Good Times Can Lead To Changed Lives

3.

Jack stared at the screen, unsure of what his next move was going to be. The “call disconnected” sign flashed on the screen of his phone. Before he had time to argue with Alex, he had hung up on Jack. In his heart, Jack knew it was the hung-over Alex that had caused him to hang up on him. Jack wasn’t going to give up that easily. He needed his best friend’s help more than ever. Jack shot a quick glance at Molly to check on her. She was sleeping soundly in her seat. Jack had made it through his first time feeding her without any major difficulties.
He dialled Alex’s number again and, he was determined to make Alex listen to him this time. He didn’t even give Alex a chance to speak when he picked up the phone.

“Listen Alex. I really need your help right now. I wouldn’t have called again if I didn’t. So, I’m asking you to forget about whatever slut that’s right beside you right now and come over. You’re my best friend and I need your help. Please?”

Jack felt himself letting his defences down as he tried to reason with Alex. He heard Alex sigh in defeat and Jack threw in one last offer to make sure Alex would come over.

“I’ve got pancakes and coffee.”

Jack’s blueberry pancakes were Alex’s ultimate hang-over cure and Jack knew Alex would do anything for them. Jack smiled to himself when Alex told him he’d be there in half an hour. So, while his daughter slept Jack set to work making the pancake mix.

Forty five minutes later, Alex strolled into the kitchen. He looked just as good as the rock stars he worked with. He was dressed in tight black skinny jeans, a fitted band tee and converse. Alex was successfully pulling off the “bed head” hairstyle that many spent hours perfecting and he had to do nothing at all. He wore sunglasses to shield his eyes from the bright, spring sunshine. Jack remembered just how bad the sun was when you were hung-over. His face lit up when he saw the plate piled high with pancakes.

“Hey Jacko,” he greeted, hanging his sunglasses form the neckline of his t-shirt. “Sorry I’m late. I had a little trouble getting rid of the ‘slut’, as you so nicely phrased it earlier, but that’s a whole other story. What’s the big emergency? You sounded pretty worried on the phone. “

Jack placed two mugs of freshly brewed coffee on the table and, he was about to reply to Alex’s question when Molly started crying. Alex’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Jack?” he questioned, his eyes narrowing. “What’s that sound?”

Alex made his way into the sitting room and over to where Molly was sitting in her seat as Jack followed behind him.

“That Alex is the big emergency. Otherwise, known as Molly, the daughter I didn’t know I had two hours ago.”

To Jack’s complete surprise Alex started to laugh.

“Very funny Jack! I almost believed you for a second. She’s very lifelike. I’ll admit that, but c’mon I’m hung-over, not totally gullible. I know it’s not real. I know it’s some sort of doll. What’s the joke in aid of? We have a few weeks left to go before April fool’s day yet. Nice try though. Now where is the off switch on this thing? My head is......”

Alex stopped dead in the middle of his sentence when he put his hand closer to Molly and she grabbed his finger.

“Dude, she just grabbed me. Fuck, she’s real.”

“Yes Alex she is real,” Jack explained as he picked up Molly’s seat and she stopped crying. “Let’s start over. Alex this is Molly, the daughter I didn’t know I had up until two hours ago. Come on back to the kitchen and I’ll fill you in on everything.”

Jack placed Molly’s chair on the seat beside him and rocked her back and forth to see if she would sleep some more. Molly seemed content and within five minutes she was asleep again.
Jack and Alex sat in silence as they ate and, in the end, it was Alex who broke the silence.

“So you really have a daughter? Who’s the mother?”

“Kaycee,” Jack replied. “Although judging by her reaction this morning I don’t think she wants anything to do with her. She just dumped Molly here and left. She said she didn’t want to be a mother. I don’t know what to do Lex. Mum said I need to take responsibility for her and look after her myself. She sent me a list of what Molly will need and that’s the only help I’ve got and will get from her. Molly barely has any of the stuff on the list.”

Alex reached over and patted his best friend’s hand reassuringly.

“I’ll help you Jack. You can do it. You’ll make a great dad. First off, I think we should go and buy the essential stuff for her. You can’t keep her in a car seat forever.”

Jack felt comforted knowing he had Alex’s help. Jack took note of what Molly had with her and what he needed to get and then he and Alex were off shopping.
First stop, for the pair was at a supermarket so Jack could get the absolute essentials like diapers and baby formula for her. Kaycee had left little hints about what Molly would need even though Jack was sure it wasn’t intentional. From the stuff in her bag, Jack had been able to tell what brand of formula she drank, that she drank 6oz bottles and that she was nappy size 2.

Next he bought a crib, a pram and a bouncer. By the end of the day, Jack had managed to get the majority of the stuff on his mum’s list. He had enough things to get him through the night and Jack could always get her more stuff the next day. After a few hours of shopping, the pair were growing tired and hungry. Jack knew Molly was due to be fed so he suggested a much needed break. They stopped at their favourite diner for coffee and food. Once they had placed their orders Jack began to prepare Molly’s bottle.

“She’s really cute,” Alex remarked staring at the baby he held in his arms. “Are you ready for your daddy to give you your bottle Molly?”

He placed Molly into Jack’s waiting arms and Jack held her close making sure he held her correctly.

“Isn’t she just the cutest little thing?” The waitress gushed as she placed their food on the table. “Hello little one. Are you out with your daddy to give your poor mommy a break?”

Jack just stuttered a “Yeah” in response not really wanting to get into the details. Jack held Molly in his arms as he ate and it wasn’t long before Molly was fast asleep, once again. While they ate, Jack and Alex had a much needed catch up. It had been way too long since the pair had sat down and actually talked to each other properly. Jack vowed to not let as much time pass again.

