An Accidental Reunion

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Today was a day of crossed wires and crossed paths. Dramatis Personae: Your narrator, Alan, Irene, Pete and Arthur. The task of Pete's visiting Alan at the care home was, on paper, straightforward: Pete up from London to visit his daughter in Liverpool for a few days over his birthday, with a day-trip down from there to here to hook up with Irene and me at Bangor Station, and thence to be dropped off, taxied or bussed to the care-home on the island, afterwards to be picked up by me and for the three of us to get a bite to eat somewhere. Simples.

It all seemed to be going swimmingly: Irene & I arrived in apparently good time, so did a bit of shopping and hied back to the station to meet Pete's train; which duly arrived, disembarked and left, and with no sign of Pete. Thinking he might be stuck in Chester, having missed a connection or some such, I rang to find he was waiting in Café Nero in Bangor itself, having arrived a full hour before - we had somehow completely got his arrival-time arse about face between us - he, also under the impression that Arthur was picking him up from the station, in order to meet the two of us at the care home. Heretofore unawares of said such arrangement, Arthur had already settled down to a day to himself and a good book.

Arthur, suggested to Pete that he head to the café, and the four of us eventually ended up there for coffee and a jangle, before the three of them headed over to the care home for the visit: I had stuff on back home, so arranged to meet up with them afterwards. Around mid-afternoon, the four of us decamped for a light meal at the Tap, by the pier in Bangor. However, the confusion of the day was more than compensated for by the unexpected reunion of Irene, Alan, Pete and Arthur for a couple of hours, after many fragmented years of separation: and it was good from my point of view to catch up with 'em too.

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