“Well, I can’t say for sure she’d have even caught the bus that day,” Peggy said. “She liked to walk, always did, right up till the end. She may well have set off early and gone up there on foot.”
Frank shook his head. “It never occurred to me to go to the gallery. I didn’t think.”
“No, well, that’s the problem with you men, isn’t it?” Peggy looked at Libby and raised an eyebrow. “Still, you must have made quite an impression on her, Frank. I’ve never known Percy to wait for a man, before or since.”
Frank didn’t say anything. It was almost dark now, and London was lit up in front of them with thousands of twinkling lights. Libby didn’t want to tear Frank away, but she knew Clara must have been going crazy with worry.
“Thank you so much for telling us all of this, Peggy,” she said.
“Not at all, love. I spend so much time up here on my own, chatting to Percy in my head, it’s been lovely to talk about her out loud.”
“It’s a beautiful spot,” Frank said, looking around them. “I’ve done some of my best thinking up here over the years.”
“She loved this place. I like to think she’s up here when I come, flying kites with Jack and listening to me blabber on.”
Frank looked at Peggy. “Do you think... May I?”
“ ’Course you can, love.”
He cleared his throat.
“Hello, Percy.”
Frank’s voice was loud and clear as he looked out into the darkness.
“I’m Frank Weiss, the boy on the 88 bus. I lost your number, and then I stupidly never thought to come to the gallery. I hope you weren’t too cross.”
Libby watched him take a deep breath.
“I’ve been looking for you these past sixty years because I wanted to say thank you. Our conversation that day changed the course of my life. Thanks to you, I had the confidence to stand up to my parents and tell them I wanted to be an actor. I got a place at drama school and went on to have a long and moderately successful career. I don’t think any of that would have ever happened if I’d not met you.”
Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted.
“I’ve often wondered what would have happened if we’d met each other for that date or if I’d found you again on the bus. This may sound silly, but I’ve always thought that we might have been good together, you and me, that we might have been happy.” He paused, running a hand through his hair. “But hearing your story today, Percy, I realize that you didn’t need me in your life. You’ve had someone who has made you far happier than I ever could.”
He turned to Peggy. “I’m very glad she had you.”
Peggy smiled. “Me too, Frank. We were a good pair, me and her.”
A gust of wind blew, and Frank started to pull himself up from the bench. Libby stood up to help him.
“Are you coming too, Peggy?”
“Nah, I’m going to stay here a bit longer, love. I want to say good-bye to Percy before I leave.”
“Well, thank you again,” Frank said to her. “After all theseyears, it’s good to finally know what happened to my girl on the 88 bus.”
“She’ll love this, you know,” Peggy said. “She’ll be out there right now, chuckling away to herself about the daft old bugger who spent sixty years looking for her. She was a romantic at heart, even though she’d never admit it.”
“Well, I’m glad I got the chance to make her laugh again,” Frank said. “Her and Jack.”
He nodded good-bye to Peggy and then turned, leaning heavily on Libby’s arm.
“You know, I’ve always loved the name Jack,” he said as they moved away from the bench.
“He was named after Percy’s favorite writer,” Peggy called from behind them. “I can never remember the man’s name. Jack Ker-oo-ic or something like that.”
Frank looked at Libby, a smile spreading across his face. “Jack Kerouac. Of course.”
