..never mind 18 months, how about 18 years..
My first true love, we were both 19. Yeah, call it 'lust' 'puppy love' but it was so intense. We were both so into each other. All over after one silly falling out.
Didn't end badly but she went off to Uni, I moved to London, we never lost touch so much as I guess thought it would never be the same, just moved on. I often wondered what happened to her, heard snippets, but at same time it was a kind of unspoken question that never got raised with mutual friends
18 years later I walked into a doctors surgery in another totally unrelated city and there she was.
Her smile, that sparkle, just the same. One of those rare occasions when I was pleased the doctor was running late. We chatted, laughed. She was happy, married, two boys. I was happy, married, two girls, almost the same ages. She was just as I remembered her, all the good times came flooding back.
The tannoy called my name. There was an uneasy silence. "Really good to see you" she said. "You too". We both knew exchanging numbers was not a good idea. One last smile and she was gone.
That was 7 years ago. I occasionally wondered when the next time might be.