Missed Connections

Today, Leila would reveal her crush on Jeremy. The thought caused her stomach to flutter with anticipation, and walking into her second-grade classroom, she felt like she was gliding. Decorations adorned the room, with heart-shaped cutouts along the walls, and red and pink streamers hanging from the ceiling. The day felt magical, full of energy and possibility. She checked that her valentines were undisturbed before carefully placing her backpack in her assigned cubby. The bell rang as she hurried to her seat.

“Good morning class!” The teacher exclaimed with her typical morning enthusiasm. She clapped her hands with each word.

“Good morning Miss Charlotte!” Leila shouted in a sing-song tone, along with the rest of the class.

“I hope you all remembered your valentine’s for today,” Miss Charlotte continued, “because later this afternoon, we’ll have our classroom exchange, along with some Valentine’s Day treats!” The classroom erupted into excited chatter while Leila turned to look at her cubby, making sure her backpack hadn’t disappeared in the minute since she’d sat down. After quieting the class, Miss Charlotte continued. “Okay, now for today’s lessons, we’ll be exploring…”

Leila struggled to pay attention to the morning teachings, her attention repeatedly drifting to the boy seated two desks ahead of her. His fine blond hair was messy in the back, which she found cute, but made her wonder why his mother didn’t comb his hair. She had carried on this way all school year, observing him afar, never daring to talk to him. She noticed his legs bouncing, like usual, while he continuously shifted in his seat. He was wearing his usual outfit, a Spiderman shirt and jeans with increasingly scuffed knees. Traits that she may have found strange with other boys only endeared him to her even more.

A few weeks earlier, Leila’s parents had the broken the devastating news that they would be moving that summer. The revelation upended Leila’s world. She cried herself to sleep for days afterwards, thinking of all the things she would be leaving behind. It took a realization to break her from the despair. If she confessed her feelings to Jeremy, she realized, and he didn’t like her back, she would only have to live with the rejection for a few more months before summer. If he liked her back, they could become pen pals, writing to each other every day. And who knows what the future could hold for them. She decided Valentines Day would be the perfect opportunity.

“Okay class, it’s time to prepare your boxes for the Valentines exchange!” Leila’s heart thumped at Miss Charlotte's announcement. After an agonizingly long day of anticipation, she suddenly felt flustered and unprepared. She pulled the empty cereal box from her desk, which she had decorated with painted hearts the previous day, and taped it to the side of her desk. At the start of the exchange, her classmates roamed about excitedly as they placed their valentines into each other’s boxes. Methodically, Leila placed her valentines, saving the special one for last. Arriving at Jeremy’s desk, she placed her valentine into his box with a shaking hand. It was done. Leila giddily scooted back to her desk to sit and wait. Her stomach somersaulted as the class took their seats and began digging into their boxes. She watched Jeremy as he pulled out one valentine, then another. Hadn’t she placed hers on top? She wondered, worrying that somehow it had inexplicably gotten lost. Finally, he pulled it out. It featured Aladdin and Jasmine sitting on the magic carpet, holding each other tenderly. On the inside, it read:

To: Jeremy

From: Leila

I think you are cute.

A small heart dotted the “i” in her name. She watched him stare at it for a few seconds. She gulped. When he turned around, she quickly looked down, pretending to read a valentine sitting on her desk. When she later dared to look back up, he was facing forward, her valentine nowhere to be seen as he reached in his box for more.

That’s it? She thought. In her imagination, she’d envisioned him walking over to her desk and telling her thank you, and that he thought she was cute too. Rummaging through her box, she didn’t find any valentine from him. She watched him eagerly open a valentine with a chocolate candy inside, excitedly unwrapping it and popping it in his mouth. Chocolate! Why didn’t I think of that! She thought, suddenly angry with herself. Her anger gave way to sadness. She bit her lip to hold back her tears, like her older brothers had taught her.

She was glad that she was moving.

- - -

Jeremy gulped down the last frothy remains of his beer as he made his way through the crowd. The basement room was dark, with bursts of colored lights dancing along the walls. Unreasonably loud music thumped and reverberated within the enclosed space. Although typically shy, Jeremy loved the drunken social chaos of college parties. His destination was the keg, which sat in a garbage bin full of ice in a back corner of the room. His younger housemate dutifully took Jeremy’s cup and refilled it with more unpleasant brew.

With his sixth beer in hand, Jeremy surveyed the scene. At the front of the room was a makeshift DJ booth, a laptop sitting on a dismounted door, laid flat atop two upturned garbage bins. Large stacks of speakers flanked the booth on either side, in front of which drunk students danced exuberantly. Jeremy hadn’t dared to join in the dancing, not until he’d hit upon the key point of inebriation; that magical point at which his anxieties melted away, his intrusive thoughts quieted, and the world seemed to open up. A newly arrived group of three women dancing caught his attention. Despite the dark scene, something about the taller, dark-haired woman in the group intrigued him. Chugging his beer, he let out a triumphant belch as he threw his empty cup to the ground. He was ready.

