‘ ‘ ‘  Laura, having just completed an errand, was on her way back to the graphics department in which she worked. A meeting she had had to attend had gone easier than expected and she found herself with a while to spare. Heading towards her twenty sixth birthday, she was beginning to feel old. She was naturally shy and, as a result, only quietly attractive.
‘ ‘ ‘  Her walk took her past one of the most up to date fashion stores in Knoxville where a red dress immediately attracted her attention. It was almost identical to the one she had bought and dared to wear at her graduation ceremony at the University of Tennessee almost exactly two years ago. The sight at once put her in a wistful mood – bringing to mind Kenneth.
‘ ‘ ‘  Kenneth, it appears, was the kind of man to see beyond the lack of make-up and see her as beautiful – or so he professed. Laura, tall and slim, kept her auburn hair in a bun and any returned smile would almost certainly be a shy one. The sight of the dress brought back vivid memories. What had happened? There was nothing to explain his sudden disappearance. Kenneth had stepped into her life suddenly. She had noticed him from time to time as she moved about the campus but, being naturally shy, had never got to know him.
‘ ‘ ‘ 
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œNow that dress does something for you,’ had been his opening remark. It had thrown her immediately into a little confusion and she had not even answered, her heartbeat having gone a little awry but that had not deterred Kenneth from continuing:
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œMy name’™s Kenneth, what’™s yours?’
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œLaura.’
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œNice name. Pity we meet so late in our stay here. What’™s your major?’
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œArchitecture and Graphic Design.’ She so much wanted to talk freely to this newly met man who bore himself with such unassuming confidence but Laura had found it impossible to fight her inner-borne reticence. She was tongue-tied and couldn’™t think of a thing to say. Silently she had simply studied him.
‘ ‘ ‘  He radiated a confidence which made up for his lack of good looks. His nose was a bit big she thought and his ears tended to project but these few oddities Laura noted with an inner smile. She smiled again now, looking at the dress and remembering. Kenneth had’  a fine body, was tall and stood very straight.’  ‘œWhat caused him to drop out from my life ‘“ without even a goodbye?’, she wondered.’  She was sure then that there was going to be a continuation.
‘ ‘ ‘  The shine that had come to her eyes when she first saw the dress began to fade as she looked at her reflection in the glass. A trick of light gave the glass a mirror-like quality and her expression, she thought, suited an overcast sky. In the reflected street scene behind her a man passed walking at a brisk pace.
‘ ‘ ‘  Astonishment, disbelief and shock followed one upon the other in rapid succession as she turned to stare at the man’™s receding back. ‘œKen!’ She caught herself as she began to shout out the name. He had Ken’™s gait and build ‘“ his confident carriage. ‘œIt must be,’ she said to herself as she forgot the dress and began to follow him.
‘ ‘ ‘  Laura found that she had almost to run to keep up with his pace, a thing she was loathe to do even though the main-street was only lightly populated that early afternoon. It would never do to attract attention to herself.
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œIt must be him,’ she repeated, trying to keep up yet remain unobtrusive. Other memories began to flood as she walked. She remembered him asking: ‘œKnow the song Laura?’
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œOh yes. In fact I love the song. It’™s one of the hits.’
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œYou remind me of that Laura.’
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œIn what way?’
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œWell, you’™ve been here all this time yet so unreal.’
‘ ‘ ‘  Kenneth’™s words had moved her deeply and she had clung to them in a hope that was too sudden to be real.
‘ ‘ ‘  The days of that last week at the University had flown as if blown away by a scented wind. Now it seemed as if they had never been. It was something Laura just could not get used to. In her fast walk, she began reminiscing on the words of the song:
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œLaura, is a face in the misty night’¦’
‘ ‘ ‘  He had actually sung the song to her in a strong and pleasant voice. Kenneth had a voice that must have had much practice. Perhaps he had sung in a choir she had thought at the time but had never got around to asking him.
‘ ‘ ‘  Laura, following at a pace much faster than she was accustomed to,’  began to feel quite foolish and a’  dilemma’  to set in. She would look an awful fool if he turned out to be a complete stranger. And if it was Ken and something happened to make him change his mind about her ‘“ even a bigger fool! She became hesitant then, doubting, actually slowed her walk a little. The song began to take on a certain reality:
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œFootsteps that you hear down the hall’¦.’
‘ ‘ ‘  Is this the way fate has of dashing hopes?
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œA laugh that floats on a summer sky,
‘ ‘ ‘  That you can never quite recall’¦’
‘ ‘ ‘  It’™s just not fair!
‘ ‘ ‘  She remembered her being with Ken at the country music festival they had both enjoyed so much in the Knoxville Park. It turned out they shared not only a love of music, both light and classic but also a serious approach to life with an added enjoyment of simple pleasures.
‘ ‘ ‘  A sudden feeling of added bravado, aided by hope and a little desperation quickened Laura’™s pace. She began wondering how far down the street he intended to go. So far it had only been about thirty seconds but with her thoughts racing it seemed a lot longer. A few minutes more and Laura would reach her office building. She became disturbed – a chance meeting with a colleague would be doubly embarrassing. She put on a little speed, determined to glimpse the man’™s profile.
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œHello Laura, in an awful hurry? Where?’