Alex filled Jack in on all the different bands he had signed to his record label. Alex had always been the more creative person of the two and he had used it to his advantage. Starting off as an assistant he had managed to work his way up in the business and it had paid off. He now ran a successful label. Jack however had a head for numbers. He always had. While Jack’s job as a bank manager and accountant was by no means as exciting as Alex’s he was happy and, he had made a good living out of it. He earned enough money to mean he never had to worry about his money and although being a father to Molly was an exciting but daunting prospect, he felt comfortable in the knowledge he’d be able to provide for his little girl.

As they talked, Jack noticed that Alex kept ignoring whoever was trying to ring him. This was unusual for Alex. The first time his phone had rang Alex had sighed when he saw the caller id, rejected the call and turned his phone on silent. Throughout their lunch Jack could see it flashing to let him know he had unread texts and new calls.

“Bro, are you going to answer your phone? Whoever it is must be eager to get in contact with you. It could be important.”

Alex smiled wearily at Jack as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

“It’s not important. I know that for sure. I really don’t want to talk to her. Remember I said I had a hard time getting rid of the woman this morning? You’ll never guess who it was? Needless to say, I didn’t realise my mistake until this morning.”

Jack was shocked. Alex Gaskarth, the king of one night stands was calling his actions last night a mistake? He motioned for Alex to continue telling what Jack was sure was going to be an interesting tale. That was certainly one thing that Jack didn’t miss about the party scene. He shuddered as his mind filled with memories of waking up the morning after unsure of who was beside you in bed.

As he had guessed, Alex’s story was certainly interesting. He couldn’t remember much from last night but he had woken up in his own bed with someone next to him. This, Jack noted, was his first mistake and Alex didn’t usually make mistakes. He never usually took girls back to his. He always suggested somewhere else. Somewhere that would ensure he could make an easy escape before she woke up the next morning. To Alex’s complete surprise the woman next to him had been someone he had gone to school with. This wasn’t anything out of the norm for Alex or for Jack when he’s been apart of that scene. They had regularly encountered girls from their old high school and usually they were just as bad second time round. What made Alex’s situation different was that the woman he’d woken up next to was Susie Jones. She had a major crush on Alex all through high school and Alex had rejected her. She obsessed over Alex. She knew way more about him than anyone should know. She followed him around and tried to get into all of his classes. It had freaked Alex out then and now it was no different.

“So, anyway I got rid of her this morning and now she won’t stop calling and texting me. She’s left over a hundred texts and I’ve had so many missed calls. I don’t even remember giving her my number. Seriously I drank way too much last night and I fucked up,” Alex finished, sighing dramatically.

Jack didn’t know what to do. Alex was clearly seeking his advice on the situation and Jack didn’t know what to tell him.

“Dude, there’s nothing you can do,” Jack started trying to choose his words carefully. “You’re my friend and I’m going to be honest with you. Yes you fucked up but you have no one to blame except yourself. You can’t blame it on alcohol. You chose to drink that much and it’s your own fault you got so fucked up that you couldn’t even decide who you went home with.”

Alex glared at Jack, obviously not impressed by Jack’s brutally honest response.

“I knew you wouldn’t understand,” he replied trying to come up with a way to cover his mistakes. “You just left the party scene without an explanation or excuse. You’ve been out of it for too long. You don’t understand this.”

Jack was shocked. He knew Alex was only trying to turn things away from his situation. Jack knew exactly what Alex was going through.

"You know I had to have had my reasons to change. You know me well enough to know that. I just don't want to talk about it ok? Today is hard enough without going back into all that too! I’m sorry I can’t give you the help you need."

Jack really didn’t want to get into the reasons he had decided to abandon his old life. That was a story for another day. While hearing Alex talk about it made Jack miss his old life he didn’t regret his decision to leave.

“Sorry,” Jack heard Alex mumble.

“It’s ok Alex,” Jack replied. “But you have to admit that it was pretty funny that you end up with the one person you never wanted to end up with.”

Alex smiled goofily at Jack as the tension between the two dissolved.

“Yeah it was. Wasn’t it?” he smiled, laughing with Jack.
Like that everything was forgotten.

******

"Thank you for all your help today Alex. I really appreciate it. I don't think I could have done it without you."

Jack and Alex had just finished setting up Molly's crib in Jack's room and Jack had to admit his room looked totally different with a cot in it. Things were changing fast and he knew he had to accept it and do the best he could to cope with these changes. Molly sat in the middle of the room in her new bouncer watching everything that was going on. She wasn’t too interested in some of the rattles and toys that Jack had bought for her today but Jack knew that it would change in time. She just watched the two of them as they had worked and Jack knew that things were only going to get better from now on. He had no doubt that it was going to be hard. He would have to make decisions he never thought he’d have to make this young and from now on Molly was going to be his main priority. She would come first in everything that he did.

"It's no problem Jack. Don’t doubt yourself. You'll do fine Jack. I know it. You just have to believe in yourself."

"Thanks Lex. I was going to order take out for dinner. Do you want to stay? My treat!"

Alex tried to be discreet as he checked his phone but Jack knew what was coming next.

"Maybe some other time? I have to..... Well you know"

"Sure Alex" Jack sighed. "Another time then?"

Jack knew he shouldn't have expected Alex to change and anyway why would he change for Jack? Jack knew it was foolish to think that HE could be the one to change Alex Gaskarth. The only one who would ever be able to change Alex was Alex himself. This was a fact Jack was going to have to come to terms with.

"Actually, you know what? I think I can spare an hour or two to have dinner with my best friend!"