"How very near us stand the two vast gulfs of time, the past and the future, in which all things disappear"

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Jake looked one more time at the gold-fringed invitation in his hands and sighed, breath misting the air in front of him. Returning it to his pocket, he looked up at the Edwardian facade of the main faculty building of his alma mater, Holchester University.

10 years already... he thought to himself.

He bundled his hands into his jacket for warmth while he summoned up the courage to ascend the stairs and go in, stamping his feet in the cold November chill.

Eventually, there was nothing for it but to climb and enter. To stay any longer outside would be to invite suspect looks from passersby, or worse, be recognised by one of the other attendees before he was mentally prepared.

Here we go...

The tall double-doors were opened for him before he even set foot on the final step, a white gloved maître d' gesturing him in.

Really? he thought irritably. They're really pushing the boat out. Never had anything like that when we were studying here. I think we slept on these very steps a few times, too wasted to even get to our rooms.

He replayed the thought in his head, analysing it and wondering at the fact he had already lapsed back into using "we" in the privacy of his own head. Well, he had had some good times here. More than that, some important times. Just because his life was now a lot more complicated didn't mean he had to forget that.

The entrance hall hadn't changed much. Even the old chandelier still hung overhead, though he'd be surprised if more than half of the crystals were ones that had hung there in his time. They'd brought out the old pre-Pahlavi Persian rug as well. He remembered seeing it at those events the university needed to give an air of class to, such as fundraisers, and he'd usually only seen it as he rushed by on the way to halls or the bars. He had certainly not known what "pre-Pahlavi" meant back then.

Tonight, though, the hall was crowded with people far older and dressed far finer than the usual crowd that passed through here, for tonight was reunion night. A banner hung overhead;

"Welcome back, graduates of '09 - good to see you again!"

There was something so forlorn about the banner that he smiled to himself. It smacked of a lack of things to say, an ignorance of the very people it was greeting.

It didn't seem to have had an effect on the people below, however, the majority of whom already had a glass of wine or two in their hands and were chatting amongst each other. Jake took one for himself from a tray held by a waiter weaving in and out of the crowd, and drank the whole thing in one gulp. He took another before the waiter moved out of reached.

"Good to see you're already on it too," came a voice from over his shoulder.

Turning around, Jake found himself looking up into the red-cheeked smiling features of Max Gallaher, one of his old partners-in-crime.

"Max, how's it going?"

Jake held out his hand, which Max took and used to bodily pull him in for a shoulder bump.

"Jake! It's been too long man, everyone's been wondering if you'd show. I knew you would, of course, but Paul and Mike weren't so sure. C'mon, I'll show you where we're sitting."

Placing a hand on Jake's shoulder, Max wheeled him around and pushed him through the throng of people towards the main refectory, where row upon row of tables were laid out, a long buffet running along the side of the hall.

Nodding acknowledgement to the occasional calls from people who recognised him as he went by, Jake allowed himself to be guided to where his old friends sat, the other three in the middle of one long row with a number of empty glasses between them.

"Have a seat Jake!" said Max, going around the other side and squeezing himself in between Paul and someone Jake felt he maybe recognised, but not enough to venture a greeting.

Jake sat down next to Mike, who glanced over then did a double-take as he realised who it was.

"Jake!"

Mike and the group raised their glasses and drunkenly cheered the appearance of the 5th member of their old posse, slapping him on the back or reaching over to grab his proffered hand. Not taking any time to speak, Mike passed over a glass filled with red wine to Jake and they cheers-ed, clanging their glasses together and spilling red over the white table cloth, which was already heavily stained.

The group was silent as they necked back their wine, Josh the last to slam his glass down on the table.

"Really? First time we've seen each other in years and we start downing red wine?" said Jake, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his suit.

"Of course!" Max laughed, waving his hand in the general direction of a passing waiter.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he ordered 5 bottles of beer, mumbling an noncommittal response to the waiters request for a brand name and waving him away, then called for the group’s attention.

"Now... now... listen, guys, it's been 10 years since we were all together like this. Let's do it like we used to!"

They cheered again, picking up their empty glasses and knocking them together once more, this time with much more unsteady aim, then trying to drink the dregs within. Mike peered into his empty glass and shouted over the hubbub at a waiter.

"But I've already ordered 5 beers!" said Max, after Mike ordered.

"Did you?" said Mike in surprise, "Well, who cares? The more the better!"

The cheered once more.

It was only then that Jake noticed Paul had not been drinking along with them.

"I stopped drinking a few years back," Paul answered in reply to the groups questioning.

This response led to a resounding chorus of jeers from his old friends.

"It's cool, I can still have a good time. Enjoy yourself gents, don't worry about me."

As Paul was speaking the beers arrived, both waiters arriving at almost exactly the same time and depositing the 10 beers on the table in front of them to great applause.

"I guess we've got a bonus two!" laughed Max as they knocked their drinks together, Paul now joining in with a glass filled with water.

"To good times!" someone said, as the night got underway.