They woke late the next morning. Neither spoke as they readied themselves for the drive ahead of them. They were clean up, locked up, and on the road by just before noon.
It was a four-hour drive to one of Jack's storage facilities just outside of Belfast in Northern Ireland. There they would pick up the 'supplies' they would need. Once it was dark, they'd drive another hour to a location that was within one mile of the compound. From there, they would be on foot.
An hour and a half of complete silence was grating on Irina's nerves.
"Don't you think we should talk?"
"No."
"Not at all?"
"No."
"About anything?"
"No."
"Then I'm turning on the radio."
"Fine."
She fiddled with the knobs, trying to find a station that was actually playing music. At last she found one that was playing oldies. They caught the tail end of Carry on My Wayward Son before Daydream Believer came on. She saw Jack roll his eyes but she left the station where it was.
The car was filled with sound of the past as they drove past the green, Irish countryside. When American Pie started, he began tapping his fingers against the steering wheel in time to the beat. Irina's foot joined in the tattoo. It wasn't long before the two of them were singing along:
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
At the end of the song they looked at each other, and Jack quirked a smile before turning his attention back to the road. Time in a Bottle was next, and Irina simply listened as Jack's soothing tenor voice joined the melody.
If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day
Till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with
If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with
She couldn't meet his eyes, knowing that she would have given anything to keep their life the way it had been during those ten blissful. He heart dropped even further when the next song came on.
The Sugar Shoppe's Baby, Baby had been the first song they'd danced to. Jack had kissed her when he'd dropped her off at her apartment that night and the song had been playing on her roommate's radio. From then on, it had been 'their' song.
His hand darted over to turn the radio off. She was quicker and intercepted him before he could complete the move.
"I haven't heard this song in years," she said.
"I don't want to listen to it while sitting next to you. Turn it off."
"Jack . . ."
"Now!"
Taken aback by the vehemence in his tone, Irina waited several miles before speaking again. "It was just a song, Jack."
"No it wasn't, and you know it."
"So you always turn the radio off when you hear it?" she asked, sarcastically.
His silence was damning and he knew it. But still, he refused to give her an answer.
"You do, don't you! Is it really so painful to think about our life together that you can't listen to a song?"
"I don't want to think about our life because it was all a lie. There is nothing, nothing, save Sydney, good that came out of that scam of a marriage. If I choose to distance myself from that time, it is out of self-preservation."
"I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I . . ."
"You never meant to hurt me? What the hell did you think would happen when you left?"
"Which time?"
"We're not having this conversation now."
"Then when?"
Jack jerked the steering wheel to avoid the sheep that had wandered in front of the car. They came to a screeching halt on the side of the road. Irina looked over to see Jack slumped over the wheel. Frantically, she unbuckled her own seat belt, then his.
"Jack, Jack!" she shook him.
"Stop it. I'm fine." He sat up, holding a hand to his forehead.
"You're not fine. You're bleeding." She grabbed the first aid kit and started to patch him up. She tried not to be alarmed at the amount of blood she saw, reminding herself that it was a head wound.
"Just tape it on," he said, referring to the gauze. "We need to get going."
"Without you at the wheel, I think."
That he didn't argue led her to believe that he was in more pain than he let on. For the last half of the drive, Jack sat in silence, gazing out over the land. Irina kept shooting glances at him to make sure he didn't fall asleep. It was an enormous relief to them both when they arrived at his weapons compound.