‘And her sister Fi has to be somewhere, though I always felt she disapproved of us,’ I said.
Ally nodded. ‘The original Queen Green. Remember we used to call her that? She was always off on marches, ahead of her time when it came to the environment and global warming.’
‘She thought we were all boy-mad and shallow,’ said Ally.
I laughed. ‘We probably were.’
‘Mitch’s dad disapproved of us too,’ said Jo. ‘He was so strict; Mitch was always in trouble with him. Remember? Mitch used to say that when he went out, it was like the whole house sighed with relief, spared a few hours of his criticism. We rarely had our sleepovers at hers because it was never comfortable there. I wonder what her dad made of her joining a commune.’
‘Probably same as us,’ I said. ‘Disbelief. Of the four of us, I would have said she would have been the least likely to choose that path. She loved life so much and she liked men. It sounded as if she’d moved into a monastery, the people who lived in those houses—’
‘Communes,’ said Jo.
‘They were celibate.’
‘I can’t imagine why Mitch would choose that way to live,’ said Jo. ‘Wasn’t there some guy she hooked up with? I can’t remember his name but I remember her telling me about someone she really liked.’
‘A musician,’ said Ally. ‘John, or Jake, something like that. Yeah, she was really into him, then suddenly never spoke of him, so I assumed it hadn’t come to anything. What happened to him? I’d love to know, and if he had anything to do with her going into the Rainbow commune.’
‘I looked for her on Facebook too,’ I said, ‘but couldn’t see her on there, but of course, she might have changed her name too. People who joined the Rajneesh group got new names, so maybe people in her group did too.’
‘She could be living in India or Australia for all we know,’ said Jo. ‘I always thought she’d do something interesting. She was never one to settle for a life of routine.’
‘Something different, that would be for sure,’ said Ally. ‘She was never going to go the boring way so – a farm in the Masai Mara? A palace in India? She could be anywhere, and now we’re all here and actually talking about her, I can’t believe we’ve let it go so long. Let’s try and find her. We have to.’
‘Fantastic,’ I said. ‘I hoped you’d say that.’
‘But not for your TV programme,’ said Ally. ‘That’s not for me.’
‘Nor me,’ said Jo. ‘I don’t need time to think about it.’
‘Please, don’t decide just yet,’ I said. ‘There might not even be a story there to tell because we might not find Mitch, but then again, there might be.’
‘We’ve nothing to lose by starting to look for her ourselves,’ said Jo. ‘I’d like that.’
Ally nodded. ‘Me too.’
‘OK,’ said Jo. ‘I’ll start by looking for her parents’ address in Manchester. I’ve still got relatives up there and I’m sure one of them would find the house if I give them directions and tell them which road it’s on.’
‘And my sister Susan used to hang out with Mitch’s sister, Fi. She might know where she is. If we could find Fi, she’s bound to know where Mitch is,’ said Ally.
‘Sounds like a plan,’ I said.
‘So, who have you got for the series so far?’ asked Jo.
I pulled my laptop from my bag, put it on the table and opened the file titled Bus Pass to Love Island.
Ally laughed. ‘Are you going to call it that?’
‘Doubt it. It’s a working title while we see what unfolds. The researchers are still looking at options. Whoever takes part; it has to be someone who has an interesting story to tell. In the meantime, while you both give taking part some thought, we start the search for Mitch.’
‘Deal,’ chorused Ally and Jo.
Chapter Fourteen
Mitch
Spring 1973
Worst year of my life. Didn’t start out that way. Oh no. I’d fallen in love – truly, madly, deeply. Thank God, because my nearest and dearest, Jo, Sara and Ally, had gone to university the previous September and virtually disappeared from my life. After a glorious last summer together, I missed them like hell. OK, yes, there were phone calls and even a few letters as they settled in, and then they all came home for Christmas for a reunion, but it wasn’t like having them around the corner, come rain or shine. Off they went again as soon as the holiday was over. I still had mates, people to hang out with, but not like them. We’d been friends since day one at secondary school and had seen each other through the rollercoaster of teen life until sixth form, then ‘poof’, they were gone.
My plan had been to go to college too, to study dance, but due to faffing about trying to decide which course was best, I’d missed the final date for applications for the place I’d finally decided on. They said I could start the following year, but it meant I had to tread water in the meantime, in Manchester, without my best buddies, working temporary jobs to make some cash. It was hard. I’d always been seen as the cool one, the leader of our group. Suddenly I’d been left behind.
The sense of abandonment didn’t last long because I met Jack Saunders at the Banshee Bar in Deansgate, where his band Black Rose were playing just before the Easter holidays. Up and coming, the Melody Maker said about them, ones to watch. Jack was the bass player, a mane of dark shaggy hair, a lean and muscular physique, black jeans, black T-shirt, sexy as hell. It was love at first sight, or rather lust. I didn’t expect him to notice me, as every other girl in the room was drooling over him, but he did. I was with a friend from work and
