Tom and Jill

Chapter Ten – Home

 

Jill watered her garden, the flowers blowing gently in breeze. She had returned to her hometown, telling no one about her experiences over the last two months. Her family and friends were used to her going off for months on end with little or no contact, so had not even realised she had been missing. She had had a bit more trouble explaining to her friend why she not been looking after his house but the lose of one friend was worth keeping her secret.

 

It had been almost a year and she thought she doing well, until she turned on her TV to see Nick’s face. It seemed that he had gone back to robbing banks on his own and had gotten caught.  The police were able to link him to a number of other robberies and he had been sent to prison for at least twenty years.  Jill had sat; staring at the screen long after his image had gone.  She had tried so hard to forget everything that had happened, but the sight of the face of the man who had tormented her for two months brought it all back. She felt like it was yesterday, the pain, the humiliation, Tom. She had tried the hardest to forget Tom.

 

That morning in the cabin, she had dressed in silence before he woke, waiting on a chair near the door for him to wake up.  When he had opened his eyes and seen her sitting, dressed, he had sighed and dressed as well.  He had not even asked her what her choice was, just driving her to the nearest bus depot, giving her enough money to get her wherever she needed to go. As they stood waiting for the bus, he had tried to talk to her, but she had turned away and he had given up.  The last image she had of him was from out of the bus window as it turned the corner.

 

 

Tom had spent the past eighteen months establishing himself as a real estate agent, having moved across the country to a small town.  He had a nice little house and had dated a few women in town, but he still dreamed of Jill.  Thinking back, he could remember every mistake he had made, especially in the cabin.  He would sometimes wonder if she would have gone with him if he had just been able to control himself.  He had not spoken to Nick at all and had lost track of him until he saw that he had been arrested.  He would go in and see him one day and try to see if he still had a brother. 

 

He was talking to a prospective client on the phone when he saw her. Her hair was shorter and a different colour, but it was definitely her. She was looking at the houses for sale in the window, and he finished his call as quickly as he could.  Moving outside, he walked up behind her and lightly gripped her elbow.  She gasped and turned to face him, the eyes he remembered so well looking back at him. What surprised him was her lack of surprise.

 

“Hi Jill, you look good. I like the hair.  Would you come inside and talk for a while?”

 

He expected her to say no, but when she nodded he lead her in to sit on the couch they had for clients to sit on, locking the door as she sat down.  She looked up as she heard the door lock, the familiar fear in her eyes.

 

“It is only so we don’t get interrupted, I can open it again if you like.” 

 

When she shook her head, he sat down on the chair opposite her, waiting for her tell him why she was here. Jill knew she should not have come, but since knowing that Nick was out of the picture, she had begun to think more about Tom.  She had grown restless and decided to take a driving holiday and had almost crashed her car when she saw Tom’s face smiling out at her from the back of a taxi.  It was an Ad for the real estate firm he was working for and she thought it would help sell a lot of houses.  She had seen the estate agency as she drove through town, but it had take her another two weeks before she found the courage to confront him.  Now here she was with Tom waiting for her to speak.

 

“Tom I don’t really know why I am here, but when I saw your face on that ad, I just knew that I would never be able to get on with my life if I didn’t see you again. “

 

Tom sat, letting her talk, his head spinning with the fact that she was actually here and talking to him. 

 

“I have tried to forget everything that happened, but when I saw Nick on the news it just brought it all back.  I have been travelling around the country trying to find a new life, without much luck I might add.  So, you seem to have found a nice job here.”

 

“ Yeah, I don’t know if it is something I would want to do forever, but it has kept me busy.  You will be pleased to know that been on the straight and narrow since you saw me last.”

 

They both sat in silence for a moment, the memory of the last time they saw each other still fresh in their minds. Jill was the first to speak, the emotion of the memory clear in her voice.

 

“What you did was wrong, you do know that.  Even though you didn’t hurt me, you ruined any trust I did have.”

 

“Jill, I know now that what you are saying is true.  I am not giving you an excuse, but I was so lost in the thought that I might never see you again and that it was my last change to be close to you.   I can see now I took advantage of you, and believe me, I have not been coping too well with the guilt of what I did.” 

 

Jill could tell that he was telling her the truth.

 

“Have you seen Nick?”

 

Tom, relieved that she had changed the subject, told her that he hadn’t.  They then talked for a while about things like his job and where she had been on her driving holiday.

 

“Jill, I need to ask you something. How come you never told anyone what we did? I spent the first few months waiting for the knock on the door, but when it didn’t come I just got on with things. 

 

“I guess it was because I just wanted to forget.  The thought of telling people what had happened just made me feel ill.  No one had even realised that I had been missing, as I have never been a big one for keeping regular contact, even the guy whose house I was supposed to be minding, just assumed I had flaked out on him. So I just made up some story and tried to go on with my life.”

 

“I thought it was something like that.  Jill, I really messed up and I know this is too little too late, but I just want you to know I am really sorry.”

 

He saw her move to leave and had a moment of panic, thinking he didn’t want her to go.  Jill must have seen the look in his eyes, as he saw a flash of fear there. 

 

“Jill, you do know that I could easily just keep you here.  The door is locked and no-one knows you are here.”

 

He saw her look at him in apprehension and then she simply stood up and walked to the door, patiently waiting for him to let her out. Tom sighed and moved to the door to stand beside her.

 

“I suppose you can’t blame me for trying, can you?”

 

Jill just stood and waited, finding that she no longer had any feelings left for Tom at all.  He had helped her but he had also let her down big time. She saw him open the door, his hand barring the entry out as he turned to her.

 

“Jill, I know it is just too late, but do you think that if I not stuffed up so badly, that we could have had a chance?”

 

Jill knew that she had spent many nights over the last eighteen months wondering just that, but now found that she no longer cared.

 

“Tom, you are right, it is too late.  I need to go now”

 

Jill walked past him, forcing him to drop his hand from the door and walked down the street without looking back.  She felt free for the first time since that awful day in the car park.  Free to live her life without thinking of what could have been. She never even saw Tom watching her walk away, a look of sadness in his eyes.  She could only see the bright future ahead of her, the promise of a life free from the memories that had haunted her.  Yes, she decided, she had made the right choice to see Tom again, as she had been able to see him as he really was, not as she had wanted him to be.  She smiled, thinking of all the things she could do. Life was good and she intended to make the most of her second chance, no matter what life would throw at her.  After all, she was a survivor. 

 

The end