‘ ‘ ‘  Laura swung her head in the direction of the voice. It was Margaret. She was shocked into a reality that brought her down to earth with a bump she had never experienced, neither at such a tense time. Too embarrassed to say what she really was doing, Laura stopped but kept glancing at the now distancing figure. She sighed with relief when he turned suddenly into a hairdressing salon that’  she herself used. Laura turned to her colleague and managed a half smile.
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œHello, Margaret. Not really, just returning to the office from an errand.’
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œAnything special about that fellow?’
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œNo. Not really ‘“ that is I’™m not sure ‘¦. I thought perhaps I might know him’¦ doesn’™t really matter.’ More than anything Laura wanted to tell Margaret to mind her own business. But Margaret was one of those busybodies that just have to poke into other’™s affairs and Laura was a little afraid to ignore her.
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œAnd you? Also off on an errand?’ Laura was desperate for a change of subject.
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œNo. Finished an assignment and decided to take a breath of real air instead of that artificial stuff they supply us with in the office.’
‘ ‘ ‘  Laura breathed a small sigh of relief that there wasn’™t another question. ‘œGot to be getting back, Margaret, see you later,’ and without waiting for any further question, began again on her way. Now her heart started to beat a little faster since the man, could it really be Kenneth?’  was in a place where she would be able to see him with less embarrassment.
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œWhy would it be,’ Laura thought to herself, ‘œthat that one week with Kenneth seemed to equate all the years of her life put together? Kenneth and I may have had things in common but, after all, that does not mean I know him that well. Hardly at all, in fact.’
‘ ‘ ‘  He hadn’™t once mentioned his family and she had been shy to ask. They had talked about their studies, their likes, dislikes, politics casual affairs of the day and the university.’  Ken majored in Civil Engineering.
‘ ‘ ‘  In the few moments left to her before she reached the salon and perhaps to lessen any disappointment when the man would turn out to be some stranger, she endeavoured to put some rationale into a subject that suddenly had gone haywire and quite out of control.’
‘ ‘ ‘  She forced upon herself to think of her assignment of making changes to a very handsome home on the outskirts of Knoxville. The owner’™s wife had been so terribly difficult in her demands but it seemed to Laura now that the problems had been mostly overcome.
‘ ‘ ‘  Just as Laura thought she might be drifting back down to earth, as she neared the salon Ken’™s bass voice interrupted her thoughts again singing Laura as he had done that evening after the concert. It now seemed to hold only sadness:
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œLaura in the train that is passing through
‘ ‘ ‘  Those eyes, how familiar they seem’¦’
‘ ‘ ‘  Tears began to flood her eyes but she controlled herself with a severe: ‘œStop it, Laura. How will you look with a tear-stained face in the salon or at work. Stop it ‘“ at once!’ This idea from Alice in Wonderland she often found sometimes useful when things were getting out of hand. She removed a tissue from her bag and began dabbing her eyes gently.
‘ ‘ ‘  Before entering the salon, now only a few steps away, Laura stopped to look at herself in a hand mirror. Her eyes had become a little red. Bracing herself, she pushed, then stepped through the highly polished, brass framed, glass swing door.
‘ ‘ ‘  The salon, a large hall, well decorated and mirrored on two sides, was almost empty it being then a quiet time with most people at work. Only Frank, the owner was in attendance and the one person being attended to was he whom she had been following.
‘ ‘ ‘  Hardly daring to breathe, Laura sat herself as casually as possible in a waiting chair behind the man. She opened her bag and on the pretext of searching for something, hid most of her face from the reflected image. Finally, plucking up a courage she felt she had lost forever, she glanced over her bag with just the top of her eyes feeling sure that both Frank and the stranger would be hearing her heart beat quite clearly.
‘ ‘ ‘  Almost swearing aloud her disappointment, Laura saw the man’™s head was covered with a plastic cap and his face in an exaggerated froth of shaving soap and quite indistinguishable.’ 
‘ ‘ ‘  Laura’™s frustration and excitement were now such that she decided that a visit to the ladies room would be the one and only place of rescue. She rose and quickly walked through the wood-panelled door.
‘ ‘ ‘  She was glad to find herself alone there and at once began to powder her face and reset some straggling strands of hair that had found their way to the wrong places. Again she scolded herself quietly to slow her racing mind.’  A long moment she stood in front of a mirror waiting for a semblance of composure to return. She then made her way to the same chair she had vacated, this time with a tissue partly covering her face.
‘ ‘ ‘  Bracing herself again, Laura glanced over the tissue at what she hoped would now be finally the face of the man opposite.’  The cap still covered the head but his face was clean and clear in the mirror. It was not Kenneth!’  Definitely, definitely not, not, not, not Kenneth!
‘ ‘ ‘  Laura didn’™t know whether to be relieved or sad. ‘œIf only,’ she thought, ‘œI could have a good cry!’’  She felt she was just a lump of something.’  She was not even sure what sort of something she was a lump of. Walking over to Frank she whispered, ‘œSorry Frank just remembered – something important at the office. I’™ll be back some other time,’ and with that, almost ran out of the salon pushing hard at the swing door making it spin.
‘ ‘ ‘  Her office building was just a block on from the salon and Laura began running her eyes streaming uncontrollably. While she ran, the last two lines of the song were with her over and over again taunting, taunting, taunting and not giving her respite. For her then it had indeed been the first time ‘“ that time in the park with Ken:
‘ ‘ ‘  ‘œShe gave her very first kiss to you ‘“
‘ ‘ ‘  That was Laura, but she’™s only a dream.’