Chapter 7 – Luke
LUKE
“Morning, pal,” he said, rising from bed and patting his dog on the head. “Let me pee first, okay?”
He briefly checked his face in the mirror. He wouldn’t shave today, and the puffiness would go down soon enough.
Forty in a few weeks, he thought. Not bad. Why do people get so weird about turning forty?
After he’d fed Marley, he returned to his usual morning routine, which included brief prayer, meditation, and journaling—part of the daily practice that strengthened his sobriety and helped him maintain serenity as much as possible.
He listed the day’s many highs—and one low point: Had he briefly tensed when Jack reminded him he was in town temporarily?
He didn’t want to be a drama queen about Jack’s return, even to himself.
Let it go. Don’t pick yourself apart.
It was good. It was hot. It was…what, exactly?
He jotted this in his journal: “Stay present and grateful.” No worrying about the future or the past. No day but today, as his favorite musical, “Rent,” put it.
After coffee and breakfast, he and Marley jogged on the shoulder up to The Ridge. He felt a shock of recognition when he saw Jack’s Jeep drive by toward campus, but Jack was gone so fast that Luke didn’t have time to wave.
JACK
His iPhone alarm woke Jack at 6. He made instant coffee in his room, checked his email and the news, then showered, shaved, and dressed for the day.
He had a light breakfast and another cup of coffee at the lodge’s downstairs restaurant. It was shaping up to be a busy morning, with many folks carrying ski gear down to the entrance, where a shuttle would whisk them off to the lifts 30 minutes away.
He parked in front of the old administration building, handsome and grand in that mountain style, though it was attached to a new glass-and-chrome addition that added nothing to its appearance.
Students walked every which way across the quad.
Two young men—undergraduates, probably—held hands.
They were still gangly, with trendy shaggy hair, wearing down vests and carrying backpacks.
Good for them, he thought, wondering briefly how that kind of freedom might’ve set him on a completely different path.
It was almost too much to think about, so he shut it down.
He continued inside and heard someone call his name.
“Colonel Garrison! Jack, please come in, come in.”
Jack turned and saw Dean Richard Hallicks, who was not what Jack had expected. He was short and compact, maybe five feet eight, with a round face and wire-rimmed glasses that kept sliding down his nose. He wore khakis and a gray corduroy blazer, gesturing before they’d shaken hands.
“Coffee? Of course, you want coffee. I’ve had four cups already—the drink of life.”
Hallicks guided Jack to his office. Books covered every surface, topographical maps adorned the walls like posters, and Colorado trail guides were scattered across his desk, with a pile of folders that seemed semi-official.
Jack gestured to one of the maps. “You climb?”
Hallicks’ face brightened. "Forty-three down, fifteen to go," he said. He pushed his glasses up, pride evident, as he referred to the Colorado peaks that rose above 14,000 feet. "The fourteeners. My wife claims I’m obsessed, and she’s probably right."
Jack liked him immediately.
“You know how these mountains are here,” Hallicks continued, settling into his chair and gesturing for Jack to sit. “So much history—from the Utes to the miners… Sorry. I’ll stop myself before I bore you with a full lecture.”
“No apology necessary,” Jack said. “I’d forgotten how much I missed them.”
“They have a way of calling you back,” Hallicks said, pushing his glasses up again.
“Your father and I go back twenty-some years. He was stationed here when I was still learning to run a department. Terrifying man, your father… But I learned more from him about leadership than from any seminar. Mutual respect between peers, he used to say. That’s the foundation. ”
“He speaks highly of you,” Jack offered.
“Does he?" Hallicks said. He shuffled some papers, then looked up. “He also mentioned that the state party’s been courting you for a congressional run?”
Jack hadn’t expected that to come up so quickly. “He told you?”
“In confidence. But if we’re going to work together, I’d rather know where your head is,” Hallicks said, slightly leaning in. “Is it something you’re seriously considering?”
Jack looked out the window before answering. “I don’t know. That’s the honest answer," he said. "For twenty years in the Army, I always knew my mission. But then I retired, and suddenly everyone’s got a plan for me. Run for office. Join a think tank. Consult for defense contractors.”
Stay in Calder Ridge with Luke.
The thought came out of nowhere, startling Jack. Too much, too soon, and he quickly pushed it aside.
“I needed to stop and look around. To figure out what I want, not what’s expected.”
“That sounds wise,” Hallicks said, nodding. “Now, permit me to show you the campus. Then we’ll discuss the essentials.”
Hallicks moved and spoke with brisk energy as they passed through the historic administration building.
“You’ll find I’m a hands-off manager. I trust my people, especially those as experienced as you. I let them do their jobs, advocate for them when they need me, and otherwise stay the heck out of the way.”
They stopped at the student union, ordered coffee, and sat by the windows overlooking the quad.
“I’m not building a dynasty here, Jack. I’m running a university in a small town in Colorado. If you give us six solid months, we’re ahead. If you stay longer, even better. But I won’t guilt you either way.”
Jack hung on the word “guilt.” Would Luke try to guilt-trip him into anything? Would Jack guilt himself, seeking some kind of forgiveness for something he did long ago that, frankly, wasn’t exactly a capital crime?
Jack extended his hand to Hallicks and said, "Then I accept.”
“Excellent,” Hallicks replied, shaking hands firmly. “Welcome aboard, Colonel. Now, do you hike? If you’re going to be here for six months, I’m dragging you up Mount Elbert at some point. Colorado’s highest peak. The view from the summit will clear your mind of anything clouding it.”
Jack smiled.
“I’ll keep that in mind," he said.
LUKE
He read the same paragraph in an email three times before he understood what it said. It was that kind of morning for Luke as he couldn’t stop thinking about Jack.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Doesn’t mean I’m obsessing.”
