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Callum was relieved to welcome Jamie back into his and Nerea’s bed when he returned London in the first week of August. Jamie may have only been in Dublin and out of physical reach for a fortnight, but his absence had still been too long. As much as the quiet time with Nerea had been a blessing, Callum knew neither of them had expected to miss Jamie as much as they had. That emotional investment boded well for the future of their relationship with him, including Jamie spending a month in Spain with Nerea, but it was also hard. Missing someone was brutal, and arranging schedules so that everyone got the time together they wanted was difficult.
The morning after their celebratory reunion date, they ate breakfast up on the roof; Jamie had declared he’d missed the view. Then Jamie asked Nerea out on a date for the just two of them that night, which left Callum at loose ends. Rather than rattle about in the flat by himself, he decided to make plans with the people he wasn’t otherwise going to see until his press tour was over.
He called Thom to schedule one of their semi-regular pub nights, and then called Piper to see if she was up for an impromptu father-daughter day out. It was the sort of thing he’d never had time for when she was small. Callum carried his regrets, but skiving off other responsibilities to make time for each other was something he relished now. A need for mischief and serendipity ran deep in them both.
Today’s mission, once Piper had agreed to take the afternoon off work, was nearby London Zoo, for no other reason than it was close and neither of them had been in years. Shortly after one, Callum arrived outside the building of the graphic design firm where Piper worked with two paper cups of coffee.
“Where’s Mum?” she asked when she finally came out, swinging her bag over her shoulder and taking the coffee gladly. “I didn’t think she’d miss a chance to hover.”
“At a gallery,” Callum said simply. Although there was surely a way to introduce Jamie as a topic of conversation, he was vaguely aware that this wasn’t it. He was going to have to, and soon, but he wanted today to be pleasant and about Piper; Callum knew he had a bad habit of making everything about him.
“The Tate? For her show?”
“Something like that.”
As they strolled through Regent’s Park, Callum tried not to be conspicuously distracted as he thought of Nerea and Jamie on their date. The boy was asking for things, which was a pleasure and a joy. With so many ways their relationships could suffer from wild inequalities, every move Jamie made to claim what he wanted for his own was a good one.
“Tell me how you are?” he asked, refocusing.
Piper shrugged. “Better now that I’m out of the office.”
“You seeing anyone?”
“Daaad,” Piper whined. “Did Mum put you up to this?”
“Would I tell you if she had?”
Piper huffed “Can you not? Not everyone does dating as their chief hobby. Or as a spectator sport.”
“You mean like I do?”
Piper gave him a look that was so Nerea that Callum had to laugh.
“What am I supposed to do for a hobby instead?” he asked.
“Knit.”
“So I’m assuming that yes, you are seeing someone.” Callum pounced on the topic again as they entered the Park and turned onto the Broad Walk, which was lousy with tourists.
“Ugh. Dad. You don’t want to hear about it,” Piper said, gesticulating with her coffee cup.
“I am open-minded and your relationship has to be less stress-inducing than Devon getting married or Leigh having a baby.”
“See, you think that, so I shouldn’t say anything to disabuse you of that notion.”
“I promise not to tell your mother?” Callum tried.
Piper laughed and shook her head.
When they reached the zoo, Callum wrapped his arm around her shoulders and dug out his mobile to take a selfie. “Smile,” he said.
“Oh my God, Dad, don’t.” Piper may have protested, but she laughed and tipped her head onto his shoulder just the same. “Please tell me you’re not posting that on your damn Instagram.”
“But we look adorable!” Callum showed her the picture.
“Yes, and I don’t need thousands of gross messages on my social media when people suddenly remember I’m your daughter again.” Piper, of the three girls, looked the most like Nerea and the least like Callum; she was small and slender, with dark eyes and hair and dramatic cheekbones.
“Fair enough,” Callum conceded. He’d keep the photo just for himself then. Piper was usually sanguine about the periodic difficulties of being his daughter, but complaints about the social media implications he took seriously, no matter how casual her tone. Online harassment of women could be vile and the thought of Piper having to endure it on his behalf was upsetting.