Threading his way through the swaying bodies, Jeremy was careful to not look desperate while broadcasting that he was wanting to dance. He sauntered up to the group, striving to display confidence without being aggressive.

“Hey!” He shouted to the dark-haired woman, over the throbbing music. “Wanna dance?”

She smiled and nodded and looked to her friends, who also nodded approvingly. He shimmied forward as the friends opened the dancing circle formed by the three of them. At the end of the song, her friends whispered into the dark-haired woman’s ear and smiled at Jeremy before walking away, leaving the two of them.

“I’m Jeremy!” He shouted.

“I’m Leila!” She shouted back.

“You look familiar! Have we met before?”

She laughed, “I was thinking the same thing!”

As the DJ cycled through the familiar party songs, Jeremy and Leila moved their bodies closer to each other, dancing evermore intimately. He found himself enamored with her, having to consciously look away from her gaze. Her adorably uneven smile, her thick black eyeliner, the way her dark curls bounced around her forehead as she swayed about. He knew he was prone to drunken infatuation, but something about the feelings stirred up by this mysterious woman defied his previous experiences.

After some time, Leila’s friends returned and whispered into her ear. She leaned towards him. “My friends and I are leaving, sorry! Do you want to exchange numbers?”

He nodded, trying to downplay his eagerness. “I’ll just give you mine,” he said, for reason’s which would later baffle him. She looked confused as she handed him her phone. After he punched in his numbers, she gave a tepid smile before turning and disappearing into the undulating masses.

“You did what?” His friend asked later that night, dumbfounded. They were sitting on old, tattered couches in the messy living room, nursing beers while exchanging stories from the party.

“I don’t know dude…I guess…I thought it was a player move?” Jeremy meekly replied.

“Dude, you screwed up, big time. I saw you dancing with her. You were shooting way out of your league with her, and then you whiffed on an easy layup shot!”

Despondent, Jeremy drained his beer, hoping to drown the memory.

- - -

The sound of squeaking shoes greeted Jeremy as he opened the high school gymnasium doors. Out of breath, and slightly panicked, he looked to the large scoreboard mounted high on the gym wall. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw the game clock hadn’t started yet. His wife had always been careful to not be late to their daughter’s games, and he was determined to carry on the tradition. He proceeded along the front of the bleachers, anxiously trying to find an open spot. After spying an opening near the top, he briskly stepped up the bleachers, ignoring the looks of sympathy from the other parents. The empty spot was next to a dark-haired woman who was wearing a blue sweater with the visiting team’s mascot. She turned her head to look at him as he approached. That face, he thought, I know that face. A distant memory sparked but failed to ignite. He stood awkwardly for a moment before snapping back to present.

“Uh, excuse me, are these seats taken?”

She shook her head, smiling and gesturing with her hand for him to sit down.

They sat silently, watching the players dribble back and forth down the court. Jeremy tried to concentrate on the game, but the woman’s identity nagged at him. During the games first timeout, Jeremy turned to the woman.

“Uh, excuse me…” She turned and looked at him, expectantly. “…this may sound strange, but you look really familiar. Have we met before?”

Her eyes widened and her hand motions became animated. “I was thinking the same thing!” She exclaimed, laughing. “But I can’t quiet place you.”

“Same…” He said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’m guessing you have a daughter playing?”

“Yes, number 24,” she pointed to a stocky girl with a long dark ponytail who was gesturing excitedly to the team’s coach. “And you?”

He pointed to a blonde, lanky girl sitting at the end of the team bench. “Number 52, riding the bench. I’m hoping she finally gets some playing time tonight.”

“Ah, well, no offense, but my daughter’s team is probably going to wipe the floor with your daughters’ team.” She laughed, “I’m sure she’ll get playing time in against our backups.”

“Oh wow, okay, I see you’re one of those type of parents” he replied playfully.

“Yeah, well, what can I say, my daughters a baller, just like her mom.” She mimicked a shooting motion.

As the game progressed, they continued to make small talk about the game, about the teams’ seasons, and their own experiences playing basketball as kids. Jeremy searched for a way to learn more about her, to try and figure out how he knew her. He felt guilty, focusing on this woman instead of the game, but it was hard to stay focused with his daughter not playing. He snuck glances at the woman’s hand, noticing that she, like him, wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.

Late in the fourth quarter, after a timeout, his daughter entered the game and he cheered a bit too loudly, drawing an embarrassed glare from his daughter, and a snickering laugh from the woman.

After the game clock hit zeros, Jeremy stood up, making stretching motions to delay having to walk away from the woman. “Your daughter played good!” She said, continuing. “Hopefully she gets more playing time.” Then, “What was your name again?”

“Jeremy…and yours?”

“Leila.”

The name ignited his memory, and hazy scenes from a college party materialized. But before he could grasp it, she was down the bleachers and hugging her daughter.

