Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Jack smiled at Eric, relief flooding him. “Maybe you could let Lisa know we had this talk. Maybe tell her what you just told me. It might go a ways to helping her see you’re not a bigot after all.”
“You think?” Eric said, his face hopeful.
“I have a feeling the two of you will work things out. If she wasn’t interested, she would just have broken things off, instead of ‘taking a break’ while still talking every night on the phone.
“I’ve found if you can really listen to someone, to what they’re really saying, that’s half the battle. Listen to Lisa. Pay attention. If she feels suffocated by the closeness of the relationship, step back, even if it hurts. Because ultimately, when she no longer feels pressured, if the relationship is right, she will come back to you. She’ll remember the things she loves about you and she’ll give you and the relationship another chance.”
Eric looked thoughtful. “Thanks, Dad.” He stared down at the table and finally up again at Jack. “Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry. I was kind of a jerk.”
Jack grinned. “That’s okay. I’m glad we could talk things through. Now, can you stay for dinner?”
~*~
“So how did the talk go?”
Eric had left soon after dinner, eager to call Lisa. Jack in turn called Will. “It went way better than I expected, actually. Eric’s starting to see reason, thank goodness. His girlfriend told him he was a bigot. He heard her where he didn’t hear me or his brother, I guess. He stayed for dinner. We had spaghetti.”
“I’m glad, Jack.”
“Yeah.” Jack missed Will already, even though they’d only been apart a few hours. It occurred to him the very advice he’d given Eric might apply to his own fledgling relationship. Maybe he was spending too much time with Will. Maybe Will needed a little space, just like Lisa.
The thought was unsettling, even painful. Nevertheless, he decided to test the waters. “I was thinking maybe I’d stay over here tonight.”
“How come?” Will asked.
“I’ve got a job early tomorrow morning, for one thing.”
“Okay,” Will said slowly. “That’s one thing. Is there another thing?” Will’s voice was light too, but Jack sensed the sudden strain in it, which no doubt Will sensed in him as well. Was it always going to be this difficult?
“I don’t know. You might need a break. Maybe you have some things to catch up on.”
There was silence at the other end of the phone. When he finally spoke, Will’s voice was somber, even sad. “Are you having second thoughts, Jack? Is there something I should know about? Did I do something? Is something wrong?”
“No,” Jack responded quickly, his heart aching at the pain in Will’s voice. “It’s just…” He took a breath, and then, determined to be honest, he admitted, “I’m afraid I’m too much. That I’m going to push myself on you and you’ll get tired of me and send me away.”
There was a silence for a beat or two and then Will burst out laughing. “Jack Crawford, are you insane? I’m crazy about you. I’ve been missing you like mad since sixty seconds after you left. I was sitting here, feeling jealous of Eric because he was with you and I wasn’t, wishing I could have come with you, wishing I was more a part of your life.
“I almost called you like six times over the past few hours. I forced myself not to, probably for the same reasons as you—I didn’t want to appear too needy, too grasping. So, no—I can’t imagine sending you away as you so quaintly put it. I want you, Jack. I’m in love with you. I’ve never been happier than in the past few days.”
I’m in love with you.
Jack sat holding the receiver to his ear, the words reverberating in his head. I’m in love with you.
“Jack? Are you there? Jack?”
Jack recognized the magnitude of the gift Will was offering him. A new chance at happiness, when he’d basically resigned himself to a life alone—had even told himself he was content with his lot. He’d raised his family, he had good, steady work, he had his workshop and his garden…
He’d spent his life doing the right thing and trying to keep those around him happy, without regard to the terrible price he’d paid inside. He wasn’t old. He was only forty-four, for heaven’s sake. He had half his life left, waiting for him to seize it, to cherish each moment with a man who loved him.
Will was offering him the chance to live. Even more important than being loved was the chance to love in return. To let himself be vulnerable, to give of himself in every respect, even knowing his lover had the power to take it away.
No, he wouldn’t step back. He wouldn’t hide in his comfortable, quiet tomb of a house, pretending, as Will had called him on it, that he was doing it for Will. He would take the risk, all the risks that falling in love entailed. He would trust Will, and even more importantly he would trust himself.