A Nightmare Remembered
Chapter X: A Bittersweet ReunionWallace placed a pot filled with water on the stove. The stove was old fashioned, a vintage make, Jack figured it was an original feature of the house and he admired it so. Wallace lit the stove, patted his hands and sat at the table along with Jack and Benjamin.
"That's an interesting stove…how old is it?" Benjamin asked, leaning his elbows on the table.
"Well it came with the house and this house is well over a hundred and fifty years old…so….really old." Wallace teased. Benjamin chuckled in response. Jack gave a slight grin, however it was obvious his mind was elsewhere, such as, to what purpose did Wallace have inviting Benjamin into the house? Why was Benjamin so worried about Jack and his well-being? And finally…when would he be able to see Eve again? The silence between the three men was lengthy and awkward. Finally Wallace broke the uneasiness. He smacked his hands upon the table and shot out of his chair.
"So, what does everyone want for breakfast?" he asked loudly. The two young men looked at each other in surprise.
"Uh, whatever will be fine….erm, or Jack did you prefer anything?" Benjamin asked. Jack shrugged, unsure. For his entire time being undead, he had never once consumed any food or drink, he had never needed it. However he was able to taste food and beverage, and from time to time would indulge himself with a few Halloween candies and pastries, liking especially taffies. Here however he was sure that was not a day to day meal by any standards and he could feel a growl form in the pit of his stomach.
"Eerm, well what do you have?" Jack asked tentatively. Wallace grinned.
"We have English muffins, cereal, orange juice, bacon, eggs…any of it sound appealing?" he asked. Jack grunted. Wallace paused for a minute. "How bout you come over here and look?" Jack would have questioned Wallace's request, but the look on his face told him he should do as he was asked. As soon as Jack reached the refrigerator Wallace pulled him by the sleeve of his shirt.
"Look I know you don't really like that I invited Benjamin, but he is a local from town and will be the best chance you get to finding Eve quickly, being that they look to be about the same age. You need to befriend him if you want to gain some sort of foothold in this reality. I think you will need it very much if you want to get Eve back." Wallace said in a stern tone. Jack nodded. "Okay…well, you should go upstairs and get dressed while I make some breakfast for us, alright? My son left quite a bit of clothing behind when he went to England, he was never much for wearing the same outfit more than a few times….but he has excellent taste, so I think you'll find a few things in his old wardrobe that you'll like. His old room is up the stairs to the right." Wallace stated. Jack cleared his throat and made his was out of the kitchen.
"I'm just going to change my clothes…I'll be right back." he explained. Benjamin nodded his head hesitantly. Jack nodded back and hurried for the door. As he made his way up the stairs, Jack could feel a grin slowly take form on his face. It was becoming more real to him that he might very well be reunited with Eve soon. He hoped very much that Wallace's son had some decent clothing, so as to not look to shabby when he met Eve again. Jack entered the room. It was empty except for a bed frame with a bare mattress upon it, an old nightstand by its side and the wardrobe Wallace had mentioned. All this made the room look bigger than it was and it was already quite large. Jack opened the closet and was awestruck by what he saw. 'Quite a bit of clothing' was a generous way to put the more than ample amount of clothing that lay in the closet. Jack couldn't help but feel a bit of excitement well up inside of him. He began to shift the clothing around, inspecting it. He grinned widely. He could not have arranged a better selection for himself.
After a few minutes of searching, Jack settled with a pair of black skinny style slacks, a white dress shirt, gray vest, a black and gray pinstripe tie (which happened to be the first thing that caught his eye, and now was very fond of), a slimmed, black hooded trench coat, and lastly a pair of semi-formal dress shoes. Jack examined himself in the mirror that hung inside the door of the wardrobe. He was quite satisfied with his look, only leaning forward into the looking glass to tousle his hair bit. He headed back downstairs with a new found vigor in his step. As he approached the door to the kitchen he stopped in his tracks. A smell flowed from inside the kitchen that made growl in Jack's stomach amplify and his mouth water. He entered the kitchen swiftly, shoving the door a little too harshly as he did. Now all he could do is stare at the breakfast Wallace had prepared and all they could do was stare at him. Benjamin studied Jack's outfit, hesitated, and looked down upon his own, adjust the collar of his hoodie self-consciously.
"Well, you certainly clean up well my boy!" Wallace said, pride evident in his voice. Whether it was of Jack's arrangement of his son's clothes or just the clothing in general, he did not know. Jack rushed to the table and sat down, mentally devouring the food. Wallace chuckled, as he seemed to sense this.
"Here are some plates. Well, dig in you two!"
oOo
Wallace and Benjamin stared at Jack as he shoveled his way through the food on his plate, however he couldn't be farther from their gazes. After scooping the last of his breakfast into his mouth, he began to once again look hungrily at his plate. Wallace laughed.
"Don't you think you've had quite enough Jack?" he asked teasingly. Jack snapped out of his eating frenzy to see Wallace looking at him in utter amusement, while Benjamin looked very confused. He cleared his throat.
"Perhaps you're right….three helpings is quite enough, I think." Jack said slightly embarrassed. Wallace smiled and picked up the plates to wash.
