"You're her father, and she'll always be your girl. Even I know how lucky you are to have each other." said Steve. "But don't put her on a pedestal, because that's not fair to either one of you. Let her be what she is. She's not a saint; she's a woman. Not perfect, but close enough, for me anyway."
"Thanks for the advice," said Jack sarcastically. "Now here's some for you. Don't hurt her."
"I don't intend to."
There was little more Jack could say, and he went home that evening with a myriad of feelings, none of them good. Not only had his attempt at intervention failed, it may have facilitated the very thing he had tried to prevent. In any case it was too late now. There was no going back over the line that had already been crossed.
Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe things would work out. And maybe elephants could fly.
It was times like this when he felt Liz's absence so keenly. She had a way of bringing him back to center whenever his world got off balance. She'd put her arms around him and rein him in with the smile he couldn't resist and a few fitly spoken words. What would she say to him now?
Remember how it was for us in the beginning, Jack, or have you forgotten?
Of course he hadn't forgotten. Those memories were burned into his soul, days that were heady with discovery and sweet anticipation, their hearts pounding in their veins and the feeling that forever could not come soon enough, nor would it ever be long enough. Nothing or no one on earth could have kept them apart. You can't stop something that strong any more than you can freeze time.
Theirs had been a near perfect love, and yet the world weighed in on it and almost destroyed it. Still, it refused to wither and die even after Liz left him for good.
That's the kind of love he wanted for Sara, but he wondered if it was even possible in a world where it had been reduced to an almost disposable commodity. In truth it was the antithesis of love, a cheap imitation requiring little or no investment, making it easier to walk away when the glitter was gone.
Real love was hard work. After the initial fall, it was often an uphill climb that demanded discipline, commitment and sacrifice just to hold your position sometimes. It could be painful, tedious, even maddening, and in Jack's experience there were no happy endings, only interludes of happiness. So why would anyone bother? Where was the payoff?
Those who had climbed that mountain knew that the gold was in the interludes, those moments of absolute joy and quiet beauty, those touches of wonder that elevate life from the ordinary to the extraordinary. It's what they remembered after all the pain was past. And it's why Jack knew he would do it all again if he had the chance, even knowing the cost.
It seemed like a mighty long shot, but if Sara was willing to risk her heart for that, he couldn't in good conscience tell her it wasn't worth it. Only time could do that.
tbc
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