Just over thirty minutes late Terri realised as she arrived a little breathless and flushed from walking fast to get to Giano's.
As she got to the door and opened it, she wondered with a certain amount of anxiety if Adam would still be there waiting for her
But then she spotted him sitting at one of the smaller tables in the more secluded corners of the resturaunt as she scanned the room. Relief washed over her, and swallowing hard she took a moment to compose herself before going over to join him at the table
"I am so sorry I got am late, something came up and I got held up" she informed him apologetically as she sat in the chair across the table from him.
"That's ok" Adam replied with a small smile, "I am just glad you turned up, I was beginning to think you were getting your own back on me, and you were not going to bother coming"
The astuteness of his remark made Terri's face heat up, "Oh no, like I said something just came up at the last minute" she told him sounding vague and hurriedly picked up the large menu card on the table to hide behind so he couldn't see her guilt flushed face, "So um.. have your decided what you are having yet?" she enquired deciding to hurriedly change the subject
"I thought I would wait until you came" Adam replied he found himself staring at the back cover of the menu card as Terri seem to be engrossed and take her time looking what was on it
"Would you like me you order you a drink?" he then enquired, "I am of the hard stuff, for my own good, but that doesn't mean you can't have something"
Finally she put the menu card aside to look at him speculatively, and noticed he was just drinking iced water she had heard he had been dealing with his problem of over indulging in alcohol and drugs and was cleaning up his act.. seemed he was sticking with it.
"I will just have a glass of white wine thank you" she said feeling she needed some dutch courage to get through the evening in one peice.
He sensed she was a little tense as she glanced idly around her surroundings seeming to avoid looking him in the eye.. which was fine as he give the waiter the order, but now they were alone again he attempted to put her at ease.
"I am really glad you agreed to come, realising who you were the other day really threw me, and I know seeing me again can't have brought back many happy memories.. it can't have been easy for you"
Terri shrugged "Like I keep saying, it was a long time ago.. I got over it" she picked up her napkin and started to unfold it with great deliberation
Adam shifted forward in his seat leaning towards her a little across the table making it a more intimate moment "Still, I needed this chance to explain exactly what happened, and to personally apologise to you if I caused you any hurt.. I did not mean to.. I want you to believe that"
The sincerity in his eyes as he spoke was enough for Terri to believe him, and finally any inkling of resentment and hurt she had felt towards him disintigrated
"So what did happen to you that you never showed up, were you kidnapped by aliens?" she asked in good humour.
Adam grinned "Not exactly. I wish that were the case.. I know this sounds awful.. but the truth was I forgot, plain and simple as that" he stated.
"Oh" Terri blinked, not quite sure how to react
"That night I arranged to take you to the pictures, I was with the guys doing a gig, we just found out about it that morning and I was so excited and hyped up about it, the arrangment I made with you went completely out of my head.. until way later that night"
"I see" Terri was now folding her napkin again taking in what he was saying. So it hadn't been another girl, or the fact that he changed his mind and decided he had not wanted to be seen with her.. something else entirely, something she could kind of understand.
She knew at the time he and Bono and the others were trying to get the band up and going, Adam had talked about it to her.. she knew how important it had been to him if he had been able to get in contact with her and let her know she realised she would not have minded in the least he had a gig, in fact she would have been pleased for him.
"I know it was bad of me to forget all about you and not let you know before hand.. but we were rushing around trying to get stuff sorted and it just completely slipped my mind about the pictures and you.. I felt really bad about it afterwards and tried to phone you to explain.. but you didn't want to talk to me" he then said
Terri felt her cheeks heat up again, "I am sorry about that, perhaps if I had, things might have been different" she realised
"Yeah Maybe" Adam agreed "Though I could understand why you didn't want to speak to me.. thats why I am glad I have this chance now to tell you how it was, even though it was a long time ago I do still feel bad about it.. and I didn't want you thinking the worst of me"
"Well all these years I thought it was because you had just changed your mind and just didn't want to be seen with me.. I mean I wasn't exactly the most attractive girl around, and I know I could hardly compete with those pretty supermodels, you have been keeping in the company with everytime I opened a magazine or paper a while back" she confessed.
"How you looked had nothing absolutely to do with it" Adam reassured her "Even if you looked as you did twenty years ago.. I would still be happy to be seen with you, as I would be with any pretty supermodel"
Terri laughed "Now you are just trying to flatter me... which is nice, even though I still find it hard to believe a word you are saying, but I will let you of with it"
"Does that mean we are friends again?" Adam asked.
