Page 99 of Jackson
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Jackson
It felt strange to be boarding a flight to London. I hadn’t expected to be returning home so soon. Summer and I settled in our seats, and I rested my head back and closed my eyes. The previous night had been a nice distraction from the news I’d received, but my head was pounding, paying the price for the many bottles of beer I’ddrunk.
“I called my mum, she said we can stay with her, if you want to,” Summersaid.
“That’s kind of her. Perri expects me at her place to start with; there are things we need to discuss. I don’t want you to feel obliged though, if you want to visit your mum, that’s fine, I can drive youhome.”
“I’d rather stay withyou.”
I took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’d rather you stayed with me,too.”
I slept on and off for the journey, but it was as we made our descent into London that my stomach started toknot.
Summer and I had to separate at immigration. I was travelling on an American passport, and although I had legal status in the UK, getting through was always a nightmare. I found her waiting by the luggage carousel and even though we only had a small case between us, it still took an age to finally walk through the airport. I had texted Perri when we landed and was pleased to see her, coffees in hand, when we finally made it out into the arrivalshall.
“Jack, look at you,” she said, as I swept her up in myarms.
“I haven’t been gone that long,” Isaid.
“Nearly a year, that’s too long. You need a haircut,” she replied, and thenchuckled.
I watched her embrace Summer before we made our way to the car park. The closer to London we got, the quieter we all became. Perri had an apartment in Canary Wharf, in the same block as my father, although he had his sprawling monstrosity of a house in Surrey, as well. I shivered as we climbed from the car and not with cold. I hadn’t been to that apartment block in a long time. My father had the penthouse, Perri a couple of floors below, but as we stepped into the lift, I felt hispresence.
“Would you rather go to a hotel?” Summer asked, I guessed she’d seen the involuntaryshudder.
“No, I’m fine. I need to dothis.”
The lift door opened on Perri’s floor and we stepped inside her apartment. My art was hung on her walls, giving the otherwise stark apartment some colour andwarmth.
“Why don’t you take a nap before dinner?” shesaid.
“I might do that, if you don’t mind,” Summeranswered.
I gave her a kiss to her brow before Perri showed her to the guestbedroom.
“So, what do we have to do?” I asked as we settled on hersofa.
“He made all his funeral plans, I’ve spoken to his solicitor; the funeral is in a couple of days. He left a will, Jack, all his assets are to come to me, but I want to hand half of those over toyou.”
“I don’t want them, Perri. I know fuck all about running a business and I’m not staying. My life is in Calinow.”
“How does Summer feel aboutthat?”
We had lowered our voices so as not to disturbher.
“I don’t know. She didn’t get into uni, so we need to work on a visa for her. There’s nothing here for me, you understand that, don’tyou?”
“I do, although I don’t know how easy it will be for her to stay with you,Jack.”
“What do I have todo?”
“Marry her? Although, I don’t know how easy that would beeither.”
I chuckled. “I’d marry her tomorrow if she’d have me, but even that doesn’t get her an automaticvisa.”
“She loves you, even after everything you’ve done. I wish I’d known, Jack. I could havehelped.”
