Page 78 of Jackson
She smiled. “You’re all he’s built up andmore.”
“I’ve been searching for courses at UC, I have no idea how hard it’s going to be to get in. I’m not sure I have thegrades.”
“That’s something else I’ve been working on. An old uni friend of mine knows someone who knows someone. There seems to be a drive for overseasstudents.”
“I’ve got the contracts through for the apartment, I’m going to mail those back to the solicitor this afternoon. I know you said to give them to you to check through, but I just want done with it all. I want to hand over that money, let the solicitor deal with it because that way, I’ve got no reason to be involved or remindedanymore.”
“Fair enough. And having a little money in the bank will help with your student visa, too. I have some information on that, although UC will help, should you be offered aplace.”
She handed me a stack of paperwork that I folded and placed in my bag to readlater.
“I’m having the house signed over to Jack, as part of his trust. He has to buy it from me for a nominal fee, but that way he at least will always have somewhere to live. And I’m in the process of unlocking the trust and moving it to another bank. I think that will be the best way to safeguardit.”
“Whynow?”
If Perri could move his trust around, why wait untilnow?
“Because until now, Dad has always been in control. We have a board of directors, of course, but they never knew why Jack didn’t access his account. I won’t tell them, just let them know that he prefers another bank more accessible to him in theU.S.”
“How is he able to stay in the U.S.? Surely he needs a visa himself,” I asked. It was a question that had come to me in the early hours of themorning.
She smiled and raised her eyebrows. “He never told you?” I shook myhead.
“He was born in America. Our mother wasAmerican.”
“I never knew that. I wonder why he neversaid.”
“He came to the UK when he was just a few months old, so he has no memory of beingthere.”
“So you were, what, two yearsold?”
“Yes, consequently neither of us has an accent. My mother was from Boston; she met my father when he was on a business trip, I think. They got together and flew back and forth. I know we still have relatives there, although I imagine them to be distant. My mother was an only child and her parents died a long timeago.”
“Does he have two passports? How does thatwork?”
“He travels on a U.S. one. If you’re born in the U.S., you retain citizenship forlife.”
“I didn’t know that. There’s another thing I remembered last night. Dexter said he doesn’t have medical insurance, is that something we need to sort out? Jack can’t afford it, I guess. He earns from his art but I imagine not enough to keep paying a monthlyfee.”
“Yes, we do. I’ll be honest, I just assumed it would be something he’darranged.”
We continued to chat, drink our coffee, and plan. We were both in touch with Dexter on a regular basis, as we didn’t trust Jack to necessarily be honest withus.
* * *
“Is that the last one?”my dad said as he loaded a cardboard box into the back of a hiredvan.
I nodded my head, holding back the tears. “I’ll take one look around and then I’ll meet you at home,” Isaid.
I watched him drive away, leaving me standing on the pavement outside my apartment block. I watched cars speed up and down the road, I watched people walk by, some smiling, some sad looking. I turned and headed back in. I took the lift to my floor and then walked into my emptyapartment.
It hadn’t taken long to pack all my belongings, I didn’t own a great deal. I stood in the empty living room, recalling memories: Dane and I sitting on the sofa, watching a movie. We never snuggled, the more I thought about it, there was always distance even when we were at ourclosest.
I walked to the bedroom and checked empty cupboards. I stood where my bed had been, looking at the slightly different shade of carpet. It wasn’t nights with Dane that came to mind, though. It was Jackson. I relived the passion and desire he’d brought out in me. I’d loved Dane, but not the way I loved Jack. What Jack and I had was so much deeper. There was a connection that went way beyond anything Dane and I shared and that saddened me in a way. Had all my married life been afarce?
I walked back out of the apartment, locked the door, and took a slow walk down the stairs. I shut the main door and took the short walk to the estate agent, where I handed over the keys. That was it; the past three years were finished, packed up in small cardboard boxes and stored in agarage.
I made my way back to the car park and collected the car I barely drove. There had been no real need for a vehicle where we lived. I pulled out into the traffic, towards the motorway and my parents’ house. It was going to be home until I could decide what my next move was tobe.
I’d emailed UC for an application to start a course I’d selected. I’d completed the student visa forms, just in case. All I had left to do was wait. I’d wait for Jackson to be in a position to start his life withme.
