2 Jack's World
Jack Walker was never going to be the same. Next to a lake, he sat on a blanket with Gael’s head in his lap. Sleeping Gael seemed so young, not like the man with such huge bravado and street smarts now. Marriage had never been something he’d imagined for himself. God had given him a passion for medicine and that was enough, more than many got. Yet here he was, sitting next to the most beautiful lake, having shared intimacy he’d never dreamed possible with the most remarkable and beautiful of men. This was a gift from God, for only the Almighty could move the world in such a way.
Certainly he needed to get to know his Gael more, but as far as Jack was concerned, they were married. Gently, he ran his fingers through those blond curls. They were a touch long, but he couldn’t imagine them differently. Before this, Jack had never paid more than a clinical attention to eyes, to anyone’s eyes, perhaps in a way of shutting out a world he could not have, but Gael’s eyes were the most, utterly breathtaking blue, the very definition of beauty.
If his twin sister Eve could have met Gael, she certainly would have had things to say. Of the two of them, Jack had always considered her to be the better of them. Her loss sat with him as he kept track of the time and the ducks moving around on the pond. He’d never had something more splendid to tell her, so the inability to do so sat with him. In his imagination, he could see his twin sister sitting there too, her long red hair disheveled from whatever she’d been up to, her smile generous and accepting. “It’s love, Jackie,” he was sure she would have said. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
They were going to have to arrange their schedules. He’d have to see about getting a telephone installed in Gael’s home so they could speak when they weren’t together. In time, when he’d finished his residency, perhaps Gael would be a lawyer by then, and they could set up their practices from the same home. One of them, at least, would have to marry a woman, an understanding and practical woman, to keep up appearances. The place really had to be near a nice little lake just like this.
Perhaps whoever got married, they could adopt children and he could be Uncle Jack or Father, with grand sideburns, and a secret stash of peppermints. Sitting there with Gael on the bank of some lake whose name he did not know was the happiest Jack had ever been. The world was going to be beautiful, every day thereafter.
When the watch ticked quarter-to-four, he laid a hand on his partner’s shoulder and gently squeezed. “Gael, it’s time.”
Whatever Gael replied, it wasn’t charitable and it wasn’t in English.
Jack thought it was the most beautiful sound. “Perhaps we can go and have some food together?”
“Food,” Gael said dreamily. Then his eyes snapped open and he was up on his feet as if he were going to chase white rabbits. He held out his hand to Jack. “We gotta go.”
“Do we?” Jack asked, giving his best unpracticed flirty smile.
“We do,” Gael groaned. “I have to get to work.”
“What kind of work do you do,” Jack asked, taking hold of Gael’s hand to get up, even though he didn’t need it. They’d talked about a fantasy future, but not the present. Once on his feet, he leaned close enough to brush his lips daringly over Gael’s, lingering when there was no push back. Gael grabbed him by the back of the head and pressed in, tongue sliding into Jack’s mouth, teasing Jack’s tongue into dancing.
As if he knew Jack, had known him for years, Gael’s hand embraced Jack’s rise. To Jack it was a startling and wonderful intimacy that only confirmed that they were destined to be together for life. The kiss settled into Gael’s smile against his lips, and a soft whisper. “That’s my little devil Cupid.”
Still completely on a cloud with joy, he placed both hands on Gael’s shoulders and pronounced, “We’re going to build the best life together, Gael! You are going to make the best lawyer in the world.”
“I thought I was the one dreaming,” Gael teased, “Come on, Jack, I have to get to work before I’m in shit I can’t get out of.”
“Where do you work? Do you work as a law clerk,” Jack said.
“Uh,” Gael said, straightening his hat, “I’m an odd jobs guy. I take care of guests and run errands, mostly.”
“Honest work is honest work. We will get you into law school. I’ll help you. I want to see your dreams come true.”
“You are my dream,” Gael said, a hand on the car’s bonnet, smiling wistfully. He gave the crank a good turn, starting the car.
Jack didn’t think the trip back into the city took nearly as long as he wished it would. He’d hardly had a chance to say anything else and they were back in front of the boarding house. “When will I see you again?”
“I’ll come see you as soon as I can Jack.”
“You can always mail me a message at the hospital or here. You’ve got this address, yes?”
“I got your address. I’ll come as soon as I can. I’m going to have to settle some things before it’s safe for me to come back.”
“So the day after tomorrow? How can I contact you?”
“As soon as I can, Jack. You’ll have to trust me and be patient.”
“I do trust you, Gael. I love you.”
“Well, then,” Gael said, head going light, throat dry. “I’m real taken with you too, but you might want to get to know me a bit more, just because I’m the first guy, you know, that doesn’t mean you can’t do better. You’re a doctor. I’m an errand boy.”
“Don’t talk about yourself like that,” Jack said, “You are brilliant. I can tell. You are my first and my only.”
“Don’t be childish,” Gael snapped. “New York isn’t a fairytale and it isn’t Kansas. If we’re honest, I’m not worth your time, Jack.”
Jack scowled. “I’m not childish. How old are you, anyway?”
“Eighteen,” Gael said proudly. “Wait till you’ve been here a week and see how people feel about Irish. Your landlady is common. Get out, Jack. I have got to get to work and like I said, this ain’t a fucking fairytale.”
As Gael drove away, Jack knew he’d see him again. The day after tomorrow, he’d see him and they’d talk this through.
Jack slept, had pleasant dreams, then went to the first day of his residency, which lasted what felt like a hundred years. It was three days later that he got to go home for a few hours of sleep in a real bed. There were no messages from Gael, but he was too tired to do anything about it.
Surely his love would find him at the hospital the following day.
Except he didn’t.
There were also no messages, but there was a polio outbreak and mumps.
It was four days later that he got home again. There were still no messages. At his most tired, he could hear his father’s voice telling him that it was nonsense, that a man accepted the truth of the world and moved on. It wasn’t like his father was ever, ever going to know about Gael or the utter wonderful beauty of his touch. That thought sent him into a twelve hour nap with lovely dreams.
When he woke, he was more determined than ever. He had the whole day off. He shaved, spent just a moment thinking about how nice his sideburns were going to look when he did get to start a family. First things first though! Hat on neatly trimmed red hair, he set off in search of Gael McNeil.