"I'm just happy you enjoy my cooking. How 'bout you Benjamin? How did you like it?" Wallace asked. Benjamin smiled.
"It was great Mr. Ailey. I'm sorry I couldn't eat more, I'm meeting my fiancé and a few friends at Starbucks later and wanted to save a bit of my appetite." He said apologetically. Both Jack and Wallace's faces lit up.
"You proposed to your girlfriend last night?" Jack asked amused. "But you only just decided on it yesterday didn't you?"
"No actually, it's been a long time coming, but last night….I dunno, something told me to just ask her. I was actually worried for a bit she might say no, but it turned out great. We were going to announce it today actually, to some close friends, so we can start planning the wedding." Benjamin said happily. Jack grinned.
"Well congratulations! That's great news. I suspect that is why you are going to this…Scarbucks?" Jack asked. Benjamin chuckled.
"What did you say?" he laughed. Jack looked at Wallace for help, evidently he had mispronounced the word. Starbucks, Wallace mouthed.
"Erm, Starbucks….right?" Jack asked hesitantly. Benjamin nodded.
"Yep." He looked at his watch. "And I actually need to be heading out…I just really wanted to check on you and make sure you were alright." He gathered up drinking glass, washed it out and headed for the door. Wallace gulped down his coffee.
"Oh! Uh, Benjamin, do you think Jack might be able to tag along to the coffee shop with you?" he asked suddenly. Jack's eyes grew wide.
"Wallace, I think that Benjamin would like to share this day with his close friends and not some stranger he met just last night." Jack said dubiously. Wallace gave him a stern look.
"Well you are new in town, it couldn't hurt to make some new friends…" Wallace said in a sing-song voice. Jack brought his hand to his head, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Uh sure, why not?" Benjamin spoke up.
"What?" Jack asked.
"Well the group is always interested in meeting new people….and to be honest it was you who inspired me to finally ask her to marry me. After seeing your ring, I felt more confident that I could also ask a girl to marry me…if that makes any sense." Benjamin said kindly. Jack was at a loss for words. He glanced at Wallace wondering what he should do next, but Wallace only winked. Jack thought for a moment. If he went with Benjamin he would be able to ask around his friends about Eve. Maybe, perhaps, even one of them knew her personally and could take him to her! He grinned.
"Well if it's alright, I would be happy to go with you!" Jack said excitedly. Benjamin smiled.
"Alright! Well let's go then, I'm already running a bit late." Benjamin chimed. Jack grinned at Wallace who gave him a reassuring look. The young men headed out of the kitchen and towards the front door. Suddenly Jack had a thought.
"Oh could you hold on for a minute? I forgot something." Jack asked. Benjamin nodded.
"Okay, while you're doing that I'll text them to let them know we're on our way." Benjamin replied, pulling out his phone from his pocket. Jack gave him a hesitant smile, not really understanding. Jack headed upstairs and into the room Wallace's sons clothes were in. Upon entering he walked over to the bed where he had set his neatly folded slacks from the night before. He reached into the pocket and pulled out the ring from the night before. He grinned, he would keep it for good luck.
oOo
As they drove down the road, Jack couldn't help but smile and Benjamin couldn't help but notice this.
"Excited?" he asked. Jack looked at him, hope evident in his demeanor.
"It's just….it'll be nice to meet some new people." He said cheerfully.
"Yeah, well, honestly I also kinda brought you because…well they're mostly my fiancé's friends….and it's nice to have one of my own there with me….even though I've only known you a few hours in total." Benjamin chuckled. Jack grinned.
"I'm happy to help however I can." he replied. He felt light. Lighter than he had in the last four years. This new place was enchanting, the people seemed amicable enough and he could feel himself getting closer to finding Eve. The two men sat in a happy silence for a while until Benjamin pulled the car into the parking lot in front of the coffee shop. Benjamin killed the motor and Jack took a deep breath.
"Let's go." Benjamin said as he exited the car. Jack slammed the car door by accident, he was immensely nervous. Jack kept a distance behind Benjamin as they entered the Starbucks. An outcry arose as they entered and Jack could feel himself breathe a bit faster.
"Benjamin, finally! What the heck took so long?" a guy getting up from a nearby table greeted him. They embraced.
"Sorry, I was visiting a friend. Richard, this is Jack. Jack this is Richard Blackwood." Benjamin introduced. Richard smiled and took Jack's hand in a firm grip.
"Hi there! Benji told us you were coming. Don't be afraid, we're a little bit of a loud, out there kind of group. Jack gave a small grin and nodded.
"Very nice to meet you." He said. Benjamin smiled.
"Oh and this is Agnes and Rowena….others will be here shortly, I guess I'm not the only one who is late." Benjamin said giving Richard a glare. He only laughed.
"Yeah but you know how she gets when you make her wait." Richard replied. Benjamin's eyes lit up.
"Oh yeah, where is she?" he asked. Richard pointed to the drink counter. Jack looked to see to whom he was pointing at, he figured it must have been the fiancé. Both men looked towards the counter and all of the sudden Jack felt his heart sink into his stomach like a scorching brick. The woman who turned around after receiving her drink from the barista…..was Eve.