He was walking along the trail beside the Schuylkill River up in Pottstown when his mobile let off a shrill ring, startling him and the wildlife around him. Pulling it out of his jacket pocket, he frowned at the unknown North American number before pressing the answer key and holding the phone up to his ear.
"Jonathan Creek", he stated, waiting to hear who was on the other end.
"Jonathan!", came the unmistakeable voice of his former employer, "How are things?"
"Not too bad, Adam", he responded. "You?"
"Great. Great. I'm in New York. You know it's the IBM Convention next week in Dallas? I'm having a few days in the Big Apple before heading up there."
"That time of year already?" said Jonathan. "Afraid to say I'm a bit out of the loop with all the events and conventions these days."
"That's why I'm calling. I thought you might like to come up for a couple of days? Assuming you're still in D.C., that is? My treat."
"Oh. Yes, I'm still here." said Jonathan, somewhat taken aback. "I don't know…" his brow furrowed. "Why?"
"I said I'd be in touch when I got here, so here I am." Adam said brightly. "And I know if I'd just spent weeks with my family I'd be ready to get away for a night. So why not join me?"
Jonathan marvelled at how straightforwardly Adam viewed the world. It must be nice to have everything seem so easy, and so black and white. But Adam was right. He hadn't had any time out from his parents, and after the past week he could probably do with cutting loose for an evening. Plus if there was anyone in his life to do that with, Adam was the one. A little voice in the back of his head was also telling him that there could be the opportunity to do some further research and meet up with a few people who could help with his current ideas.
"When are you going?"
"I fly up on Tuesday. We could get you a flight to land around the same time as mine, and head in together?"
"Ok" said Jonathan decisively.
"Ok?" echoed Adam. "Really? That was easy. I thought I'd have to work a lot harder than that."
Jonathan gave a short laugh. "True. But you're right. It would be good to get away for a night."
"Excellent. I'll get Asha to give you a call to sort out your flights."
"Thanks Adam."
"Til Tuesday," Adam signed off.
Jonathan heard the beep as the call ended and he put his phone back in his pocket, marvelling that after no social life for months, he suddenly had to contend with two major events within a few days of each other. The irony of both being from what he thought of as his 'old life' was not lost on him.
He continued his way along the trail, watching the sunlight dapple its way through the trees, and decided it was futile to try to make sense of his current life status. Instead, he simply enjoyed the beautiful light patterns on the ground as he walked.
Jonathan had been instructed to head out towards the pick-up area at the airport, and as he did he was met by the sight of Adam hanging out the sunroof of a white Hummer limousine with a bottle of champagne in hand. 'Some things never change', he thought to himself. The only thing missing was a woman on his arm.
"No girlfriends, Adam?" he grinned as he got into the car.
"Jonathan! You wound me. This is our boy's night. I'm taking it very seriously," said Adam as he slid his body back down into the car and they drove out of the parking area.
"There's no need" said Jonathan nervously. "I'm not here for that kind of madness. Besides which, I probably won't make it past 9pm before I'm yearning for my bed."
"What's new?" said Adam, smiling. "Don't worry. I don't have anything crazy planned. We'll check out the show this afternoon and then I've booked us dinner at seven. And…" he looked sideways at Jonathan, "if you do your early disappearing trick, there's plenty of fun I can find for myself later on."
"As always" said Jonathan, conceding with a tilt of his head. He clinked the glass he'd been given against that of Adam's and took a sip.
After checking in at the hotel and dropping his bag in his room, Jonathan headed back down to the lobby and towards the accreditation area. Adam wanted to take a nap, having had a late one the night before, but Jonathan was keen to make the most of his time. After a brief queue he picked up his and Adam's passes and wandered into the convention hall.
Having been away from the scene for a few years, it was quite a shock to still be recognised and greeted by so many people. This was the one place where he had always taken top billing over Adam Klaus; everyone in this world knew that he had been the brains behind the whole operation. He caught up with lots of old acquaintances and was asked several questions about where he'd been all this time, which he dodged accordingly.
After so many years in advertising, it was a revelation for him to be amongst colleagues who he actually wanted to speak to and spend time with. He felt a little overwhelmed by the comfort he felt in this environment, having spent so long feeling like an outsider. He realised it was yet another tick on the list of reasons he needed to get back to magic in order to get back to himself.
He was in his element checking out updated concepts and hearing the latest news and was surprised to find that over two hours had passed in the blink of an eye when his phone buzzed with a message from Adam asking where to find him.
They spent another couple of hours walking round the show together, being accosted regularly by industry insiders who wanted to catch up. Adam pretended to be put out that he was sidelined for his semi-celebrity ex-consultant by the majority of their inquisitors, but he was secretly happy to see Jonathan in a much better mood than he'd last left him in London.
