Chapter 10 — Jack

It had been nearly two years since Jack had been home, and in that time he had almost forgotten what it was like in the Roberts house when his mother was planning something.

Whether it was a holiday meal, a birthday party, a day trip—or, in this case, a simple dinner for family and a handful of friends—she could be counted on to make it her number one priority.

Which meant that anyone else who happened to be in or around the house at any time during the day of the event was expected to make it their number one priority, too.

“Jack,” she called from the kitchen. “Are you finished vacuuming in there yet? Your father isn’t back and I could use some help setting the table.”

“Your timing is impeccable,” he answered, unplugging the vacuum cleaner and winding the cord. “I just finished. I’ll be able to help in a second.”

“Do try to hurry, dear. Our guests will be arriving any minute and I want everything to be just—”

“Just perfect,” he answered, grinning in spite of himself. “I know, Mom. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

She shot him a look that was a mix between grateful and annoyed as he grabbed a stack of plates from the cabinet.

“Oh, not those, dear.” She pointed toward the china cabinet in the corner. “Go and get the nice ones, please. You know your aunt Judy will turn up her nose at anything less than the good china.”

“Aunt Judy is coming, too?” He put the everyday plates away and walked over to the china cabinet. “Who else?”

She sighed and wiped her hands on her apron as she turned to watch him—no doubt watching to make sure everything was exactly the way she liked. “There’s me, your dad, you, Aunt Judy, Uncle Bill, and your friend Calvin. Six of us.”

Jack wasn’t sure if he should feel relieved or more anxious that it would be a small group. It would be easier to talk and spend time with fewer people, but that also meant more time with Calvin.

Which wasn’t a bad thing. But it was different than the time they’d spent together up to that point.

It was easier to keep things professional and stay focused on work when they were actually at work. But now, having dinner in the house Jack grew up in—especially with Jack’s parents sitting right there—it was probably going to feel a lot more like old times.

A lot more personal.

A lot more intimate.

“Have you heard from Calvin yet today, dear?” Bea asked, interrupting his thoughts and reading his mind all at the same time. “I do hope you didn’t put him on the spot when you asked him over.”

Jack grunted. “You told me to invite him—but no, I haven’t heard from him yet today, and he didn’t seem like he was being put on the spot about it yesterday.”

Did he?

Well… maybe a little on the spot.

But there were only so many ways to invite someone to dinner without just coming out and asking.

Jack was pretty sure they had both handled it about as well as could be expected.

“Oh, good.” She crossed the kitchen and joined him in the dining room as he finished putting the plates on the table. “It’s just that I know how excited you both are to be working together on this little project, and… well, I just think it’s a shame that you haven’t spoken to each other more often over the years.”

Jack took a deep breath, unsure how to respond to that. It was a shame they hadn’t kept in touch, but… there was still a lot there for Jack to unpack, still a lot of conflicted feelings to sift through.

Up until now, he hadn’t been ready to think about their past or those feelings. He’d had other things on his mind—things like pursuing his career and adjusting to life in Boston.

Not to mention the fact that he had also fit in a couple of relationships and an engagement in that time.

“People drift apart sometimes,” he said, finally. “But I think deep down, we’ll always be in each other’s lives in some way. We have too much history to just let it all go.”

“I think so, too.” She walked over and patted him on the arm. “It’ll be nice having you both here under the same roof again. I always thought of him as a part of the family back then, and even more since his parents moved away to Florida a few years ago.”

Jack nodded. “I think it’ll be nice, too.”

And hopefully not too awkward.

The sound of the doorbell made both of their heads jerk that direction.

“Oh goodness,” she frowned and checked the time on her watch. “That will probably be Calvin now—always so punctual. And your father isn’t even back yet. Be a dear and stall for me, Jack. Answer the door and keep him entertained for a few more minutes.”

She waved him toward the door and hurried back into the kitchen.

Keep him entertained?

What did that even mean?

