Jamie spent the rest of the day driving upstate. He had no particular destination in mind; he had just needed to get out of the city. He drove for hours, eventually stopping at a lookout near the Bear Mountain Bridge. It was such a gorgeous day -undoubtedly a courtesy gift of global warming- he sadly mused to himself.
His thoughts kept returning to Eddie sitting on that bench in running attire. He wasn't sure why it had bothered him so deeply. It was just a run. But part of him felt like it was a window into her 'new' life with Doug. The fact that Jamie had asked her a number of times to join him on a run up the High Line just added some extra sting to the situation. Of course he wanted her to be happy. He had just always assumed that it would eventually be with him. But he'd waited too long for life to realigned itself on his behalf. And she'd moved on.
Looking out at the Hudson, he sighed deeply. He bent to pick up a nearby rock and slung it sidearm out over the guardrail. He turned and walked back towards his car to continue his drive.
The sun was setting by the time Jamie crossed the bridge back into Brooklyn Heights. He was all too aware that the long drive had done little to get his mind off Eddie. So in true Reagan fashion, he turned to his family in his time of need.
As he parked his car, he pulled his phone from the console.
"Hey, kid. What's up?" Danny answered.
"Not much. I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up for some drinks. I think I owe you a round." Jamie attempted to sound cheerful.
"Yeah well, me and the boys were just about to put up the tree…"
"Oh, gotcha. Another time then," Jamie replied.
Lowering his voice, Danny answered, "But seeing as how this is gonna be the first time doing this without Linda, I got a feeling I'm gonna need a few afterwards." He cleared his throat quietly. "You get started without me. I'll meet up with you in a little while. The Fireside?"
"Yeah,The Fireside works. I'll see you over there. Hang in there, Danny. She's with you…"
"Thanks, kid. See you in a bit."
Danny waded through the packed bar looking for his little brother. He was normally perched on a stool at the bar top, but Danny didn't see him there. He pushed towards the back of the room, turning sideways to squeeze through the crowd. That's when he saw him. In the back corner, Jamie was sitting on a tall chair with his back against the wall and Eddie was standing between his knees and was pressed against him, chest to chest. Danny's eyes followed her blonde waves cascading down her back and watched Jamie slide his hands from her tiny waist down into the back pockets of her jeans. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and were working their way up into his hair. You gotta be kidding me, Danny thought. Everyone assumed Jamie and his partner were more than just friends, but this blatant display of affection was ridiculous. They'd better have already requested a transfer that I don't know about, he thought. It wasn't until she pulled her lips off Jamie, that Danny realized that the woman in Jamie's arms...wasn't Eddie.
Danny cleared his throat loudly. "Sorry to interrupt…"
Jamie peered around the girl's shoulder to see his brother standing there with his arms crossed. "Danny!" he shouted loudly.
And with just that one word, Danny could tell how far gone Jamie was.
"This is my big brother Danny!" Jamie called out to the girl who had now turned around and scooted sideways up onto Jamie's lap. She hung one arm lazily around his neck and was fingering a button near Jamie's collar with the other.
Without looking up, she answered, "Nice to meet you…" and then dipped her head to nibble on Jamie's ear.
Danny raised his eyebrows at his brother. "New friend of yours?" he smirked.
"Yeah, this is Christie" Jamie said.
"Crystal…" she corrected him between kisses on his neck.
"Uh, sorry. This is Crystal," he said with a chuckle.
"Well, Crystal… while you seem like you're...great company, I think I'm gonna need a few minutes alone with our boy here." Danny said with a sarcastic wrinkle of his nose.
"But I thought you were going to show me your handcuffs later…" she pouted seductively, batting her lashes at Jamie.
Danny swallowed a laugh and gently guided her off his brother's lap and towards a nearby waitress. "Would you mind getting her a glass of water, please?" Then turning back to Jamie, "Alright, lover boy, get your coat. Let's go."
"What? No, let me buy you a drink!" Jamie protested.
"I think you've had enough for the both of us. Come on. You can buy me a cup of coffee across the street."
