Chapter 10: Shut Doors

Jack sat stonefaced alone in Pete's apartment. His day had felt like a nightmare, a bad dream flickering from awful scene to awful scene. He was in complete and utter disbelief. The world as he had known it had disintegrated. The strange thing about it was no matter where he searched, he discovered no hope to ever return to the way things were before or even to get close. The sound of the door shutting behind J.J. a few minutes before still hung in the air.

"Hey Dad."

"J.J."

"Uh...Mom sent me over with some of your clothes and things she thought you might need," J.J. explained as he walked in past his father carrying a suitcase.

"My clothes?" Jack questioned closing the door and quickly turning around.

J.J. sat the suitcase down beside the couch and raised his eyes to see the inquisitive expression on Jack's face. "Mom...told me what happened...early this morning."

"It was just for the night J.J. I was messed up, had too much to drink. You know how it is."

"If it was just for the night why'd you come back to Uncle Pete's after work?"

Jack stuffed his right hand in his pocket while nodding his head. He walked across the room and scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "You...you agree with your mother's decision?" he asked after a moment's silence carefully lifting his gaze to meet his son's.

"I don't know. Beth thinks it's good...for the two of you to spend some time apart. She thinks you've been smothering each other with the different ways you're handling everything with Meg." J.J. lowered himself onto the couch and went on. "Mom appeared to be more at ease--"

"But what do you think J.J.?"

J.J. shifted his eyes around the room and took a deep breath. Jack sat down in a chair across from his son and for once in his life patiently awaited his answer.

"I don't know," J.J. finally replied. "Things are bad...maybe it's best for right now...at least for a while. Give Mom some time Dad. Well," J.J. slapped his knees with his hands pushing off to stand, "I better get going. They'll be waiting for me again at the dinner table." He glanced over towards his oddly quiet father. "See ya, Dad."

Jack blinked. He still felt a little whoozy. In fact he didn't even remember anything that had happened with Helen. The only thing he remembered was waking up to Pete shaking him to get up for work. As soon as he sat up the hangover hit him like a slap in the face. After releasing what felt like was all of the contents inhabiting the inside of his body, Pete explained the events which took place earlier that morning.

"Then she yelled at me to get you out of the house and that was it," Pete expounded to a flushed looking Jack. "I've never seen her like that before. That's what scared me so much. I've never seen Helen that serious, that upset before--ever."

Jack rubbed his aching temples. He moaned from the pain the morning light shot from his eyes to his head. Scrunching them tight he furiously continued massaging his head.

"She dropped off some clean clothes on her way to work. I called Henry at the store too. Said you might be late, but now you will be. You know where the bathroom is and you should find everything you need to take a shower pretty easy. I have a double shift today so I left my extra key for you on the coffee table." Pete now standing at the apartment door hollared over his shoulder, "See ya, Jack."

Jack's stomach rumbled complaining of hunger. He ignored it and lay back on the couch. He was exhausted; his entire body throbbed.

It had proven to be a rough day at work. First of all, he was late. The combination of his hangover and being in an unfamiliar bathroom delayed his morning regimen. He had to take the bus because he had no vehicle. It was just his luck too that store business was steady all day. When he showed up, Henry was bouncing back and forth between three different customers. Jack wasn't much help, his hangover still going strong. When their usual morning coffee break time came around, Jack offered to go get the both of them a cup at the snack trailer down the street. After the coffee, Jack's cobwebs begin to dull and clear enabling him to do okay the remainder of the day.

Besides from Jack's delicate condition, the only other bothersome thing that happened all day was the concerned and worried looks Henry gave him. When Henry interrogated him on what had happened, Jack avoided the questions at all costs.

"You still feelin' the hangover Jack?" Henry asked again as he walked around the store turning the TV knobs to off.

"Yeah a little bit," Jack answered. "Guess I can't hold my liquor like I used to, ya know?" he snickered at his joke. He quickly ceased though feeling a searing pain sprint through his head.

Henry just sent Jack the same look he'd been giving him all day. He reached for his suit jacket and flipped it around his back.

"You want me to lock up?" he wondered shoving his free arm into the remaining empty sleeve.

"Nah, I'll get it. You can go Henry."

Henry hesitated. Then with a look from Jack, he pursed his lips and gave a nod. The bell rang as he opened the store. Turning around he glanced back at Jack behind the store counter.

"See ya, Jack."

Pete came into a dark apartment when he arrived home. He turned the lamp on and found Jack stretched out on the couch breathing heavily.

"Asleep, huh?" Pete spoke outloud throwing this keys on the coffee table. He tore off his police jacket and threw it over the back of the chair.

Jack lay motionless throughout Pete's noisy entrance. Pete trotted into the small kitchen and grabbed some sandwich meat and cheese from the refrigerator. He flipped on the radio humming along with the guitar playing as he made his sandwich.

Jack heard music floating into his dreamlike state. He saw Meg standing at the front door of their house with a suitcase in hand. All he could do was stand and stare at her as the words of the Beatles' song "Ticket to Ride" began.

"I think I'm gonna be sad/ I think it's today, yeah/ The girl that's driving me mad/ Is going away/ She's got a ticket to ride..."

Meg hazily turned and closed the door behind her.

"...But she don't care..."

All of a sudden he was standing in the open doorway of the kitchen. Helen stood in front of him tears rolling steadily down her soft cheeks. He attempted walking towards her, but his feet were stuck to the floor. Helen put her hands out in front of her. Jack could feel the pressure from them on his chest although they never touched him. The Beatles' words came once again.

"...She said that living with me/ Is bringing her down, yeah/ For she would never be free/ When I was around/ She's got a ticket to ride..."

Helen raising her hand to her mouth turned away from Jack as his body drifted out the door. The kitchen door closed on it's own just as another lyric sounded in his ear.

"...My baby don't care/ My baby don't care/ My baby don't care..."

Luke half listened as Roxanne rambled on about what had occurred at American Bandstand that day, her booming hair business, and other information--gossip--that he found meaningless. The dollar bills in his hand swished as he counted his drawer. The ringing of the telephone interrupted his job.

"Hello, Vinyl Crocodile. This is Luke, how can I help you?" Luke froze. "Uh...Rox, it's...it's for you," he managed to get out having to clear his throat a couple of times. Roxanne continued on with her chatter, ignoring her boyfriend's announcement. "Rox!" The silence Luke achieved from his shout let him know he had gotten her attention. "Phone."

"Who is it?" she asked saucily making her way to the register.

"It's Meg."

Roxanne stopped dead in her tracks as she and Luke exchanged expressions of disbelief and shock.