Terri took a moment to think it over before nodding her head "I guess so"
At that moment the waiter arrived with her wine and as she lifted her glass, Adam picked up his glass of iced water and held it up to toast
"To old friendships renewed"
"To old friendships" she agreed clinking her glass against his, before taking a a sip and suddenly feeling her appetite return, she hadn't eaten anything from the day before and was looking forward to the meal.
Having got the worst part over with, Adam was now curious about what had been happening in Terri's life from the last time he had saw her.
She was such a completely different person, more sassy, filled with a confidence she never had as a teenager, she looked good as well, now she had lost weight, her once straight red hair was now a rich auburn and cut in a short style that suited her face. It was those hazel eyes that he had looked into and had immediatly recongnized belonging to her and still made him remember the 15 year old schoolgirl in her.
"So what have you been doing with yourself, I never imagined you ended up a photographer for a magazine, always thought you would end up a professer or something the way your mum had plans for you!" he mused
Terri laughed, "Well My life has been eventful.. maybe not as exciting as yours, but eventful all the same, I have been married divorced, a change of career from a vice principle in a Grammer school to turning my hobby of photography into my living, and my mum doesn't talk to me anymore because she thinks I have let her down and considers me a failure because she can no longer control me.. some things never change.. but I have never been more happier because I am doing what I want to do" she finished with a small smile.
"Your mother was always a bit of a prat if you don't mind me saying so" Adam replied, "I am glad you finally learned to stand up to her"
"Yeah well it took a while, but I managed it" Terri said as she used her fork to eat her Lasange she had ordered, feeling a lot more relaxed now.
Thats what I always envied about you when we were young" she looked over at Adam "You always knew what You wanted , not your parents or your teachers or anyone else telling you what was best.. and you went out and achieved it.. and look at you now a great success in a famous rock band... you didn't take any shit from anyone... I wish I could have been like that.. might have saved me a lot of heartache along the way"
"Well I can't say my life even with all the fame and success has been great all the time.. I have went through I few shaky moments myself" Adam informed her
"Still we survived it, and here we are today" Terri then said "Though I never in a million years thought I would be sitting eating dinner with you of all people" she then laughed
"Well thats the fun thing about the future" Adam replied taking a sip of his water then smiling at her "You never know what pleasent surprises are just around the corner.
As she got to the door and opened it, she wondered with a certain amount of anxiety if Adam would still be there waiting for her
But then she spotted him sitting at one of the smaller tables in the more secluded corners of the resturaunt as she scanned the room. Relief washed over her, and swallowing hard she took a moment to compose herself before going over to join him at the table
"I am so sorry I got am late, something came up and I got held up" she informed him apologetically as she sat in the chair across the table from him.
"That's ok" Adam replied with a small smile, "I am just glad you turned up, I was beginning to think you were getting your own back on me, and you were not going to bother coming"
The astuteness of his remark made Terri's face heat up, "Oh no, like I said something just came up at the last minute" she told him sounding vague and hurriedly picked up the large menu card on the table to hide behind so he couldn't see her guilt flushed face, "So um.. have your decided what you are having yet?" she enquired deciding to hurriedly change the subject
"I thought I would wait until you came" Adam replied he found himself staring at the back cover of the menu card as Terri seem to be engrossed and take her time looking what was on it
"Would you like me you order you a drink?" he then enquired, "I am of the hard stuff, for my own good, but that doesn't mean you can't have something"
Finally she put the menu card aside to look at him speculatively, and noticed he was just drinking iced water she had heard he had been dealing with his problem of over indulging in alcohol and drugs and was cleaning up his act.. seemed he was sticking with it.
"I will just have a glass of white wine thank you" she said feeling she needed some dutch courage to get through the evening in one peice.
He sensed she was a little tense as she glanced idly around her surroundings seeming to avoid looking him in the eye.. which was fine as he give the waiter the order, but now they were alone again he attempted to put her at ease.
"I am really glad you agreed to come, realising who you were the other day really threw me, and I know seeing me again can't have brought back many happy memories.. it can't have been easy for you"
Terri shrugged "Like I keep saying, it was a long time ago.. I got over it" she picked up her napkin and started to unfold it with great deliberation
Adam shifted forward in his seat leaning towards her a little across the table making it a more intimate moment "Still, I needed this chance to explain exactly what happened, and to personally apologise to you if I caused you any hurt.. I did not mean to.. I want you to believe that"
The sincerity in his eyes as he spoke was enough for Terri to believe him, and finally any inkling of resentment and hurt she had felt towards him disintigrated
"So what did happen to you that you never showed up, were you kidnapped by aliens?" she asked in good humour.
