Out of the blue.

This morning, I thought of a woman that I'd not thought of in years. We had this brief thing when I was travelling about 20 years ago. She was a barmaid at a local bar I frequented, a few years younger than me. I went in one weeknight because I wanted some company and knew no-one else.

I'd spoken to her before, of course. But never a one-to-one conversation. There were always people about.

I got chatting to some of the people in the bar and that was that. They all drifted off until it was just me and her. She closed the bar and we sat on for another few drinks. The conversation flowed, so she suggested we went back to hers for more drinks, and I accepted. At that stage, I had no inkling anything was on the cards. She was cute, but I was enjoying the conversation.

There was something intimate about sitting in an empty bar, the doors locked, only a few lights on and chatting. We weren't sharing anything massively private or anything. If memory serves, it was just your basic "what are you going to do with your life" kinda stuff. But we kept our voices low nonetheless, as if people were listening.

And I'm a sucker for that kind of conversation. That's why I like the nights in the bar with KfW2. It's why I miss my email "conversations" with USHW.

Anyway, we went back to hers and I eventually spent the night. There was a repeat performance a few months later just before I left to come home, and that was it. I tried to find her on Facebook years ago, but could never find her. Partly because I couldn't remember her surname for ages.

And she popped into my head this morning as I was brushing my teeth.