IRREVERSIBLE: START OF SOMETHING NEW

He called his brother to pick him up. Daniel and Tess hadn't been talking much lately, and the only thing worse than the awkward silence would obviously be more awkward silence. Tess had had to look for an excuse to get him to leave the house.

Tiff. She was always the perfect escape plan. She said Tiff would be coming back and she wasn't quite ready to have him meet her. Sure, they'd spoken on the phone. She was more concerned with Tiff knowing him simply as 'Mommy's friend'.

There was a knock on the door and Tess opened up. The eyes. They looked like his. Perhaps the long stare meant something else. Whatever it was, she sure did feel it. Jackson was his name. He seemed timid at first, but a short conversation later, he started to loosen up, so did Tess.

Another day at the office, nothing special. It seemed like a perfect time to have a drink- it is always a perfect time to have a drink. Perhaps she should walk over to the bar and have the damn drink. She can be her own company, ain't nothing wrong with that. Tess was about to head for the door when her phone rang. She didn't recognise the number, so she opted to ignore it. A text message came in.

"Sorry, I probably should have identified myself first. It's Jackson. Dan's brother."
She thought that text was too long.
Again, off to have a drink by herself.

She read that text from Jackson over and over again. Why would he be texting her? What did he want?

Tess thought there wouldn't be anything wrong in texting him back. She thought wrong.
"Hello. Sorry, I hardly pick calls from numbers I do not recognise."
"That's understandable. It's my fault. I should have identified myself first."
"Yes. You should have".. but she quickly deleted this text message before sending it. She didn't want to come across as too condescending.

While she chatted with Jackson she knew deep down she could be starting something she may not want, or something she may not be able to complete. This was not what she wanted. Daniel. That's what she wanted. But did he want her? She wasn't too sure, and that right there, was the answer itself.

"I'm sorry, are you busy? Perhaps I could catch you when you aren't quite busy?" came the text from Jackson.
"Not quite the patient man, are you?" ... she deleted this text as well.
She took the last sip of her gin and got on her way.