Jamais Vu

Chapter 6

When the next wave of déjà vu crashed over Nessa, she gasped gratefully, pausing mid-step on the busy street to look around. It had been a week since she'd left Dan in his apartment, and although she'd gone by his building and the park bridge a few times, there'd been no sense of familiarity, no certain notion that he was somewhere nearby.

But it was back, that over-whelming feeling that she knew this street intimately. But I already do know this street. It was part of her daily commute, the quickest route from James' place to the university campus. Drawing to the side to allow foot traffic to pass, Nessa looked around for something – or someone – that might stand out.

This side of the road was nothing, just an office building and a dry cleaners. But across the busy intersection, a nondescript doorway painted in green and bearing the word café in curly italics caught her eye. I didn't know there was a coffee place along here. Or did I? The more she stared, the more convinced she became that she knew this door, and not subconsciously because she passed it most days. She knew it would squeak, that it would open onto a brick corridor, and that would lead to a book-lined nook smelling of java and carrot cake.

Let's find out, shall we? Crossing the road, she pushed inside the green door, which did indeed squeak. The rough brick of the hall tried to catch her coat as she squeezed to let a hipster couple past, and she entered the café feeling triumphant that everything was exactly as she'd pictured it, down to the eclectic paper lanterns made of book pages, and the trendy barista multi-tasking a dozen cups at the same time.

The café was full, every table filled with people chatting and sipping and chewing. Nessa stood to the side, examining every man in the room, and although there were many beards, some of them enough to make a lumberjack blush, none of them belonged to Dan.

Frustrated, Nessa whirled around. Not possible! This feeling was always associated with him. He had to be here. She had to make this right.

She overheard a bus boy speaking to another couple. "I'm sorry, but you'll be waiting a few minutes for a table. You can try the courtyard garden, but nobody's really sitting out there today because it's raining."

"Raining?" It's not raining. As Nessa glanced around, she could see damp umbrellas and dripping overcoats on every table. Too far down the rabbit hole to care, she began to edge her way through the crowd towards the back door.

The courtyard was glorious, even in the light shower just easing. The red brick contrasted with green vines climbing up trestles, and the chairs were all mismatched yet somehow complemented each other.

At the back of the courtyard, a still figure sat beneath an outdoor umbrella, head bowed over an untouched coffee. Nessa's heart thumped faster, so joyful it threatened to send her into cardiac arrest.

"Dan!" she cried out.

His head snapped around, ivy eyes locking on hers. "Nessa," he said, a half-sob breaking the name in two.

She ran forward and so did he. The two of them collided in the centre of the courtyard, the sun shower cloaking them in gentle precipitation. Nessa kissed him fiercely, saying, "I'm so sorry, Dan. I was scared and stupid. Please forgive me for pushing you away."

His hands clasped her face, gently stroking back her damp hair. "Nessa. You came back. There's nothing to forgive."

"I made you cry," she said, wiping his tears as they blended with rain drops on his cheeks.

"You make me smile. I only cry when I don't have you."

They kissed again, deeper, filled with the promise of a new beginning. The rain stopped and Nessa felt the warmth of the sun surround them, permeating down to their bones.