Old Friend | Valerie Tulle

Chapter Two

 The pub was small and noisy, filled with people. Valerie made her way to the bar without talking to and bumping into anyone.

 "Just a small glass of whiskey, please," she said to the bartender. 

 She stood by the bar, sipping her drink and observing the room. She had definitely been here before, many years ago. She had memories of sitting in this very room, talking to someone.

 "Valerie?" a voice from nearby. "Valerie Tulle?"

 Valerie looked towards the voice. "Yes?"

 The young man looking at her smiled. "Has it really been that long, Miss Tulle? That you wouldn't recognize an old mate?"

 She peered closer at him, and then smiled. "Arthur? Arthur Hall? Is it you?"

 He nodded. "The very same. Who else would it be? What's it been, a century? And, by God, you don't look any different than you did last century. It's been over a century, hasn't it?" 

 "It has," Valerie answered. "Have you been living in London all this time?" 

 He shrugged. "Best place to be, isn't it? My favorite place, at least. So, what brings you back, Valerie? You and your heretic clan decided to move back again? And Lily and that Julian fellow?"

 Her smile faltered at the mention of the others. "Um, no. No, I-I'm alone."

 "Taking independent strides, eh?" Arthur smiled. "Well, I'm glad you showed up here. Why don't you sit down, tell me where you've been since abut 1900?"

 "Actually, I've been quite a few places," Valerie said, thinking of her three-year world trip with Stefan. "What about you? You've just stayed here, in England?"

 He nodded. "Didn't want to leave, didn't need to leave. But I would enjoy hearing the adventures of Valerie Tulle, if you wouldn't mind."

 Valerie looked around at the room, which was buzzing with activity. She didn't have anywhere else to go besides her lonely, stuffy flat, and now she had just found someone who actually liked her.

 "I suppose I can stay for a bit," she said.

 So she stayed and told Arthur about the places she had been in the last years, carefully avoiding mention of Stefan by saying she had been travelling with a friend. She relieved every little adventure in her mind as she told it to Arthur, remembering the genuine fun she and Stefan had had together.

 It had been nearly two hours when Valerie said, "I think I should be going home."

 "So soon?" Arthur asked. "All right, then. Can you give me your address, just in case?"

 After she had written down her address for him, he said, "Come back soon, won't you? And if any of your friends are in town, tell them they're also welcome to come around." 

 When Valerie was walking home, she realized she hadn't told Arthur the truth; that Lily, Julian, and the other heretics were all dead. She hadn't been able to bring herself to say out loud that she was completely and utterly alone.