[kiasusam]

Part 1

”Jessica, my name is Peter and I would appreciate being able to talk with you before you decide anything,” he said, sitting down where he’d stood. Jessica turned around, and sat on the edge. She felt this man had something in common with her, and deserved a few minutes of her time. ”I can talk for a while, but I’ve made my decision. I’m glad you honoured your wives last wish, but I don’t think I can be that strong,” she said, putting her head down. Peter looked at her face, and watched the tears running down her cheeks. He knew that feeling, and he knew how hard it was to think positively about any kind of future. "You’ve got to ask yourself Jessica, would he want you to end your life? Or would he want you to find happiness again, and move on? I suspect the later of the two, for if he truly loved you, he wouldn’t want to see you come to harm.” Jessica didn’t reply, she was deep in thought, and whenever she closed her eyes she saw her husbands face. She looked up, and caught the smile beaming from Peter’s face, and for a brief moment the corners of her mouth moved upward, but then dropped again.

They’d talked for the next three hours, and Peter started to get a faint hope that she was wavering. It had taken him that long just to get her to open up about her own life. She now knew almost everything about Peter, as he’d done most of the talking. The turning point that night was the weather, for suddenly it started to rain. Peter managed to persuade her to get in out of the storm, and asked her to come for a coffee at a café he knew of, which wasn’t far from their current location. Once there, they talked for another two hours, and Jessica finally stated that she was going to try and carry on. From that day on, each day was a challenge, and Jessica and Peter became close friends. It was a year later when they met up for a drink in a pub, which happened to be Peter’s local.

Peter noticed how stunning Jessica looked, as soon as she walked through the door, and told her so. ”Thank you Peter, that’s very sweet of you,” she said, placing her bag on the table. ”What would you like to drink?” he said, smiling. ”G&T please,” she replied, taking her jacket off and placing it over the chair. She wore a knee length skirt, and a blouse that hugged all the right places. When Peter came back with the drinks, he told her how foxy she looked, and realised he’d made her blush. ”You’re not used to compliments, are you?” he said, smiling. ”I’m just not used to other men paying me compliments, my husband did it all the time,” she replied. ”Anyway, let’s see now...I saw you last month! So what’s been going on in your life since then?” said Peter, quickly changing the subject.

”I came off the anti-depressants a week ago, and so far I’m feeling all right. I also got another job, which I’m enjoying,” replied Jessica, “how about you, anything interesting happening?” she added. ”Not much, I’m still living alone, and I’m still getting by from one day to the next. Although, I did book a holiday abroad,” said Peter, taking a sip of his beer. ”Oh…anywhere special…?” “USA, Europe…or Asia to be more precise, I always wanted to see the sights, and to soak up some sun for a while,” he replied.