He refrained from asking further about whoever it was she was dating. Instead they talked about Piper’s work, the boss who irritated the hell out of her, and a new project she was excited to take the lead on. When Piper tired of shop talk, they chatted about the programs they were both watching or the books they were reading. In all, it was a stress-free low-stakes outing. Callum knew his life would be better if he did more things like this. He was certainly going to miss her while he was travelling.
* * *
AT THE END OF THE AFTERNOON, Callum walked Piper to the tube for her journey home to Whitechapel. He hugged her goodbye and promised to meet her again for another outing, wherever she wanted, when he was back in town after his press tour.
He watched her go through the gate. His heart clenched when she turned around to give him a last wave and an exasperated look, the same way she did every time he waited to leave until she was truly out of sight. Having children had been one of the great joys and, at times, great failures of his life. Even after all of these years, he was still learning what it meant to be a parent to them. Fatherhood was hard, and the world too often encouraged men to meet the task poorly. He was still feeling introspective as he walked through the London haze to meet Thom for drinks.
It took Callum a moment to locate him in the pub. He was sitting all the way in the back, wedged in a corner booth and facing away from the room. He was hunched over his mobile. As soon as Callum came into his range of vision, he shoved the device into his pocket and sat up straight.
“Hiding, are you?” Callum asked as he slid into the seat across from Thom and pushed a pint over to him.
“Preemptively. From your groupies. Thanks,” Thom said, taking a healthy swig from the fresh glass.
“What were you doing?” If Thom was going to be surly, Callum was going to be nosy.
“Just giving Alice some advice.”
“Which one is Alice again? I can’t remember everyone you’re dating.”
“There’s not that many of them,” Thom said, annoyed.
“No, but they end so quickly I can’t keep track.” Callum grinned to lessen the sting of the barb.
Thom refused to take the bait. “I’m not dating Alice. She was my assistant a few years back. She’s on her first film as director of photography.”
“She’s arrived then. Why does she need your advice now?” Callum teased for the sheer fun of needling him.
Thom sighed and pointedly ignored the question. “I haven’t seen you a lot lately. We should catch up.”
“That’s why we’re doing this now,” Callum said easily, but with a flutter of misgiving. It wasn’t like Thom to sound so stilted, do niceties, or skirt around issues, but all three seemed to be at hand now. “What’s going on with you?”
“The divorce is finalized.” Thom took another gulp of beer.
That explained Thom’s mood. “I’m not sure whether I should offer congratulations or condolences.”
“Yes,” Thom said.
“To fresh starts?” Callum raised his glass.
Thom gave a half-smile and clinked his own glass off of it.
“On that note — ”
“Oh God, what now?” Thom asked.
Thom was far too much fun to rile. “Jamie’s going to visit Nerea in Spain.”
“You’re fucking kidding me.”
“When I go on press tour for Diminished Fifth.” He couldn’t keep the wistfulness out of his voice. He was going to miss everyone while he was gone. His wife. His lover. His daughters. His friends.
“The entire month. While you gallivant around the world,” Thom said, disbelieving. "You told me Nerea was seeing him too but I didn't know it had gone that far."
“It’s not quite a month. And it’s definitely not gallivanting. It’s answering the same exact questions twenty times a day and then smiling for the cameras like it’s been the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Thom was definitely still hung up on the part about Jamie and Nerea.
“It was Nerea’s idea,” Callum pointed out.
“In that case everything will be just peachy.” Thom still didn’t sound convinced.
Callum wondered why he cared so much. Sure, Thom needled him as much as he needled Thom. And his friend was having a hard day. But Callum wondered if his and Nerea’s relationship with Jamie was ever going to be the sort of situation other people could simply express their happiness for. “Nerea has far better judgment than me,” Callum said defensively.
Frowning, Thom passed his now mostly empty pint glass back and forth between his hands. “Yes, that’s what worries me.”