Wish You Were Here

“I’m going to bed now,” said Estelle coming over to give Jules a hug.

“Hey, you going up already?” said Jules hugging the teenager close to her.

“Yeah, I’m a little tired,” said Estelle.

”I’m not surprised, that was a wonderful meal. Thank you sweetheart,” said Jules. “I’ll have to get that recipe from you, may be I should cook it for Tre,” she said watching Estelle hug her father.

“Goodnight,” said Estelle as she left the room.

”Night,” shouted Jules after her then she turned to Mike. “Is she OK? She was pretty quiet this evening,” she said swirling her white wine around and tucking her feet up under her.

”She’s quiet because you hardly let her get a word in and can we please stop talking about Tre just for five minutes,” said Mike. He’d enjoyed Jules’ company, always had but this evening it was obvious that she was worried about Tre, he was constantly being brought up in conversation and well, to be honest Mike wasn’t happy about it. Jules just couldn’t see that Tre was acting like a total ass just lately.

“I didn’t realise I’d been talking about him so much but I’m worried about him Mike,” she said looking at Mike, his blue eyes bright in the candlelight.

“I know you are but I wouldn’t worry about him, he knows exactly what he’s doing and I’m not worried because I’m going to bring it all up at this meeting we’re going to have.” He said, and he was, he was sick of Tre’s behaviour just lately. He needed his ass kicked for it.

“Oh Mike, surely he’s not been all that bad?” Jules said. What on earth had Tre been doing?

Mike sighed as he came over towards Jules to top up her wine.

“You don’t know most of it but he’s been getting drunk nearly every night and there’s been so many women coming and going I just don’t want him getting a reputation and ruining this tour and giving us a bad name, I want every one to concentrate on our music and not who we’re dating.” He said going to sit back down opposite Jules. “I bet you any money he’s out tonight getting laid.”

“But he’s only just split up with Stephanie,” Jules said taking a drink from her wine.

”Jules there have been dozens of Stephanies,” Mike said. “Please, forget Tre and what’s wrong with him, just for one night, I’ll bring it up at the meeting and then we can see what he’s going to do about it.”

But Jules couldn’t forget what Mike had said about Tre, it was so unlike him. She was determined to get to the bottom of it, they were going to visit the folks tomorrow, may be she could get him to open up to her then.

Mike and Jules chatted for some time, Jules making a conscious effort to try and forget talking about Tre but she found it difficult and hadn’t realised how often she did talk about him.

They watched a movie together, Mike and her sat comfortably side by side on the couch but Jules couldn’t quite concentrate on what was going on in the movie. It was a comedy and when Mike laughed she joined in, followed suit, not really getting it at all.

As the credits rolled, Mike turned to her.

“Remember that night,” he said. He’d had a lot to drink over the course of the evening and had sat quite close to her during the movie. Jules’ stomach sank, wha the fuck was he bringing that up for?

“What night?” said Jules unable to look at Mike so she kept on looking at the TV screen at the white words on the black screen as they scrolled up.

She knew what night, the night they’d spent together some time ago, just after him and Anastasia had split up…

They were in Jules’ old apartment and she’d invited Mike over for something to eat. He had been slightly low after his split with Anastasia, they were amicable about it but he felt upset about the fact that he wouldn’t be seeing as much of Estelle. Who would read her favourite bedtime story like he had? It was little things like that he couldn’t get his head round so Jules had invited him over for something to eat and a chat. Jules had split up two months previously from a guy that she thought she would spend the rest of her life with and now, whilst sitting opposite Mike she wondered how she’d ever gone out with this guy in the first place.

They’d talked for ages then sat on the sofa with another drink, a nightcap before Mike was going to call a taxi home.

Jules had felt light headed from all that she had drunk and suddenly in the candlelight of the room Mike seemed very attractive to her.

“You can stay if you like Mike,” Jules had said to him but the way she had said it wasn’t really how it was meant to sound she meant for him to sleep on the couch but just the tone of her voice and the way it must have sounded to Mike was as though she was asking him to sleep with her and as she said the words and watched Mike’s face she realised that perhaps that was what she had wanted to say after all.

“Are you sure?” He’d asked, his blue eyes gleaming, his pupils huge and full of desire.

Jules just nodded at him. It was what she wanted at that moment, they stood up, Jules taking Mike’s hand and leading him off to her bedroom.

But the next morning was different, both of them had just needed some sort of release, there was no way that they wanted a relationship out of it. It had just been sex.

When she’d first woke Jules had felt embarrassed looking across at the guy she’d known for so long lying beside her. He was attractive, there was no doubt about it but she just hoped he didn’t want anything to come of it.

And he hadn’t, thank goodness; they parted that morning, friends as usual and hadn’t ever spoken about it since. She’d told Adrienne because she’d had to tell someone and she’d always wondered whether or not she’d told Billie. Sometimes, the way Billie looked at her she was sure that he knew, then at other times she was convinced that Adrienne had kept her secret.

…So now, with Mike looking at her in the way that he had looked at her all those years ago, she kind of felt the same stirrings but this time, this time she didn’t want it.

“You remember,” said Mike. “Our night.”

Our night. All those years ago.

“I remember,” Jules said feeling slightly embarrassed. “Hey, but don’t you go thinking of having a repeat performance,” she said standing up and ignoring the light in Mike’s eyes. She knew he wanted her but she had to diffuse the situation. She laughed louder than was necessary then stretched. “Listen Mike, I think I shall get a taxi home after all,” she said.

”Are you sure?” said Mike but suddenly she wasn’t sure what he meant. Are you sure that you want to get a taxi home or are you sure that you don’t want to sleep with me.

“I’m sure,” she said. She was sure, sure of both those questions.

As she let herself into the house she could hear Tre, upstairs with someone.

Mike had been right, what the fuck was Tre up to, sleeping with everyone?

For an instant, a very small instant, Jules wish she’d stayed at Mikes.