Author's note: all usual disclaimers apply. Apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
"Are you sure Sir? It's a big step," Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers asked her boss. They were walking back to his car after a few Friday drinks when he dropped his bombshell.
"It's time Barbara. I need to start living my life forward, not backwards. I really need to be more Tommy Lynley, whoever he is, and less Lord Asherton. This will help."
"But the south of the river? Have you ever been there?"
"Of course I have," he grumbled indignantly, "I want a change and Southwark suits me."
"You're selling your house in one of the best streets in one of the best suburbs in London to buy a flat less than half the size miles away from everything you know, in an area that twenty years ago even I wouldn't've been seen dead in. You don't think that's a bit drastic?"
"It's an apartment. Wait until you see it. It's bigger than you imagine and I can live a more normal life."
"But it's not normal for you Sir!"
"Stop sounding so dramatic Havers. I'm selling my house and if it doesn't work out I will buy a new one back in an area more befitting your view of my place in society. Until then I will live my own life." Barbara made a grunting, disapproving sound but said nothing. "So will you help me pack or not?"
"Has something happened to your estate?" she asked suspiciously.
"No," Tommy frowned, "why would you think that?"
"Because people like you pay people to pack for them."
Tommy laughed and put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her affectionately. "I will for most things, but some things I need to do myself. I am downsizing remember. I'll drive you home."
They had reached his car and Barbara was tempted to say she would catch the tube but if she was going to spend two days packing the least he could do was drive her home. "Ok thanks."
It was a little after eight o'clock when Barbara knocked on his door. She would miss this place in an odd way. It was not that she spent much time there but it always seemed 'him'. She had dressed in old jeans and a comfortable shirt and she wondered if he would pack in designer jeans and those figure hugging jumpers he seemed to favour lately. When he opened the door she almost laughed. Lord Asherton was in a tight tee-shirt and faded tracksuit pants that had seen better days. For once in his life he looked ordinary. "Hiya. Havers' Packing at your service."
"Thanks for coming over Barbara, I'm in the library sorting my books."
They spent the morning packing books into cardboard boxes. They chatted generally about some of the titles and some of their shared history, usually prompted by Tommy saying 'I bought this after the such and such case'. Barbara was not one to enjoy this type of work but she barely noticed as she ran around looking for a book just the right size to fit into a space in a box or held the box together while he used the tape machine to apply a smooth line of brown packing tape across the box seam. She could not manage the tape with the same efficiency and ended up losing the end or breaking it or having it crinkle. As Tommy did all the lifting and stacking she was unceremoniously assigned to sizing duty and began to understand she was there more to keep him company than to work.
He made sandwiches for lunch, which they washed down with a cold beer. "Kitchen next," he declared as he washed and dried the plates. Barbara groaned inwardly but tried to smile hoping it did not look like too much of a grimace.
They pulled the contents of each cupboard out and sorted them into three piles - charity, Howenstowe, Southwark - then began to pack them accordingly. It amused Barbara that Tommy had colour-coded boxes. "An old trick my packer suggested. Makes it easier though don't you think?"
"Yeah, but most people don't have two destinations."
The donations were packed loosely but they took great care with the fine china and Irish crystal that he was shipping home. Tommy wrapped every piece in crisp, white butcher's paper and then in bubble wrap which Barbara was cutting from a long roll into suitable sizes. Every so often she would become distracted as she watched him pack and begin to squeeze the bubbles until there was a satisfying staccato of pops.
"Stop wasting my bubbles please," Tommy rebuked with a smile.
"Or what?"
Tommy grabbed her wrists and quickly wrapped a single line of tape around them. "Next question?"
"Sir! This is wrongful imprisonment!" She struggled to free herself and lost her footing. Tommy caught her as she fell and they both tumbled onto the roll of bubble wrap. His arms were around her and their faces were level. Barbara stopped struggling and waited, unsure how to react and not wanting to end the contact too soon. Tommy moved and his elbow started popping the bubble wrap. They both started to laugh and as they scrambled to their feet the bursts of noise reminded Barbara of Western shootouts. Barbara used her teeth to tear the tape off her wrists while Tommy stood watching. He seemed different today. He was much more relaxed and happy. Maybe this move would be good for him after all.
For the next hour they talked about life and London as they worked their way through the cupboards. Barbara's face darkened with embarrassment when he pulled out the coffee mugs she had given him as a wedding present. He smiled and went to put them in the box for his apartment. "No don't Sir. Give them to charity or throw them away. They're horrible."
Tommy looked confused. "But you gave them to us."
Barbara looked down. "I'm sorry but I was being petty and bitchy. Don't keep them."
She looked up to see him raise his eyebrow questioningly. She sighed. "I was angry at Helen for the way she was treating you. Who comes home from their honeymoon and leaves their husband alone and bored so that he follows his work partner around for something to do? I knew she would think they were tacky and horrid and typically me. She never thought I had the right breeding and I knew our closeness at work annoyed her. I thought she would want to throw them away but that you would stop her. In a way I wanted to reinforce that my bond with you was not going to be broken by your marriage."
Tommy's brow moved up and down. Barbara thought he was going to be angry. "Like I said it was stupid and petty."
"Hmm, but I was no better. Helen did want to throw them out and it did annoy her that I kept them. I think I wanted to make her a bit...I don't know, jealous, even angry. Helen stopped treating me as her friend once we married and she barely told me anything that was going on in her head and she never asked about my feelings. She kept blaming work for the distance between us but she stopped talking to me as a friend. Once a upon a time we could have discussed anything but we could never talk about us. Remember when I was shocked about the baby? We had never even discussed having a baby. She just showed me the twelve week scan and expected me to suddenly be happy."
Barbara could see Tommy was becoming agitated. "Hey, stop it Sir. I'm sorry. Like I said it was petty of me."
"We should have decided that together. She should have wanted me at the scan to share the excitement. She made me feel like an accessory in my own marriage."
"Don't think of that Sir. Think of the good times. You were happy when she came back."
"Was I? Ego is a terrible flaw Barbara."
Barbara took the cups and placed them in the charity box. "I'll buy you some proper ones. You don't want these to remind you of me in years to come."
"How can you even think that?"
"What?"
"That I'll need something to remind me of you. Firstly you'll still be in my life and secondly I think of you throughout every day. That habit won't change." As she looked at him his expression became dark and intense. Barbara felt her face flush and she had to look away.
"Bathroom break," she squeaked then headed for the sanctuary of his powder room.
When she returned he was packing again. He looked up and smiled but the tension between was gone. They packed and chatted about safer topics until it was almost time to eat. "Fancy a drink and dinner?" Tommy asked.
"Dressed like this? Maybe takeaway."
"Indian? There is a great place near my new apartment. We could pick some up and I can show you my new abode."
Barbara agreed readily. The drive was quicker than she thought and he was right, the Indian restaurant was very authentic with mouth-watering aromas wafting from the shop. She sat in the car with the bags between her knees as Tommy raced into the off licence for a few tins of beer. As they pulled away from the kerb Tommy caught her by surprise. "Barbara, there's a blindfold in the glove box. Would you mind putting it on?"
