We chatted and drank some more, and then eventually I had to go to the bathroom. On my way back to the table, I was weaving my way through the crowd gathered by the bar when a single word caused my blood to freeze instantly in my veins.
“Alicia!”
I stopped dead in my tracks. I hadn't heard that name for two years now – but it had been my name for the first 25 years of my life.
“Alicia Ray, it is you, isn't it?”
I turned around slowly, dread and fear running cold through my veins. I saw a familiar face looking at me, smiling, from where she was seated at the bar.
“Angie Wells,” I said, relief rushing through me. “We were in English class together senior year.”
“And biology,” she said. “Wow, I can't believe it's already been 10 years since graduation. What are you doing down here in Irvine? You don't live in San Francisco anymore?”
“No, I moved down here two years ago. I own a daycare here.”
“A daycare, huh? Well, you always did like kids. I don't think I could do that myself; they drive me crazy.”
“So, what are you doing down here?”
“I just moved here from San Francisco, too. I got a job working in software engineering here. It's growing in this part of the state.”
“Ah, good to hear.”
“Hey, come sit down with me, Alicia! We've got a lot to catch up on. I mean, it's been 10 years after all. You still with Simon? I always thought you'd marry that guy. Did you?”
The mention of his name sent shivers of dread and revulsion running down my spine.
“No, no, I'm not with him anymore. We broke up a long while ago.”
“Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm single, too, actually. Maybe one night we go out; I'll be your wingman, you be mine, as the guys would say.”
“Yeah, maybe. Uh, look, about Simon and me, things really didn't end well. And actually, my name isn't Alicia anymore.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“My name is Vivienne now.”
I didn't tell her my last name – I had to really trust people before I ever told them my last name.
“Vivienne? What?”
“I had to change my legal name to get away from Simon. He, uh, he turned out to be kinda psycho. As in I’ve practically changed my identity to get away from him psycho.”
“Shut up! Seriously?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, seriously. So, look, please, I have to ask you, please don't mention to anyone from the old days that you saw me, okay? I've gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that he doesn't find me. I really, really don't want him to come looking for me, and believe me, he's psycho enough to stalk the social media accounts of everyone in our senior year just to see if there's any hint of where I am. So please keep it a secret, okay?”
She nodded.
“Wow, I didn't realize it was that serious. Alright, sure... Vivienne. I won't say a word. But seriously, let's go out for drinks sometime.”
“We can do that. I'm here with friends so I can't sit with you now, but give me your number and I'll give you a call sometime, alright? It'd be good to connect with someone from my, er, my old life.”
“Sure.”
She scribbled down a number on a bar napkin and handed it to me.