Chapter 5 Together Apart

It has been two years and no one on campus didn't know that Marcia and Jullian were an item. One was never seen without the other, and if they were, the other would not be very far away, either by distance or time, because they would eventually run into each other within minutes.

The only exception was when they were attending their separate classes on campus. Outside of that, they were always together.

This used to be a problem for Steve, the president of the wine-tasting club, but now, it was standard that everyone in the club knew that they had one unofficial member – Jullian.

Jullian's ability for wine tasting and the concise comments, feedback, and recommendations he gave to the club members and guests who attended the club's events had earned him the appreciation of Steve and the other club members.

The wine-tasting club was having a small gathering outside the campus grounds, and Jullian, as usual, was in attendance. He was seated beside Marcia, fingering his glass of beer. June, Marcia's friend, was sitting on Jullian's left, while Marcia was seated on his right.

June, fully aware that Jullian and Marcia were an item, was never seated far from Jullian during club events, or in fact, any time she met with him.

Today was no exception.

"Well, everyone! Welcome, welcome!" Steve announced, standing at the head of a table laden with a great selection of cheese, meats, and other finger foods; and of course, wines.

Gesturing to his left and right, Steve continued, "Myself and the rest of the executive team were retiring today since our graduation was coming up next week. So, this evening, we were going to hand over the club to the next generation, as it were; and I would like to say a very big congratulations to you, June, and to you, Marcia."

Applause broke out at the table, glasses were lifted, and cheers were shouted out, with wine glasses clinking, celebrating Marcia's ascension to Wine-Tasting Club President and June's ascension to the Wine-Tasting Club Secretary.

Jullian clapped slowly, his enthusiasm measured but sincere, joining the others without the fanfare of exaggerated movements. He gave a rare hug to June, who jumped excitedly beside him, her hand on his arm, her face lit with happiness at the announcement. And he gave an even rarer hug to Marcia, who had just finished shaking hands around the table.

"Speech, speech, speech!" The crowd chanted.

Marcia stood up shyly and said, "Well, everyone, thank you so much. You know, I'm not good with speeches, and I know that I have all of you here to support, and June, I'm sure, will be excellent at – "

"Well, it's a great opportunity and a great pleasure to be the Secretary of the Wine-Tasting Club! I will..." June interrupted, launching into a full acceptance speech that lasted for another fifteen minutes, laying out the plans for both the secretary and president positions in the new regime.

Everyone sat back with smiles on their faces, listening to June while sipping their drinks. Marcia as well, who didn't mind June taking over the speech-making; in fact, she was grateful for it.

She had never been good at making speeches and was never one for standing out solo; being part of a group on stage was one thing, but standing there alone was not her forte.

As Marcia sipped her drink, Jullian placed a hand over hers under the table and whispered, "You did great, and I know you're going to be an excellent president for this club." His deep voice was very close to her ear.

Marcia flushed, a small, shy smile on her lips, glanced shyly sideways at Jullian, and responded softly, "Thank you, Jullian."

Another two years passed and now, it was graduation day. Jullian was nowhere to be found.

Marcia scanned the crowd, searching for him, unable to find Jullian anywhere.

"Have you seen Jullian today?" she asked June, who was sitting beside her.

"No, I haven't. Have you?" she responded, her voice shaking slightly, as she also looked around.

"No, I don't see him anywhere," Marcia replied anxiously, turning her head left and right, rising slightly in her chair, frantically trying to see over the sea of graduation caps.

The graduation ceremony concluded in what seemed like forever later to Marcia, and she was on her phone, calling Jullian's number. June, right beside her, was doing the same.

"It's not connecting, not even voicemail!"

"It's not going through; my messages are also not delivering. What's going on?!"

"I have no idea what's happening. When was the last time you saw him?"

"I saw him yesterday morning."

"I saw him yesterday in the evening."

"Did he say anything?" "Did something happen?" "What's going on?" They asked each other rapidly, their voices overlapping, "Let's see, let's look around," "Let's check our usual spots, let's go to his usual places."

"Okay, okay, I'll check around the campus," June said; "And I'll check his apartment," Marcia responded. They split up, searching everywhere that Jullian usually went.

By evening, Marcia was on the phone with June, sitting in the middle of her bed, knees pulled up to her chest, cradling the phone against her ear, her voice as miserable as it could be, low and hoarse.

"I don't know," Marcia said into the phone, "I've looked everywhere, I can't find him. He's not answering his phone, he's not at his apartment – he's not anywhere. He's just...gone."

"It's okay," June responded, her voice cracking; it was obvious that she had been crying or was currently crying silently. "I'm sure...I'm sure he'll turn up tomorrow; perhaps tomorrow we'll find him. I'm sure he'll turn up."

"Okay, June. Thank you, and please don't worry. Everything will be fine. I'm sure everything is fine." Marcia said. Honestly, the last thing she wanted to do was to try and comfort anyone. She was feeling a lot of frustration and pain and had no energy to support anyone else's feelings.

"Okay," June said softly, "You rest up...rest too. I'm sure tomorrow, tomorrow we'll find him...tomorrow." June said, her voice drifting off as she ended the call.