ANDY
He was wandering through the streets aimlessly. He knew Nancy would be mad as hell when he came home, probably assuming the worst by now, but he couldn`t help it. The conversation with Sharon had left him churning. The worst thing was seeing her so obviously troubled without being able to hold or comfort her. The realization hit him hard; he was not a part of her life and even if he tried to claim just a little room in her heart, let alone the room he hoped, he was filling now, Andy knew she would never give in to it. It took her 30 years to get over Jack and this was just the beginning. She would wait for him to change, to be the father and the husband she had dreamed of. She would come up with excuses and forgive him too many times if only for the sake of her children. She wouldn`t jeopardize the fragile relationship they had with Jack for her own happiness. She would always do the right thing and being the reason for two disrupted families sure wasn`t it! On the other hand he couldn`t just twiddle his thumbs and watch her getting hurt over and over again and he sure as hell could never forget about her. So what kind of marriage would HE have under those circumstances. Even if he tried, he would never truly be home or better feel at home, not anymore! It would be utterly unfair to Nancy and the kids. Despite all the heartache he caused his family in all those years, they were always where he wanted to be wholeheartedly and that would only be half the truth now. Sure, his decision was also a selfish one. There was no way that he would wait another life time to be with Sharon. Yes, he had screwed things up but she was right, who could say for sure that he wasn´t going to screw up again in a different way and that the two of them would really end up together again? Nancy would end up bitter and disappointed either way and he wanted his current relationship with his daughter and grandkids to blossom because (and Sharon was right again) would she turn out to be the exact same terrific human being she was now? He was almost running now, he needed to get back, back home! When he looked up again he found himself in front of O´Malleys, his favorite bar, the place where his downwards spiral started. He had no idea how he got there, what it was that had drawn him here but for some reason he knew exactly what to do: he walked up to the bartender and ordered his former favorite: Bourbon on the rocks. He stared into the glass for an eternity, inebriated by the scent alone. His stomach clenched, his body refusing the alcohol at the sheer thought of drinking it. Andy tried hard to ignore all the physical distress and imagined Sharon smiling at him gently taking his face into her hands and has be brought the glass to his mouth, she was bringing him closer for a kiss. Just before their lips met, darkness surrounded him once again.