And Jack already knew that a few minutes in Bea Roberts time could be anywhere from an actual few minutes to an hour or more.

Every bit of anxiety he’d almost succeeded in getting over came back with a vengeance as he walked the short distance through the living room to the front door.

Entertain him… entertain him…

Jack hesitated as he reached for the doorknob. He closed his eyes and counted to three, then back to zero again.

Okay.

Right.

He could do this. It was just dinner, just Calvin, just the guy he’d known all his life.

No pressure.

He opened his eyes again and turned the knob, putting on what he hoped was a winning smile as he swung the door wide.

And then Calvin was standing there in front of him, looking every bit as nervous as Jack felt but trying to smile through it, too. Beneath the nerves, though, there was something else. The light from the setting sun made Calvin’s eyes sparkle in a way that Jack had forgotten about over the years.

Those eyes that were always somehow mysterious and totally vulnerable at the same time, so easy to read but with a depth that never failed to make Jack wonder what else was going on in Calvin’s head.

“Hey,” Calvin said, thrusting a bottle of wine into Jack’s hands. “I, um, brought that for dinner. I wasn’t sure if—”

“It’s great,” Jack said, cutting him off and giving another, more genuine smile. “I’m pretty sure my mom loves this kind.”

Jack wasn’t entirely sure if it was true, but it was good to have something else to focus on besides the way he had almost gotten lost looking into Calvin’s eyes.

And yeah, favorite or not, wine was going to help.

It would help with the awkwardness.

It would help with the memories.

It would help keep Jack from staring too long into those sparkling green eyes.

Hopefully.

Jack sat back in his chair and watched as his aunt raised her wine glass.

“This wine is absolutely delicious, Bea,” she said before taking another sip. “You’ll have to tell me what kind it was again later.”

“It is delicious, isn’t it?” Jack’s mom nodded in agreement. “And it’s thanks to Calvin that we have it tonight. He was sweet enough to bring it for us.”

“Then you will have to tell me about it later,” Aunt Judy said, winking at Calvin. “It goes perfectly with the lasagna. And I didn’t think it was impossible to improve on my sister’s lasagna, so that’s saying a lot.”

Jack could see the color rising in Calvin’s cheeks as everyone turned and murmured their appreciation.

“It was nothing, really,” Calvin said, taking a large sip from his own glass. “I think Moscato goes with everything, so it was really just luck that it ended up being a good choice.”

“Calvin has always had good taste,” Jack said, lifting his glass and nodding toward his friend. “Even back in school, he just knew what was good—food, drinks, clothes, music, whatever.”

“I’m pretty sure I got most of my ideas about good food and good music from you,” Calvin said, the pink color spreading from his cheeks down to his throat as he turned his gaze to Jack. “Clothes, though… yeah, I’ll take credit for that.”

Jack’s dad cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention back to the other end of the table as he placed a hand over Bea’s and beamed. “I’m so glad you could all join us tonight.” He lifted his glass with his other hand and looked around the table. “Everyone here is either family or like family to us, and Bea and I truly hope that it doesn’t take another decade before we’re all able to share a meal together again.”

It was hard to believe it really had been ten years since they had all been together at the same time. Jack’s aunt and uncle used to be regular fixtures around the dinner table, and Calvin—well, he and Calvin used to be inseparable.

Bea shook her head and smiled at everyone before looking directly at Jack. “We’re not going to let that happen again, are we? I think we can all make more of an effort to take some time and appreciate each other’s company.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Jack said, turning his attention from his parents back to Calvin. “I know I can make more of an effort.”

“We all can,” Calvin agreed, nodding. “And I’m really thankful you all invited me over tonight. It really is starting to feel like old times.”

Old times.

Good times.

It really was starting to feel that way.

If it hadn’t been for that kiss… but it was impossible to pretend like it hadn’t happened.

Like it hadn’t changed everything.

Like it hadn’t made Jack question everything he thought he had known.

“Old times,” Jack repeated. “Yeah… it almost does feel that way.”

Almost.