He kept envisioning Jack’s eyes across the dinner table at Delmonico’s, that first kiss in the snow… and Jack’s face when they climaxed together…
Stop! Back to work.
That was easy enough until after lunch, which he had with his team on the floor—salads and sandwiches from the deli down the street.
They had enough business to discuss to keep his mind occupied, and he wasn’t going to tell them yet that they might lose a major source of funding.
It still might work out fine, and he didn’t want to worry them, even though that tightened the pressure on him for the important event they were planning.
“OK, so we’re all agreed about the theme of the spring fund-raiser, Bloom into Fitness?” Luke asked his three employees.
Holly objected. “Florals for spring?” she said. “Groundbreaking.”
Everyone laughed, and Luke said, “OK, Miranda Priestly. We brainstormed ideas earlier, and this is where we landed. Do you have a better idea now?”
“Well,” she said teasingly, “what if we leave the black-tie part the way it’s planned, but then after that we have a Big ‘80s roller-disco party here at The Ridge? For everyone who can’t afford black tie, for the kids, for people who just want to have fun and celebrate. Isn’t that important, too?”
“Big ‘80s?” Amir asked.
“Leg warmers, headbands, Duran Duran… I know my parents and their friends would eat it up. That was their time, and everybody knows those old songs. It was a fun era, so, so tacky. I mean, neon tights and big hair, right? What do you think?”
Luke remembered watching “Xanadu” on HBO with Jack. Corny as hell, great music, and a really cute guy opposite Olivia Newton-John. Sometimes they could catch videos of artists like the Go-Gos and Madonna on TV.
“I like it,” he said. “Definitely more sass than ‘Bloom into Fitness.’”
They voted again, and it was 4-0 in favor. “Big ‘80s” was for the after-party.
When the others had left, Amir said, “How was Delmonico’s last night, Luke?”
“Excuse me,” Luke said playfully, masking his surprise and not making a fuss.
“I heard they hired a new chef after they remodeled the kitchen. Wondering if it’s still good enough to take my parents for their anniversary.”
"Yes! Yes? all is well at Delmonico’s.”
Amir gave him a look. “You seem… I don’t know. Different today.”
“Different how?”
"Good different. Like you’re trying not to smile,” Amir said, running his fingers through his thick black hair again.
Luke noticed with pride that Amir was maturing beyond his adorable-young-man years.
“You get lucky last night?” Amir asked, punching Luke lightly on the shoulder.
OK, not fully out of them yet, Luke thought.
Luke grabbed a towel and threw it at him. “Get back to work.”
But Amir was right. Luke was trying not to smile. Trying not to obsess. Trying not to check his phone every ten minutes.
And failing at all three.
But he couldn’t tell Amir any of that. He could tell Mara, but then he’d have to weed through her Debbie Downer attitude toward Jack in general.
He checked his phone again.
Still nothing.
He started to send a text for the umpteenth time, but stopped himself. Again.
He told himself, It’s his first day at a new job… Don’t bug him. Be cool.
“What about you, Amir? You dating anyone these days? You haven’t mentioned anyone in a while.”
“Well,” Amir started. “I don’t know. I met somebody I like, but I don’t know… It’s hard to say for sure because it’s a guy.”
“A guy? OK. Cool.”
“Is it? I don’t know. I’ve never dated a guy before.”
“Have you been out with him yet?”
“No, but I think I’m gonna ask him to hang out sometime. I met him at a party. We were both, like, the only people not getting wasted, and we just talked and talked for hours.”
“Sounds nice, Amir. Go for it.”
“What if I’m not gay?”
“You’ll figure it out. Just be honest. You don’t need to have everything figured out yet.”
“You did.”
“Yeah… couldn’t help it, man. Guy came along and knocked me off my feet.”
“You mean swept you off your feet.”
“No, I meant what I said. Trust me. You’ll know. You don’t have to pick an identity just because you like this person or that person.”
It felt good to help Amir with his problem, which reminded him he hadn’t heard from his AA sponsee in about a week. Luke called the man and left a short message. “Hey, it’s Luke, saying hi. I’m doing all right. Here if you need me.”
That worked, too, reaching out to help someone else. Always.
JACK
The faculty lunch was pleasant enough, just burgers and salmon Caesar salads at a bistro across from campus. Jack learned names, made small talk, and sized people up the way he’d been trained.
One of the women—Irene? Eileen?—kept catching his eye, lingering in her smile too long. Jack filed that away under “complications to avoid.”
Back in his office, he closed the door, sat at his desk, and pulled out his phone.
No messages.
He told himself it was fine. Luke wasn’t the type to blow up his phone. They’d had a great night. No need to overcomplicate it with constant contact.
Last night was fantastic, but that didn’t mean they were a couple, or even friends, really. It wouldn’t help for Jack to let anyone rush him from Point A to Point E… or to Point M… There’d be time to figure things out later if that became necessary.
He turned on his new laptop to watch the orientation videos HR required all new staff members to view. The usual boilerplate on sexual harassment, employee benefits, and PTO.
Process. Procedure. All good and orderly, like Jack preferred things to be.
He already knew Luke didn’t share his fascination with order. Luke led with his heart. He said so himself.
Jack wasn’t afraid of his emotions, exactly.
His pace and actions were more deliberate, guided by his intellect and analysis.
For now, in Calder Ridge, he had committed to six months before having to figure out his next move.
He wasn’t comparing options or weighing factors.
Not yet. He was just… observing from a secure position.
Gathering information. Keeping his options open.
He wondered if he was “supposed” to text Luke today? He honestly didn’t know the rules and expectations.
But he observed that he wanted to, and he noted that information without self-judgment. He decided he’d text Luke because he wanted to. In a bit.