Chapter Two: And Autumn Became Spring
Jack didn't understand what was happening. Samantha, one of his subordinates, had just invited him into her home and he had agreed. His family was waiting for himbut he was sitting on Sam's couch with a coffee in his hands and he didn't want to be anywhere else.
Was that right?
They weren't doing anything wrong; it was a tough case that ended with a corpse. The woman was dead even before they were called. Three days of useless investigations and then the trip to Albany that had lead to the macabre discovery.
Bad day, very bad day.
At home Maria was preparing Hanna's 6th birthday party and she needed his help but he wasn't in the mood for smiles, festoonsand cakes. Sam had offered him a way to provide some distance from the day events and he had desperately needed it.
Samantha had made her decision. It was time to trust men again, this particular man whom she had grown to know during the previous year. Jack was married, she was safe.
He wasn't looking for a physical relationship, otherwise he would have made it clear before.
She had let him into her private life, now the ball was in his court.
When he arrived home, Maria was angry; he failed her another time. He was tired of their continuous arguments; she seemed not to understand that he didn't have a 9 to 5 job.
He had always separated his work from his family, and now after years, he couldn't ask his wife to understand that his job left a chip on his shoulders he couldn't shake off alone anymore.
Every day at work was harder and going home without being able to close off his mind was becoming impossible. Some nights he stayed at the office just to avoid another fight.
It was during one of these nights that Samantha invited herself into his office with a pizza and two sodas. 'Don't look at me as if I'm crazy. You have to eat something, so do I, so why should we eat alone?'
It soon became a normal routine when he stayed at the office. The rules were no work, no family, only the two of them. Samantha seemed to be the only one who could ease his pain, they could connect. He was able to read through her façade and she could sense his deep loneliness and understand his desire for perfection in his life and the inevitable sense of failure resulting from it.
Vivian had always helped Jack with his wife, knowing how difficult it could be having a family in their job, but lately she was less available. She knew Jack from their beginning at the FBI's missing person unit and was worried: something wasn't right because Jack spoke about his daughters but she didn't remember him mentioning Maria.
When she heard Jack call the young woman Sam, Vivian decided she had to talk with him.
"Jack, is there something wrong at home? You know, we are friends".
"It's nothing. Just a misunderstanding. But, thanks, Viv. By the way, I am on call this weekend, so enjoy your family". He left without waiting for an answer.