The Meeting

Ellie

Ellie and I spent quite a bit of time together while she was home. She loved her new life in Tokyo, her job involved marketing for a large events company. She said her time on the road with me had helped her to find something she enjoyed. She is definitely seeing someone, I can tell by her constant phone checking and her stories on Instagram but she'll tell me when she's ready.

Of all the people I know, Ellie deserved happiness the most. Growing up, life was difficult for Ellie. Her parents were cold towards her in every aspect, they dictated what Ellie would do, where she would go and what she would be in life. That's how Ellie and I met, our school ran after school clubs from 3-5pm every Wednesday. My parents allowed me to join the music class, knowing that music was my passion. Ellie's parents forced her to go to debating, she hated every second of it. Ellie isn't the debating type, she loves to be loved and believes that everyone's opinions are valid, which makes life quite difficult for her sometimes. A lot of people have taken advantage of Ellie's reluctance to stand up for herself, they see it as weakness and know they can almost make her do whatever they want. I will never forget that Wednesday afternoon that I first spoke to Ellie, I went to the toilet during my music class and as I was washing my hands I heard Ellie sniffling in the toilets. I knocked on the door but she didn't respond, climbing onto the toilet seat so I wouldn't see her feet despite the fact I could hear her trying not to fall. When she eventually opened the door, her face was red and puffy and I immediately hugged her before asking what was wrong. She seemed so overwhelmed by the affection, I later found out that she didn't get much of that from home. Ellie had disagreed with someone's point in debating club and things had gotten heated so she ran to the toilets and hid. I asked did she want to come over to my house after school but she told me about her parents and said she would never be allowed to do that. We came up with a plan to spend time together, telling her parents I was an aspiring doctor. They used to drop Ellie off for 'revision class' but we would just watch films and play PlayStation.

I guess you could call me quite a lucky person. I know I lost my mum at just 24 and I have worked hard for the life I lived now but I was born into a happy family. I was lucky to have had a family that supported my decision. Of course, my parents made me revise and get good grades but they called this 'the fall back plan', letting me know they believed in me enough to think I would never need to use my grades because I would be a musician. I couldn't imagine having parents like Ellie's. My mum always reminded Ellie that her parents wanted what was best for her but when they refused to let her come home after university because she didn't want her to use her degree, it became hard for my mum to understand their logic anymore. My mum became the mum Ellie wished to have.

When Ellie's parents found out her lies in our younger days, we were forbidden from talking. We still talked in school but Ellie went off to university, studying Biomedical Science, the choice of her parents. I would travel up to see her most weekends with Lydia. Ellie always said the only good part of uni was those weekends we all had together. I hated that someone spent so much money to study something they hated. That's why when she told me of her job in Tokyo, I wanted to beg her to stay but I was happy to see her go, finally Ellie was doing something she enjoyed, for herself.

Ellie worried about me though, especially after my break up. She called me constantly and would panic if I was still sleeping late in the day. But today was different, she seemed relaxed. She didn't feel the need to ask how I was because my glow was back, I was back.

We drove to a drive thru coffee shop, just around the corner from my house. We ordered our standard hot chocolates and more pastries than two people could ever consume, then we headed to our favourite spot just outside of Belfast. We walked along the rickety pathway until we came to the tree we sat under as kids.

"Alex, I think it's time you know." She said, raising her eyebrows at me.
"For what?" I said, genuinely confused.
"For you to get back on the loooove train!" Ellie said, like a teenager.
"You're so embarrassing, you know that right?" I teased back.
"I know - but I'm serious. You can't be alone forever, you can't just spend your time off in the house with your Dad. I go back next week and Lyds is moving in with Gavin." I sighed, I knew she was right.
"I don't think I even remember how to date Els, WHO do I date?" I said quickly.
"Well... now you mention it. I have a friend that has liked you for the longest time. She's great. Will you go?" Ellie gave me puppy dog eyes, sneaky.
"I'm not sure Els -" I was cut off.
"Cool! Tomorrow night, 7pm. That little restaurant by Castle Lane." She snapped back.
"Well played Els, you organised it already?" I tapped her on the arm.
"I may or may not have told Grace that you asked her..." Ellie's face beaming at me, knowing I could never be mad at her.
"Ellie!" I shouted. "Wait... Grace Murphy? The Athlete?"
"Yes!" Ellie said, sounding rather proud of herself.

Grace was a long distance runner that had competed for Ireland multiple times. She had long blonde hair, a slender physique and the darkest brown eyes I had ever seen. I used to talk about her all the time, before Leah. Grace had attended multiple charity events that I was in attendance at recently and whilst we had exchanged small talk, it never really got deeper because of the fast moving nature of these events.  She had, however, been the other investor in 'Youth and You', a local charity that was set up to give young people a safe space to speak about mental health. We spoke a little more that day, having to hang around for photographs together and speaking to the incredible volunteers. I was looking forward to catching up with her again, maybe Ellie was right and this was exactly what I needed.