Now There's Jack

Liam and I have been together for 25 years. We met when we were 18.

We met at uni where we both did a business degree.

Happy New Year 1999 had just happened, our first new year together, where we danced like Prince.

Liam had a best friend Arizona with whom he’d gone to school.

It had been a big few days, that new Year, Liam and I partying with Arizona and her new girlfriend Josie.

We’d saved up a big stash of pills and powders and we’d taken them all.

Pretty quickly it was the middle of the next week, and we’d been back at my place in North Fitzroy for how many days, none of us had kept track.

We had smoked a shit load of pot, I mean I am surprised the neighbours hadn’t called the fire brigade the amount of smoke that was potentially seeping out of the windows.

So, we’re days into this, Innocence, Enya, Enigma, even George Michael we’d played it all.

And some how we got onto the only thing Arizona wanted was to get pregnant and have a baby. She became obsessed with the idea. She couldn’t let it go. That was all she wanted in life.

After many hours of this Josie, who was quite possibly the most convincing person I’d ever met, go fixated on the idea that if it was pregnancy Arizona wanted, well, there was Liam and I present, two boys in the prime of our lives. All we had to do was milk either one of us for the good stuff, as Josie put it.

In the bathroom, Liam and I pulled each other off into a glass dish which we then slid the contents of which into one of those big plastic syringes, then we floated into the other room and Josie inserted the cum into Arizona, who was lying in the middle of the lounge room.

Nine months later, Jack was born.

We never did a DNA test on Jack to find out exactly who the father is, even if everyone thinks he is the spitting image of me, we just decided he was both our son.

When Jack was four years old, Arizona dropped him off at out place, for the afternoon. A week later, she messaged us from Greece saying she just had to find herself, she knew we’d understand.

We booked him into my old private school. We played dads to him. Jack caught public transport to school every day.

He never seemed to have a problem with having two days.

Liam and I progressed quite far through the corporate ranks, quickly becoming highly paid finance executives.

We have a big double fronted house in North Fitzroy. We have a beach house at Torquay.

Jack grew up fast. He had his friends over at the house like any boy growing up. None of his friends seemed to be worried about him having two dads.

Jack finished year twelve with very good marks. He then had a breakdown of sorts.

He had a very rough year the year after he finished school, but by the end of that year his mental health problems were sorted out with medication.

@19 the next year he got back on track.

Jack, like any teenage boy, was always losing things, his medication was no exception.

I was standing at the kitchen bench in our kitchen when I spotted the familiar box under the giant monstera.

“Now there’s Jack’s pills.” Thank our existence for the pills. Thank the pills for giving us back our happy Jack. Thank you, modern pharma.

Jack finished his environmental science degree. He started his own business renovating run down houses. (Like father(s), like son, well, Liam and I had dabbled in renovating houses, but after four, we decided we were done) Positively gearing, he espouses positive gearing.

“It is something that really shouldn’t be legal,” said Jack. “But thank fuck that it is.” Then he smiles that gorgeous smile of his, that has charmed half the world. Happy Jack.

He drives a brand new VW twin cab ute, that he doesn’t owe anything on. So, you know, he’s doing well for himself.

He’s now bringing up his son, Felix, with his girlfriend, Indigo. They seem happy.

Jack and Indigo still see Campbell. Is it a thrupple? Jack wouldn’t exactly say. All he has really ever said was, it’s a modern world. He has said at varying times that Indigo couldn’t choose between the two boys and while they had threatened to fight it out in a boxing ring and a football field, if that’s what it would take to impress her, they haven’t. It came down to the two of them being in love with Indigo and neither wanting to let her go.

When we have questioned do all three of them sleep together? He’s been kind of vague about it.

“If you want to know if Campbell and I are great big gay lords on the quiet, well, no, the answer is no.”

Liam and I looked sideways at each other, raising our eyebrows at exactly the same time.

Jack and Campbell play football together at the local club. They train together at the gym too, of course.

Indigo is now pregnant to Campbell. Jack did say that he was holding both Indigo and Campbell in his arms when Campbell impregnated Indigo, in a kind of reverential tone, like it was some kind of spiritual event.

Liam and I looked sideways at each other, once again, raising our eyebrows.

"We all like each other very much," said Jack.

Yeah, that got raised eyebrows too.

Campbell is a nice boy. Dark hair, blue eyes, good looking. He’s a lawyer at a corporate city law firm.

The three of them have bought three odd little derelict houses in Fitzroy some hundred year old hoarder owned that are next to each other. You don't have people in the 'business' without managing to secure such deals. One house for each of them. Jack and Campbell are currently renovating the three houses.

I saw both boys down on the beach at our beach house recently throwing a football to each other. Jack and Campbell were both in speedos and they looked mighty fit.

I looked at Liam, he looked at me.

“I’d like to watch…”

“Don’t say it,” said Liam.

“That,” I said.

“I told you not to say it,” said Liam. He smiled.

“Back 25 years when we were young and, er, um, Campbell.”

Liam smiled.

“It’s a modern world,” I said.

“But, is it really,” said Liam. “Really? It’s as old as time itself. Love triangles.”

“I guess, you are right.”

“It’s just conservatives who want you to think otherwise.”

“Do you think they get it, really,” I said. “Conservatives?”

“Yeah, well,” said Liam. “Dunno.”

“No, I don’t know either,” I said. “It could go either way. I’d believe either.”

Liam shrugged.

“On one hand they are so uptight about anyone who appears to live a life outside of their realm of existence,” I said. “But, on the other hand, conservatives only ever seem to consider the world around them.”

“I’m going for ignorance of others,” said Liam.

“I’m going for fear of anything that is not of their world, somehow being a danger of their world view.”

“Are they the same thing?” asked Liam.

“It has the same outcome,” I said. “They were against gay marriage because it might give straight boys ideas outside traditional marriage.”

“Sad, scared, ignorant conservatives,” said Liam.

“You wouldn’t be them for quids,” I said.

“You wouldn’t be them for quids,” said Liam.

I took his hand and we continued walking up the beach. We walked on that firm sand closest to the water, before it turns powdery under your feet, just that bit further up the beach. I don’t really like the squeak of the powdery sand under the soles of my feet.

The dogs ran ahead.

“Do you think Jack takes after you and me and Jamie?” I said. (Liam and I screwed Jamie for quite a number of years while Jack was growing up)

“What?” said Liam. He was looking out to the far off horizon. “Me and you and Jamie? Maybe.”

Indigo had Felix and baby Charlie on the sand playing together. Felix had built sandcastles; baby Charlie was knocking them down. Felix was laughing as if Charlie was the cutest thing.

"Do you think Jack and Campbell play as well together?" I quipped.

"Stop it," said Liam. He laughed. "Wasn't that how they got Charlie?"

"Stop it," I said.

A number of years ago, Arizona’s family building supply business was finally sorted out and her two brothers who ran it we made the owners officially and Arizona was paid out her share, and a new company was set up with just the two brothers. Arizona was paid 20 million dollars for her share. She found herself pretty fucken quickly after that. She bought a house near us in North Fitzroy, and she is back in Jack’s life, paying a considerable sum of money off the derelict terrace houses in Fitzroy.

You will never guess, who the fuck is back in her life now? Josie. I am surprised with myself for feeling like it is good to see her. She hasn’t changed. It’s kind of like having a small part of our lost history back again. She and Arizona seem to be very happy.

And Jack? Jack is clearly happy to have us all back together in his life.