Absolution(108)

He checked the rear-view mirror again. Who knew that Jack would turn out to be the one involved in an underground boxing ring? With his own history of ‘misunderstandings’, he was sure that even money would have been on him.

He pulled into his driveway a short time later. The light was just beginning to fade and the streetlights hadn’t yet come on, but Jack had the curtains pulled in the living room. His car was still hidden from sight, around the back of the house. Jack wasn’t taking any chances, and that was worrying in itself. He reached over for the bag of takeout he had picked up on the way home and headed into the house via the back door.

“Honey, I’m home!” he called, pocketing his keys as he closed the door after him.

Jack appeared in the doorway, bleary-eyed.

“Enjoy your nap? I got Chinese food.”

“Great – I’m starving.”

Jack rubbed his short brown hair roughly, making it stand on end even more. Callum grabbed a couple of forks out of the drawer and handed one to him, along with a carton of Chinese food.

“What? No chopsticks?”

“Rule number one: we don’t do chopsticks in this house.”

“That’s right. Sorry,” Jack said, a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.

He grabbed two bottles of beer out of the fridge and handed one to Callum, who eyed it greedily. “Jesus, I deserve that after the day I’ve had.”

“Tough day at the office, dear?”

“Something like that. Dealing with idiots can give a man a healthy thirst.”

“I called Ally earlier. She seemed a little out of sorts,” Jack said, heading into the living room.

“Yeah, I stopped by to see her on my way home from work. Nothing out of place, but she seemed a little down at the mouth. Said she was tired, so I’m sure that’s all it is.”

He collapsed in his favourite armchair, taking a good long swallow of beer as Jack switched on the TV. They sat in comfortable silence while they ate.

The whole situation had a thoroughly surreal vibe running through it. Jack, sitting in his living room, having a beer with him. The last couple of weeks had been a rollercoaster. Tom’s death, Jack’s sudden reappearance and the resulting chaos – not to mention Jack’s revelation of the previous evening – all of it felt completely bizarre. It had thrown him off-kilter, especially hearing about what Jack had been up to in the past year. What the hell was he thinking?

He glanced over at him now, as memories tumbled over him.

The night of the accident. Joking around outside Tom’s house. Jack’s new t-shirt. Discussing how Jack was going to pop the question. His best man speech. Talk of the bachelor party.

Jack throwing punches at Tom’s funeral. Andy McLeish going down in a screaming heap. Cage-fighting. Heavies who travelled in pairs.

Jack and Ally kissing in her backyard.

How the hell did we get from there to here?

Things would never be the way they were – too much water under the bridge for that. But perhaps, despite everything, they could find a middle ground somewhere? He couldn’t help but think that Tom would want them to try. He already knew what Ally wanted.

A couple of beers later, the conversation turned personal.

“Can I ask you something?” Jack lay stretched out on the couch, one arm behind his head, the other holding his beer bottle.

“That’s a loaded question.”

“What happened between you and Jane?”

Callum shrugged. The question was an easy one – the answer, not so much. He took a few moments, mentally tossing things around. “We realised that we weren’t happy.”

“Since when?” Jack frowned. “I mean, things seemed fine before I left.”

“Yes… and no. I could tell then that something was up, but it just seemed easier to leave it alone and pretend everything was okay.”

Jack eyed him over the top of his beer as he took another swig.

“After the accident, everything changed,” Callum said, staring at a spot on the wall. “I spent a lot of time with Ally, and with Tom. Priorities shifted and we both ignored the obvious because it was easier that way.”

“I had no idea,” Jack said. “You never said anything. I thought you guys were solid.”

Callum shrugged, peeling his gaze away from the wall as he took another sip from his bottle. “You had your own stuff going on, if I remember rightly. A little thing called a marriage proposal.”