He followed and stepped onto the court, giving a high five to his daughter who reluctantly obliged. He turned just in time to see Leila wave to him as she walked away.

“Who is that” his daughter asked.

“I…think I met her at a party in college.”

“Okay, ew, gross Dad, I don’t want to hear about your dirty college hookups.” She trudged off towards the locker rooms and Jeremy chuckled. He stood on the court awhile, marveling at the chance meeting. He repeated the name over in his head. Leila….

- - -

Sitting alone in the senior activities room, with her hands folded over her crossed legs, Leila waited expectantly for others to arrive. Out of habit, she looked to the wall where a clock would have been many years ago. Anticipating her request, her AI assistant spoke in her earbud with its typically neutral tone, informing her that it was 6:25PM. She sighed, ready to admit defeat. Having booked the room weeks ago, she was expecting a good turnout. ‘Old School Movie Night!’ her post had read. It had received an encouraging amount of ‘likes’ on the communities VR boards. Perhaps she had been foolish, she thought, to believe that people still desired to have real-life experiences at this age.

As she stood up to leave, a frail man shuffled in the door with a walker. He looked around, seemingly confused, and noisily cleared his throat before speaking. “Uh…is this the movie night meetup?”

“Yes! Come on in!” She said, waving him in. She immediately regretted the motion as her shoulder popped and seethed with pain. She gritted her teeth to avoid making a face.

The man had wispy, white hair and sad eyes surrounded by deep wrinkles. Despite the ravages of age, she recognized in him a youthful, familiar face.

“Do we…have we met before?” She asked.

The man looked surprised and stopped, leaning shakily on his walker as he regarded her. “Oh, uh, I’m not sure…” He squinted to look at her. “You know, with the way my memory has been lately, I could have met you yesterday and I probably wouldn’t recognize you!” He chuckled. “I’m Jeremy,” he said, holding out a trembling hand. She approached and took it gently, “I’m Leila.”

She held her gaze, straining to remember who he was. In that moment, she regretted not having gotten the memory implant.

“We sit over there?” He said, pointing to the empty seats arranged in a semi-circle in front of a projector screen. She nodded.

“This sure is an old school setup. I haven’t watched a movie on a projector in decades.” He added, as he carefully lowered himself into a seat.

“I found an old digital projector at a garage sale years ago. I’m surprised it still works,” Leila responded. “My assistant had to help me with converting the files,” she said, tapping her earbud.

Leila turned on the projector and took a seat next to Jeremy. They sat silently as the opening credits appeared. “Wow, I haven’t seen this movie in ages! I suppose it would have been…” Jeremy trailed off, as he seemed to be lost in thought. Leila politely waited for him to continue, before saying, “I actually snuck into a theater to see this for the first time.” She laughed and then turned to Jeremy, who still seemed stuck his memories. She spoke loudly to pull him back to present. “Are you a fan of this movie?”

“Oh…oh yes, of course!” He responded, snapping back to attention.

As the movie played, they continued to talk about their favorite movies, and the sadness they'd felt when the last movie theaters had closed. In the quiet moments between pleasant conversation, Leila fought to remember this man whom she felt so drawn to.

When the end credits rolled, they both sighed and groaned as they stood up. “Well, that was great. I’m looking forward to next week’s movie,” Jeremy said as he shuffled towards the door. Leila watched him fondly as he left, feeling a twinge of sadness as he disappeared through the door.

A gut feeling told her that she wouldn’t see him the next week.

- - -

Heat from the sun warmed Jeremy’s face as he entered a clearing. The hiking trail he was following wrapped around the edge of a clear, alpine lake before continuing its ascent up a bald mountain face on the opposite side. Stepping to the lake edge, he knelt and dipped his hands into the water and splashed it on his face. It felt...right. The crisp cool temperature, the slight mineral taste on his lips. They must have upgraded this area, he thought. If not for the lack of buzzing insects, he could have been fooled into thinking it was the real thing.

A rock gracefully skimmed across the water, and he turned to see a woman sitting further down along the lake. She was partially hidden by the tall grass along the bank. In a previous life, he would have ignored her and just continued on the trail. But the lack of anxiety in the afterlife was freeing.

“Hi there!” He said, waving enthusiastically as he approached. She turned and grinned, as if expecting him. He stopped, overcome by a wave of memories crashing over him. Stored on a server somewhere in the real world, he could recall his memories with perfect clarity.

“It’s you!” He blurted out.

“Hey stranger,” she said, smiling as she stood and brushed herself off out of habit.

“I…I cherished your Valentine…” he continued, “I just…I was so shy, and…and I didn’t know what to say.”

She smiled and stared, seemingly waiting for him to say something else. His mind raced. He wanted to say something, to do something, that could make up for a lifetime of missed connections. Finally, he settled on a simple question.

“Where do we go from here?” He asked.

“Let’s start with…Hi, I’m Leila.” She said, sticking out her hand. He took it, noticing that it was warm, soft, just like real life.

He smiled. “I’m Jeremy, nice to meet you…again.”