A Tale Of Two Cities: Sidney's Second Chance 4

When he'd known her, known them, before, there had been an understanding that he was free to drop by unannounced any time he wanted, with or without an invitation. That arrangement could obviously not still exist. While she'd known Sydney Carton well, she'd only just now met Simon Collins.

Still, his longing to see her again lingered, and the more time passed, the stronger it got. He wondered how often she frequented the beach where they'd met, and whether it would be judicious to return there in hopes of meeting up with her again.

As it turned out, he didn't have to wait very long at all. One evening he was walking home from work when a ball suddenly bounced into his path. He looked for its owner and saw none other than young Sydney Darnay, slightly out of breath from chasing his ball. Simon scooped it up and handed it to the youngster.

"Thank you, sir." The boy's eyes widened with recognition. "Mr. Collins! Good to see you again."

"Nice to see you again as well, Sydney. How are your mother and sister?"

"Fine, thank you. We're all a bit lonely with Papa gone now, but we manage all right. We have each other."

"You're rather young to be the man of the house already. It is truly a pity."

"I think I'm the one who misses Papa the most," Sydney replied. "He used to take me hunting and fishing and play ball with me. Now I've got nobody to do those things with anymore. Lucie used to play ball with me sometimes, but she thinks she's too old now and it wouldn't be ladylike."

"You know, it's really a coincidence," Simon told him. "I've always thought how nice it would be to have a son to take hunting or fishing or to play ball with, but I've never had one."

"I've got an idea!" Sydney's eyes lit up with excitement. "Since you don't have a son, and I don't have a father anymore, maybe we could do those things together!"

"What a lovely idea!" Simon agreed. "We can start whenever you want."

"How about now?" Sydney suggested hopefully. They played ball for a couple of hours, and by then it was getting dark so Sydney had to head back home.

"Would it be all right if I stopped by for just a moment to say hello to your mother and sister?" asked Simon.

Sydney shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

Lucie saw him coming, and her heart skipped a beat. She realized now how familiar his gate, his mannerisms, so many things about him were. But surely it couldn't be the same man. When people died, they stayed dead. They didn't just suddenly reappear in the same place in very similar form a few years later. Did they?

"Lucie!" he called when he saw her, his eyes lighting up. Only the eyes of two men had lit up like that when they saw her: those of Charles, and...his.

"Simon. What a pleasure it is to see you again." She smiled. He saw that it lit up her whole face, just as it always had.

"Mr. Collins said that since Papa's gone, he can be the one to take me hunting and fishing and play ball with me now! Isn't that great?" Sydney exclaimed excitedly.

"Why, that was very nice of him," Lucie replied.

"I'm also more than willing to be of service to yourself and your daughter in every way possible," Simon offered. His warm brown eyes met her blue ones, and in them he thought he saw a glimmer of recognition.

"I'd be much obliged...Simon," she said as she clasped his hand.