He had grown since I last saw him- he had filled out, maybe even grown a few inches, but that is unlikely. What is likely, however, is that since I had not seen him in so long, it merely appeared to me that he had changed so much that he was beyond recognition. And recognize him I had not, and for this I felt guilty. When I had last seen Pip he had been only two-and-twenty, on the brink of becoming a proper gentleman. Now, in his sophisticated grey suit, at what I guessed to be about five-and-thirty years of age, he was the very image of gentility. I could not believe my eyes; he had grown so over the years!
But had it really been all that long? The years had passed by so quickly that I knew not what to make of it. I had not seen Pip since that day, thirteen years prior to our encounter, when he and I had disagreed over my relationship with a certain Mr. Bentley Drummle. (Ah, how I regret ever knowing that man now!) After accompanying Mrs. Brandley, her daughter, and myself back to the house at Richmond, he left, and I never saw him again. Rather, I never saw him again until that day last week when we happened upon each other in the tailor's shop.
The tailor saved us from the slightly awkward silence, asking for his payment so that he could attend to other customers. When I moved to retrieve the money from my purse, Pip shooed my hand away, saying that he would take care of it. As if emphasizing his words, he pulled out his wallet, set the money down before the tailor, picked up my dress, and ushered me out of the shop.
"Miss Havisham did not tell you that you must pay from your own purse this time, did she?" It was only then that I regained control of my tongue and dismissed my speechlessness with a sad laugh.
"No, she did no such thing. My puppet strings were cut long ago, Pip." He smiled when I used his name, just as he had when I had first used it. I frowned for a moment when the memory of that day was slow to come back to me, but quickly shook the look from my face and smiled right back. I do not quite remember why I asked him what I did next, but whatever my reasons were they must have made sense at the time.
"Pip, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?" The smile that still lingered on his face increased tenfold, and he nodded eagerly. He proffered his arm to me, and, without even realizing what I was doing, I slipped my arm through his. Together we walked through the icy streets, headed to Satis House.
(c) 2000 Liz D.