever, excising it from her heart and her head with the kind of bold decisiveness that only a seventeen-year-old in love can have. She had hoped that the detritus of her youth, the wreck of the life she had abandoned so wholly, all those people and the places would be long gone, rotted into the past.
The school looked as if it had been frozen in aspic. There was even someone over there talking to her son who looked exactly like Jimmy Ashley.
Alison’s heart stopped beating for the longest second and she realized. That was Jimmy Ashley. When it began to beat again it was racing.
Alison felt a blush extend from her ears downward and pins and needles in the tips of her fingers. She clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a burst of hysterical laughter. She felt just as she had when he’d put his hand on her waist at the sixth form dance, dizzy and dazzled. It was the shock, Alison told herself, retreating into a shadowy corner to compose herself and regain the sixteen years that seeing him again had swept away.
She simply hadn’t expected Jimmy to be there looking almost exactly the same as he did the last time she’d seen him. On the other hand she didn’t know where else she expected him to be. He obviously hadn’t hit the big time like he’d always said he would, so perhaps teaching guitar back at his old school was the obvious location for this living, breathing relic of her youth.
He didn’t look like a relic, though. He looked good, better even than he had at eighteen. His shoulders had filled out and his bare arms were toned and muscled. His skin had cleared up and he looked relaxed, at ease with himself. His hair was still long, but it suited him. It was one of the reasons she had first fallen for him. He had been the only boy in the school brave enough to grow his hair and the only one who could carry it off. Once she had dreamt about tangling her fingers in it.
Biting her lower lip as she hovered in the shadows, Alison was taken aback by how happy she was to see Jimmy again. He still had that hint of a smile on his lips, as if at any second he might start laughing. He still wore jeans so tight that you wondered how he sat down in them without them ripping apart at the seams. Alison had been one of the most popular girls at school, with a new boyfriend every other week from the age of fourteen. Even the older boys asked her out. But not Jimmy, never Jimmy. Not the boy she really wanted. Not her son’s new guitar teacher.
Trying to shake off this ridiculous frisson of excitement that had engulfed her the moment she set eyes on him, Alison took a deep breath and determined to pull herself together. Hoping Jimmy wouldn’t notice her (and wishing she’d put some makeup on and brushed her hair before leaving the house), she edged over to the table where a register book lay open and leaflets about the club and forthcoming events were on display. She found the amount she owed for Dominic to attend for one term in a leaflet and hurriedly wrote out the check,expecting with a breathless edge that at any moment Jimmy would tap her on the shoulder and say, “Alison Mitchell, how wonderful to see you!”
But before she could even sign the check, a sudden burst of electric rock music crackled in the air, making Alison almost jump out of her skin. Twelve or fifteen kids were standing on the stage, two playing complete drum kits, three or four (including the short-skirted girl) on microphones, and at least seven on guitar, although Alison’s limited knowledge told her that included a couple of bassists. Alison didn’t recognize what they were playing, and then she realized that was because they weren’t playing anything. Jimmy had just got them up on the stage and got them to start making music. The first minute and a half were pretty unbearable, and then suddenly a cohesive tune emerged. Alison saw Jimmy’s head go down and his shoulders rock to the rhythm, just like they used
The school looked as if it had been frozen in aspic. There was even someone over there talking to her son who looked exactly like Jimmy Ashley.
Alison’s heart stopped beating for the longest second and she realized. That was Jimmy Ashley. When it began to beat again it was racing.
Alison felt a blush extend from her ears downward and pins and needles in the tips of her fingers. She clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a burst of hysterical laughter. She felt just as she had when he’d put his hand on her waist at the sixth form dance, dizzy and dazzled. It was the shock, Alison told herself, retreating into a shadowy corner to compose herself and regain the sixteen years that seeing him again had swept away.
She simply hadn’t expected Jimmy to be there looking almost exactly the same as he did the last time she’d seen him. On the other hand she didn’t know where else she expected him to be. He obviously hadn’t hit the big time like he’d always said he would, so perhaps teaching guitar back at his old school was the obvious location for this living, breathing relic of her youth.
He didn’t look like a relic, though. He looked good, better even than he had at eighteen. His shoulders had filled out and his bare arms were toned and muscled. His skin had cleared up and he looked relaxed, at ease with himself. His hair was still long, but it suited him. It was one of the reasons she had first fallen for him. He had been the only boy in the school brave enough to grow his hair and the only one who could carry it off. Once she had dreamt about tangling her fingers in it.
Biting her lower lip as she hovered in the shadows, Alison was taken aback by how happy she was to see Jimmy again. He still had that hint of a smile on his lips, as if at any second he might start laughing. He still wore jeans so tight that you wondered how he sat down in them without them ripping apart at the seams. Alison had been one of the most popular girls at school, with a new boyfriend every other week from the age of fourteen. Even the older boys asked her out. But not Jimmy, never Jimmy. Not the boy she really wanted. Not her son’s new guitar teacher.
Trying to shake off this ridiculous frisson of excitement that had engulfed her the moment she set eyes on him, Alison took a deep breath and determined to pull herself together. Hoping Jimmy wouldn’t notice her (and wishing she’d put some makeup on and brushed her hair before leaving the house), she edged over to the table where a register book lay open and leaflets about the club and forthcoming events were on display. She found the amount she owed for Dominic to attend for one term in a leaflet and hurriedly wrote out the check,expecting with a breathless edge that at any moment Jimmy would tap her on the shoulder and say, “Alison Mitchell, how wonderful to see you!”
But before she could even sign the check, a sudden burst of electric rock music crackled in the air, making Alison almost jump out of her skin. Twelve or fifteen kids were standing on the stage, two playing complete drum kits, three or four (including the short-skirted girl) on microphones, and at least seven on guitar, although Alison’s limited knowledge told her that included a couple of bassists. Alison didn’t recognize what they were playing, and then she realized that was because they weren’t playing anything. Jimmy had just got them up on the stage and got them to start making music. The first minute and a half were pretty unbearable, and then suddenly a cohesive tune emerged. Alison saw Jimmy’s head go down and his shoulders rock to the rhythm, just like they used
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