Distant Shores

"Dont fuck with me, Warren. Id give my left nut for that job. "

"Keep your peanut-sized balls. Just be in New York tomorrow for an interview. "

"Youre serious?"

"Of course Im serious. Have your secretary call Bill Campbell at Fox. Hell send you a ticket. Then give my secretary your itinerary. Ill pick you up at the airport. "

"Ill get the first flight out. And thanks, Warren. I mean it. "

"Its not a sure thing, Jacko. But I know well knock em dead. See ya tomorrow. "

Jack hung up the phone and immediately called home. Elizabeth answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, honey, you wont believe--" He stopped. What if he didnt get the job? Hed disappointed his wife too often in the past. There was no point in building up her hopes for nothing. "I have to go to New York tomorrow. Can you pack me a suitcase?"

"New York? How come?"

He thought fast. "Some hotshot high school quarterback just signed a letter of intent with the Ducks. I gotta interview him. "

"Oh, thats odd. How long will you be gone?"

"Two nights. Hey, lets go out for dinner tonight. How about the Stephanie Inn? Its romantic as hell out there. "

There was a pause on the other end. "Whats going on, Jack?"

"Nothing. We havent gone out for dinner in too long; thats all," he answered. It was true. He couldnt remember the last time hed called from the office and made a date with his own wife. But everything was going to be different from now on. Hed move Heaven and Earth to get this job; then hed return home in triumph. Oh, shed grumble about moving east, but in the end, shed do the right thing. This job would finally--finally--offer them a second chance. "Everythings great. "

And it was. For once, it was.

Elizabeth stood back, her arms crossed tightly.

Jack was by the front door, garment bag in hand. Even at this predawn hour, he looked bright and eager, almost boyish.

For a moment, he was so handsome he took her breath away. Strangely, she remembered the first time hed kissed her. A lifetime ago. Theyd been lying on the grass in the Quad, supposedly studying. She hadnt seen the kiss coming,

hadnt braced for it, and when his lips touched hers, shed started inexplicably to cry. Shed known with that one kiss that her life had been upended . . . that shed love Jackson Shore until the day she died.

It was probably even still true.

But was it enough?

She looked up at him, wondering if he could see the longing in her, if it shone through her eyes. Or if hed seen that look so often and so long that it had simply become Elizabeth. "Maybe I could go with you," she said. It was what she should have said when he went on Larry King Live.

His smile faded as he dropped the garment bag and moved toward her. "Not this time, Birdie. Ill be running full speed. I wouldnt be able to spend any time with you. "

She nodded, swallowed the lump in her throat. He used to invite her on every business trip, but shed never wanted to leave her children. It was only later--too late--that she realized what her decision said about the marriage. It was her own fault shed missed her chance.

"Next time, then. I hate New York, anyway. "

He touched her face, gently forced her to lift her chin and meet his gaze.

She put her arms around him and held on tightly, afraid suddenly to let him go. "Be careful," she whispered.

He stepped back. "Ill call you from the Big Apple. Ive got a room at the Carlyle. The phone number is on the fridge. "

"Okay. Have a good trip. Good luck. "