Adam grinned "Not exactly. I wish that were the case.. I know this sounds awful.. but the truth was I forgot, plain and simple as that" he stated.
"Oh" Terri blinked, not quite sure how to react
"That night I arranged to take you to the pictures, I was with the guys doing a gig, we just found out about it that morning and I was so excited and hyped up about it, the arrangment I made with you went completely out of my head.. until way later that night"
"I see" Terri was now folding her napkin again taking in what he was saying. So it hadn't been another girl, or the fact that he changed his mind and decided he had not wanted to be seen with her.. something else entirely, something she could kind of understand.
She knew at the time he and Bono and the others were trying to get the band up and going, Adam had talked about it to her.. she knew how important it had been to him if he had been able to get in contact with her and let her know she realised she would not have minded in the least he had a gig, in fact she would have been pleased for him.
"I know it was bad of me to forget all about you and not let you know before hand.. but we were rushing around trying to get stuff sorted and it just completely slipped my mind about the pictures and you.. I felt really bad about it afterwards and tried to phone you to explain.. but you didn't want to talk to me" he then said
Terri felt her cheeks heat up again, "I am sorry about that, perhaps if I had, things might have been different" she realised
"Yeah Maybe" Adam agreed "Though I could understand why you didn't want to speak to me.. thats why I am glad I have this chance now to tell you how it was, even though it was a long time ago I do still feel bad about it.. and I didn't want you thinking the worst of me"
"Well all these years I thought it was because you had just changed your mind and just didn't want to be seen with me.. I mean I wasn't exactly the most attractive girl around, and I know I could hardly compete with those pretty supermodels, you have been keeping in the company with everytime I opened a magazine or paper a while back" she confessed.
"How you looked had nothing absolutely to do with it" Adam reassured her "Even if you looked as you did twenty years ago.. I would still be happy to be seen with you, as I would be with any pretty supermodel"
Terri laughed "Now you are just trying to flatter me... which is nice, even though I still find it hard to believe a word you are saying, but I will let you of with it"
"Does that mean we are friends again?" Adam asked.
Terri took a moment to think it over before nodding her head "I guess so"
At that moment the waiter arrived with her wine and as she lifted her glass, Adam picked up his glass of iced water and held it up to toast
"To old friendships renewed"
"To old friendships" she agreed clinking her glass against his, before taking a a sip and suddenly feeling her appetite return, she hadn't eaten anything from the day before and was looking forward to the meal.
Having got the worst part over with, Adam was now curious about what had been happening in Terri's life from the last time he had saw her.
She was such a completely different person, more sassy, filled with a confidence she never had as a teenager, she looked good as well, now she had lost weight, her once straight red hair was now a rich auburn and cut in a short style that suited her face. It was those hazel eyes that he had looked into and had immediatly recongnized belonging to her and still made him remember the 15 year old schoolgirl in her.
"So what have you been doing with yourself, I never imagined you ended up a photographer for a magazine, always thought you would end up a professer or something the way your mum had plans for you!" he mused
Terri laughed, "Well My life has been eventful.. maybe not as exciting as yours, but eventful all the same, I have been married divorced, a change of career from a vice principle in a Grammer school to turning my hobby of photography into my living, and my mum doesn't talk to me anymore because she thinks I have let her down and considers me a failure because she can no longer control me.. some things never change.. but I have never been more happier because I am doing what I want to do" she finished with a small smile.
"Your mother was always a bit of a prat if you don't mind me saying so" Adam replied, "I am glad you finally learned to stand up to her"
"Yeah well it took a while, but I managed it" Terri said as she used her fork to eat her Lasange she had ordered, feeling a lot more relaxed now.
Thats what I always envied about you when we were young" she looked over at Adam "You always knew what You wanted , not your parents or your teachers or anyone else telling you what was best.. and you went out and achieved it.. and look at you now a great success in a famous rock band... you didn't take any shit from anyone... I wish I could have been like that.. might have saved me a lot of heartache along the way"
"Well I can't say my life even with all the fame and success has been great all the time.. I have went through I few shaky moments myself" Adam informed her
"Still we survived it, and here we are today" Terri then said "Though I never in a million years thought I would be sitting eating dinner with you of all people" she then laughed
"Well thats the fun thing about the future" Adam replied taking a sip of his water then smiling at her "You never know what pleasent surprises are just around the corner.
