Page 2 of The Long Way Found

"Holy shit. Jack Garrison? How long have you been back in town?”

They shook hands stiffly and briefly, but long enough for ancient memories to spark from the touch of Jack’s big, strong hand, cold and wet though it was from the snow.

“A few hours. Drove up from Denver, checked in at the lodge.”

“What brings you back to town?"

"I might take a job at the university. Seeing the dean this week, thought I'd come in for a quick workout after my drive today.”

"Gotcha," Luke said. He was suddenly out of things to say, trying to hold onto his composure and not crumble. He could feel the confidence slipping away. He wanted to drop the polite facade and say, “What the actual fuck?”

It couldn't be Jack Garrison. But it was.

"Well, let me give you a tour, or at least show you where the locker room is."

Jack didn’t move. His boots might’ve been nailed to the floor. But he did make a show of looking at his watch.

“You know, it’s already later than I realized. I don’t think I’ll have time before I have to make a call back at the lodge,” Jack said. “I heard you might work here, so I wanted to drop in to say hello. Maybe I should’ve emailed instead.”

That would’ve been nice, Luke thought. But instead, he said, “I’m glad you did. Drop in to say hello, I mean.”

Luke started to add, “It’s been so long,” but Jack spoke up at the same time.

"This snowstorm is some kind of welcome back," he said, nodding to the window. “I forgot how fast this can happen here.”

Are we really going to talk about the weather? Luke wondered. This is so awkward.

"It’s crazy, right? Might be gone in the morning, too. You can never tell this late in the year.”

They looked at each other, neither saying a word. Luke felt the silence stretching into hours. The last time they’d been together was the day Jack left for West Point, when they hugged and cried, and Jack promised they’d see each other again soon. Then three short honks from Jack’s father waiting in his car downstairs had ended the moment, and Luke could hear the sound of them now.

“Let's catch up this week, maybe have lunch or dinner," Luke said, hoping he wasn't coming off as too eager.

"That sounds nice," Jack said, clearing his throat and looking around blankly. “I really should. Go now. I, uhm, have a call to make.”

Jack looked up at him, so Luke nodded and waited for Jack to leave, say something else, or decide to stay and work out after all. Jack was obviously confused, maybe even cornered by something. Maybe Luke was reading too much into it. Maybe Luke was confused, himself. But the mini-reunion fizzled as Jack opened the door and slipped back out into the storm.

It was all over so fast, and Luke was left standing there, breathless. He turned to find Amir staring at him from across the gym floor, eyebrows raised.

“Who was that?” Amir asked, walking over and pushing back his thick black hair. He looked at Luke with warm brown eyes, showing his concern.

"Old friend," Luke said, deciding to keep it simple for now and avoid any explanations. "From high school."

"Old friend who made you look like you'd seen a ghost."

Luke grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink. "It's been a while. Seeing him was not on my bingo card for today."

Amir studied him for a moment. "You good?"

Luke paused and took a deep breath.

He said, "Yeah, I'm good," but he felt something pecking at an old wound.

The rest of the afternoon dragged as Luke's mind kept rotating back to Jack. He started to Google Jack’s name, but stopped himself. Then he had to enter a new member’s credit card number three times to get it right.

Come on, Luke, he thought. You have work to do. Jack Garrison showing up after two decades doesn't change that.

Except it did.