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Leni knew that living in London brought the possibility of running into a famous person on the next corner of the street, but she had never experienced it herself.
Therefore, she was even more surprised as she looked up from the cash register into a pair of somewhat familiar eyes.
She squinted at the tall man, his unruly curls and remembered her good manners a moment too late.
“Sorry,” she cleared her throat. „What can I get you?“
“Coffee with sugar, please,” he didn’t quite meet her eyes – maybe didn’t want to be recognised – and handed her a pile of coins. Furiously wrecking her brain, Leni started counting the change while trying to fit a name to his face. Something was off, but she couldn’t quite make it out.
Her roommate would be going crazy if she were to tell her she met a certain famous guy and didn’t get an autograph. She passed his order on and frowned back at him: “I… I can’t seem to remember your name.”
She felt her cheeks flush and pushed back the change on the counter.
The man stared at her, taken aback but a smile tugging at his lips: “You know me?” His voice didn’t quite fit his appearance, he spoke low and quiet enough for his words to only reach Leni.
“I, well I guess…”, she sputtered. “You are famous, yeah?”
Now it was his turn to frown, his stance suddenly stiff: “No, no I’m not. You uh… must be mistaking me.”
“Oh,” Leni said in a quiet voice. “Gosh, that’s so embarrassing.” She chuckled nervously, then grinned at him: “I’m Leni.”
“Leni,” the name sounded foreign on his lips and his dark eyes took her in, well at least from the counter up. “I’m David.”
“Maybe I thought you were David Bowie then,” Leni joked, simply because this was the first thing coming to her mind.
“I like that,” he smiled at her. “Love Bowie.” Of course he did, Leni would bet that he just spent a lot of money on Bowie’s new album and band shirts.
“Hey man, you are holding up the line!”, the man behind him suddenly interrupted, pushed forward and started spitting his order in Leni’s face.
She watched David grab his order and stroll past the vinyls and concert posters on the cafe’s walls, nodding at her over the impolite guy’s shoulder before he disappeared in the usual crowds of rush hour.
For the rest of the day, David Bowie was stuck in her head, singing Starman over and over until she decided she had to see David again.
---
That was easier than she had thought, because David came back the day after. And the next one again.
And sooner than later, he started hanging out at the café, listening to Leni’s chatter, quietly judging customers and their orders with her or simply sitting in the corner armchair reading a book.
They became friends in an odd way.
Occasionally they spent time together outside of the café, going for a walk or to a pub, but just as often David disappeared for a couple of days, returning with a look in his eyes that said ‘don’t ask me about it’ and Leni left it at that.
Leni felt comfortable around David from the first second on. He was kind and patient if she fumbled for words, he loaned her pullovers and paid for her meals. She loved his odd traits like taking stairs two steps at a time because his legs were just too long (this was a big advantage in catching undergrounds) or him yelling “Mary” when he was surprised even though he claimed not to be religious.
Only weeks and months later, Leni started to learn more about David.
He didn’t like talking about his family. He had gone to boarding school, but was estranged with most of his former friends. He had been in a bad accident as a little kid that left him with a constantly aching knee. He loved David Bowie, but winced whenever his music actually played. He hated Halloween.
Leni learned most of these things the hard way. He snapped at her when she had asked who he was visiting during Christmas and hadn’t let on more about his career plans than maybe going back to his boarding school as a teacher someday.
She had offered salves and massages for his leg pain, but he only tried covering it better instead.
When he had first visited her place, a cassette of Bowie had been playing but seeing his expression, she had unplugged the player immediately.
Halloween was when it all went bad.
Leni had invited a couple of friends, David included.
She hadn’t even quite imagined David actually showing up. He had been protesting and making excuses all week.
But there he was.
He looked awful – gently said. Tired and spent. His leg obviously burning up after having dragged himself up all those stairs to her apartment.
Leni didn’t let him say a word, simply ushered him past the living room – her other guests didn’t even notice them – and into her bedroom.
He barely sat down before bursting in quiet tears, again it seemed.
With a deep sigh, Leni sat next to him and wrapped her arms around his lean body. Her braided hair fell over both their shoulders and she felt his every breath and stuttering exhale.
When someone started shouting her name in the kitchen, he straightened up and looked at her.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to… your friends,” he pointed a finger towards the door and added: “Go, go, I’m fine” when he saw her hesitating.
But there were people waiting for her and David wouldn’t tell her – not tonight. She saw the finality in his eyes and nodded, standing up.
He caught her hand as she passed him and she turned again, taking in his appearance, the worn-out leather jacket, his favourite sweater in just the same brown colour as his hair.
Something flashed before her eyes and for a moment she saw him as he might have looked five years ago. Laughter and mischief in his eyes, surrounded by friends and admirers, strolling through the school grounds with no pain and no worry.
But then he started speaking, shifting back into his real form as he did, telling her not to worry about him and her growing worry clogged up her throat so badly she could only croak out a ‘take care of yourself’.
He caressed her wrist softly with his thumb and swore under his breath: “Mary… I – I love you so much. I’m sorry I couldn’t always be honest with you, even though you might just be my best friend.”
Leni smiled at him: “I’ll be back in a second… love you too.” With that she released her wrist and left the room, carefully closing the door behind her and taking a deep breath before walking into the chaos of laughter and friends that were expecting her.
---
She didn’t tell anyone about David and she didn’t worry about him quite acutely, after all he could join them every moment and if he wasn’t feeling like it, she would just heat up some leftovers later.
Or so she thought, until there was a sound from her room startling them all. Something had fallen down or cracked apart, judging by the bursting sound.
She stood, her heart beating.
With a brave smile and a ‘I’m sure it’s nothing’ she tiptoed through the flat and opened the door, her pulse racing and hands sweaty.
No one was there.
She blinked. Closed the door. Looked around.
David was gone.
There was no sign of anything broken either, the window closed and her space untouched.
Except… for a piece of paper on the bed. Where David had sat.
Leni picked it up. She had been wrong, it wasn’t just a piece of paper, it was a photograph. The foil cool under her fingers, she read the words on the back with some feeling of displacement.
This didn’t make any sense.
She turned it around and stared at the group of faces smiling up at her.
There was David, the only one really familiar, although – the more she stared at it, the closer she got to reaching some kind of buried memory.
A dark haired boy with glasses had his arm thrown around the ginger girl’s shoulders. A blond and a pale boy stood smiling mischievously next to David and –
Her breathing turned shallow as she squinted at the two girls grinning more at each other than the camera. The blonde’s hand was wrapped firmly around the waist of – well, herself.
Leni turned the picture again in her trembling hand and stared at the handwriting.
‘to remember, for Mary from Remus’