“Anytime, babe. Love you.”
She hung up, leaving Britt to assume that Marj and Luke would spend the rest of the night in each other’s arms while she herself whiled away the hours imagining Jack partying at a club with Dave, the talented band member who had a problem with monogamy. But that’s not Jack, she thought.
She chose a new e-book to read on her Kindle app and took just one more cookie with her to bed.
The following day, with no word from her grieving boyfriend, she went to work. The office was unusually quiet, the staffers more sober and businesslike than an ordinary day. They were subdued by the death of their boss. She shuffled through the backlog of work on her desk from her absence and was finished in no time. She scrolled through emails, fulfilled requests for extra information on insurance forms and double-checked payroll. By noon she was essentially finished. It had always been a tendency of Britt’s to throw herself into her work with hyper efficiency when she was upset and this was no different.
After a morose lunch of a microwave burrito, she decided to call him.
“Hey, Jack. How are you doing?” she asked with forced brightness.
“Ah, I’m okay. Just a little tired.”
“Stayed out late?”
“I got loaded.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Still drunk.”
“Oh, Jack.”
“I needed to get drunk. I’ve been to hell and back. I think I deserved it, don’t you?”
“Just let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Right, well, the funeral’s day after tomorrow at one. The office will be closed that day, obviously.”
“I heard.”
“Hey, Britt...”
“Yeah?”
?
?I need a little time alone...to sort this all out. Okay?”
“I understand. Take all the time you need. I’m only a phone call away.”
“Please don’t be mad,” he said.
“I’m not. I understand how difficult this is.”
“I’ll see you at the funeral.”
“See you then,” she said, her heart aching.
Jack was going through so much. She wished he wouldn’t block her out and that he’d let her in. She met Marj for coffee and they talked over the visitation and funeral and what to wear and when to meet at the funeral home.
“What are you going to do tomorrow since the office is closed the next two days?” Britt asked.
“Mani/pedi. Maybe get my highlights touched up. Want to go to the movies?”
“Nah, thanks. I don’t feel like it.”
“It’s not disrespectful to enjoy your time off, Britt. I mean, Fitzsimmons struck me as someone who loved what he did and made no compromises about that. So wouldn’t he want us to live life to the fullest?”