The first course passed quickly as they discussed all the new tools and tricks they'd seen that afternoon, excited by one concept in particular that had huge potential for wowing big crowds. Jonathan was aware how advances in technology had been upending the behind-the-scenes of the business, but he'd been astonished to discover just how much had changed over the past decade. Things which would never have been possible previously were now feasible, and it was making his brain tick over doubly fast as he thought of the conceivable implications.
"Careful Jonathan, anyone would think you were back in the game," said Adam slyly.
"I have been toying with a few ideas," conceded Jonathan, to Adam's delight.
"Well, you know the offer of a job will always stand."
"Thanks Adam. I appreciate that. Although I'm not sure Charlie would," said Jonathan, with a meaningful glance at Adam in reference to his current magical consultant.
"Oh, there's plenty of space for the pair of you. Especially with Vegas coming up. I think you'd have a riot working together."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," countered Jonathan with a sharp look. "It's been amazing to catch up on all the new tech, but I'm enjoying just playing around with concepts for now. It's been too long since I did this for fun. No pressure for any specific outcomes."
"Fair enough. But you will need a job at some point," teased Adam.
"I will," he nodded. "Maybe I'll go and work for the competition, give you a run for your money," he smiled at the faux shock on Adam's face.
"You would never!" said Adam. "Although I imagine you'll be getting a few phone calls from the big guns after your re-appearing act today."
"We'll see. I really don't know what I want to do though. It's a relief to have some time off; re-connect with the business without having anything planned."
"You seem a lot happier than when I last saw you. How's it been with your parents?"
"Good. Really good, actually," said Jonathan. "It's been great to have all this time with them, and to properly catch up on their lives. Normally it's them coming to visit me while I'm working, so we don't have the time for long conversations."
"And you get to revert to being a kid again," said Adam.
"In some ways, yeah. Although I feel like I'm getting to know them properly as adults too, which is nice. I suppose we got stuck in that adult-child dynamic because they came over here when I was still a teenager. But now with a divorce looming, they can't continue to treat me as if I'm still a child."
"And what of Polly?" Adam queried at the mention of her, just as their main courses arrived.
Jonathan took a sip of his wine while the waiter placed his salmon down in front of him, waiting until the table surrounds were clear before answering.
"She's sent divorce papers. She's back in London now that I'm not there. Seems she's in a rush to move on and remove me from her life completely," he said, with a bitterness evident in his voice as he spoke.
"And what do you make of that?"
Jonathan sighed. "It makes sense. I'm not in any rush to see her either, if I'm honest. I've realised how much I'd slotted into her life, rather than her into mine, so it's been relatively easy to get back to being by myself again."
"Still must be strange?" pushed Adam, trying to get more of an insight.
"Less than I anticipated. I suppose I miss the company, of having someone else there. But it's been a relief getting away from all the arguments; getting a clear head again." He looked up at Adam and said something he'd recently admitted to himself but hadn't yet expressed out loud. "And it was never going to work out; it was over long before the actual split."
"Why do you say that?"
Jonathan shrugged. "She wanted to mould me into somebody I wasn't, and it seems there was only so far I was willing to be pushed." He took another sip of wine and continued, "She could never understand that I like being on the outside looking in; that's where I'm comfortable. That's where I work best, literally and figuratively. She thought there was something wrong with that and that she needed to save me from myself" he said with an eye roll. "But the further away she tried to take me, the more uncomfortable I became, and the more we began to unconsciously battle against each other."
"Well, that's some damn good insight," said Adam. "Makes perfect sense. Have you been seeing a therapist?"
"Just my Mum," Jonathan smiled. "It's all fairly obvious stuff, when you think about it."
"Not really. Maybe I should make a psychology appointment with your mother," said Adam, lightening the moment.
Jonathan let out a low laugh. "You're not coming anywhere near her," he joked. "And don't think I'm letting you off the hook either," he said pointedly.
"For what?" said a genuinely confused Adam.
"For reintroducing a certain someone back into my life."
"Ah," realisation dawned on Adam's face. "Madeline's been in touch?" he queried guiltily.
Jonathan nodded. "She wrote me a letter and we've emailed a few times. I'm going to meet up with her on Friday in Philadelphia."
"Well," said Adam, eyebrows raised. "That was quick".
"Come off it, Adam. It's been a lifetime." Jonathan grimaced. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. "I'm still not sure it's a good idea to see her, so I don't know whether to thank you or hit you."
"I was worried about you. I thought you could do with a friend, and I knew she was close by," Adam countered.
"I know," said Jonathan quietly. "I appreciate the sentiment. But I'll withhold judgement for now."
"Well, say a big hello from me," said Adam. "And let me know how it goes."
Neither of them knew quite how to continue that conversation so their chat drifted back to magic as they ended their meal with a bottle of Argentinian dessert wine.
True to his word, Jonathan began to fade around 9.30pm and made straight for the comfort of his duvet, his mind filled with the idea for a new disappearing trick as he succumbed to sleep.
His fellow diner conjured up some co-conspirators from the convention and headed out to explore the nightlife of Grand Rapids. Adam would not see his duvet for many hours yet.