A/N: Okay folks! Here it is. My very first fan fic. Ever! Many thanks go to Molly and Caitlin for the in-depth analytical discussion on TL5Y, which ultimately inspired me to write this. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The Last 5 Years belongs to the amazing Jason Robert Brown.
It can't be. Jamie's mind reeled as he stared in shock through the café window.
Can it? He gazed at the exquisite blonde sitting at the table next to the window with an open book in one hand and a coffee cup in the other.
Cathy. Five years later and she still retained that classic beauty Jamie had always loved about her. He hadn't seen her since the day he moved out, that heart-wrenching day he had tried desperately to block out of his mind but to no avail. He hadn't forgotten the pain in her eyes as he said goodbye and walked out of the house that had once been their home. He smiled as he saw her sitting there, happily immersed in the novel in front of her.
It's good to see her happy.
Overwhelmed with memories and emotions he had pushed back to the very back of his heart, Jamie shook his head vigorously to bring himself back to the present. He wanted to walk away, leave before she caught him staring. Don't do this, he thought. Don't bring back all this pain. It's not fair to you…or to her. The day Jamie had moved out of the house he had shared with Cathy was the day he decided to move on with his life and move on quickly. Less than a year after the divorce was finalized, Jamie and Elise got married. Another writer on the rise, Elise understood the very things that Jamie told himself Cathy never could. Elise worked even longer days than Jamie, perfecting and correcting her work at all hours of the night. He often fell asleep to the sounds of her clicking away in the adjacent room she had claimed as her "office." Jamie admired her ambition and took delight in having someone he could share his life's passion with. But what came with having similar goals was a lack of the companionship that, as it turned out, Jamie valued. Its what I wanted, he often thought to himself, repeating all too familiar words.
Jamie paced back and forth by the café, glancing at the window nervously praying that Cathy wouldn't look up. He struggled between the desire to see her again and the impulse to walk away and avoid the agonizing confrontation awaiting him within the café. He had dealt for five years with Cathy's passive attitude and unwillingness to talk; what if she repaid his effort with the same behavior? Jamie wasn't sure his heart could bear it. After stealing another glance of Cathy, calmly sipping from her cup and eyes still focused on the material in front of her, Jamie walked away with his head hung low.
No, he stopped abruptly. You can't walk away from an opportunity like this you don't know when you'll get another one. With trepidations in his heart and a deep breath, Jamie cautiously entered the café and turned to face the woman he never thought he would face again.