The return

Eric sat in his favorite booth, it was far away enough not to be disturbed by unwanted people but not so far away as to not be seen by waiters and bartenders. He was working his way through his second beer when a waitress sat an old fashioned in front of him. "Thanks but I didn't order this."

"The woman at the bar ordered it," the woman raised her martini glass as Eric looked her way, "she said you looked like you needed something stronger than beer."

"Lucky guess." The waitress walked away and Eric nodded a thank you to the woman at the bar. The woman took this as her cue to saunter over and sit in his booth. "I don't usually let strange women buy me drinks." He said as he drank from the large glass.

"I'm not that strange. Besides, you looked like you needed a friendly ear."

"If you're buying." He drank half of the glass down in one gulp, relishing the burning pain.

"A man drinks like that he's liable to wind up dead."

He waved for another before downing the rest, "When?"

"I don't think I've ever seen you with a beard before."

After a moment of silence Eric finally spoke, "What do you want Becky?"

"I go by Rebecca now, and like I said, just to be a friendly ear."

"Are we?"

Rebecca sighed and she frowned, "I'd like us to be. I know that'd take work-"

"A miracle."

"I know what I did was wrong and I never did apologize…for whatever it's worth I am sorry."

Eric shrugged, taking the second drink from the waitress before taking a sip, "It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters."

He shook his head, "I'm just the guy who gets cheated on. It's just my lot in life."

"You can't possibly believe that."

"No? Why'd you do it?" He took a large swing from his drink.

"It's…complicated. Are you sure you want to know?"

"Everything's always complicated."

Rebecca stirred the small olive in her glass with her toothpick, "Self sabotage. Between school and work for the both of us we never made time for it. When we were together it was more like we were hanging out than being intimate. It made me think of how my mom and dad were before they divorced. Truth is…I just wanted more romance."

"Apparently it's a habitual problem I have."

She gently placed her hand over his and frowned, "Things are better though. After we broke up I realized I had a lot of growing up to do because I know I hurt the sweetest and nicest guy I've ever met in my life. And he didn't deserve that." Eric made no attempt to move her hand, instead he sullenly continued to drink. "I work in HR at a bank. I'm talking to my mom again. It's not as great as with you and your mom but we're working on it."

"Glad I could help." He raised his glass in toast before finishing it in one go.

"If I could change things I would. I hate knowing that all of this came at hurting someone so special." Eric looked from his glass for the first time to his ex-girlfriend. She wore a knee length plaid pencil skirt and a white blouse that danced that line between appropriate for the office and appropriate for the club, she always was sexy no matter what she wore. "Eric…" she whispered as she tilted her head and leaned in for a kiss. Kissing Rebecca was like watching your favorite movie from when you were a child. Looking back you could see the flaws but being in that moment again felt warm, comforting, right. "Do you want to come back to my place?"

"Yes." He whispered back.

The two stood up and Eric followed, still holding her hand.

As they were about to reach the door Eric stopped, Rebecca turned in confusion. "I can't." He sighed, "I have a girlfriend."

"I figured you were drinking because you broke up with someone." He shook his head, "Do you want to talk about it?" Eric nodded and Rebecca sat him in another booth,

"Jodie…she told me she'd been cheating on me with her boss."

"I'm sorry…Jodie…her name wouldn't be Jordan too would it? Cause that would be a wild coincidence." Eric said nothing, but she had been reading his facial expressions for years and immediately understood, "Jodie is Jordan? Wait…is Jordan trans?"

Eric nodded and took out his phone, opening a picture he showed Rebecca a selfie Jodie had taken sitting on his lap in front of the piano at howl at the moon. Both of them grinning ear to ear as they kissed in front of a crowd.

"Wow, Jordan has such a tiny waist."

"She's put a lot of work into it. She even goes to the gym with me."

"You know I had a red wrap dress just like that, that I just can't seem to find since we broke up. Though…Jodie definitely fills it out better than I do." She smiles, handing him back the phone. As Eric looks at the picture of an idiot in love with a beautiful girl he can't help but shed a tear. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

After fifteen minutes and another old fashioned Eric had retold the story of Jodie's affair in its entirety as he knew it, "That's a lot." She finally said. Eric nodded and wiped at his eyes, "I'm curious though, and I think I already know the answer, what would you have done if Jordan told you what was happening at work as soon as it happened? Would you offer Jordan comfort?"

"I'd've killed her boss."

"And end up in jail. I think he knew that."

"She."

Rebecca shook her head hard, "Sorry. I should know better. It just takes getting used too. I've known Jordan as…well Jordan." Taking out her phone, it was Rebecca's turn to show Eric a picture of a pretty redhead. "Her name is Leah. She's my sister."

"I don't remember you having any siblings." Eric swayed as he looked at the picture. + Leah looked to be a teenager with deep blue eyes and a wide smile that showed off her pink braces. She wore a green dress with flowers and four inch heels next to a blonde teen girl with beautiful green eyes.

"I didn't used too. My mom adopted her a few years ago, before we started talking again. Leah is like Jordan."

"She's trans? Wow. Never would've guessed."

"Yeah. I love her to death. But apparently this wasn't the first time mom helped out a trans teen."

"The blonde girl?" He gestured to the green eyed blonde smiling and pressing a peace sign to her cheek and kicking up one link heel that he thought Jodie would have loved to own.

"She's my cousin. But back to my original point; you would've most likely been arrested for aggravated assault and possibly attempted murder or worse. I know how protective you are of the people you care about. I was one of them remember. And Jordan has known you even longer. I'm sure h-she considered this and didn't want to risk losing you."

"Maybe."

"Don't maybe me. You know I'm right." She poked him in his third rib knowing how it tickled him every time. "So the question now, Mr.Hero, is, do you still want her in your life? If the answer is yes then it's going to take work. But if I remember correctly you never shied away from hard work if you wanted something."

Eric nodded, "I do."

Rebecca smiled and looked once more at the selfie of Jodie wrapped in Eric's arms. "You know, I used to think Jordan was being creepy and leering at me but…maybe she wasn't looking because she wanted to have sex with me? Maybe she was just envious?" Eric finished his third boilermaker, and leaned on Rebecca's shoulder. Having not eaten much in the past three days and nothing in the past twenty-four hours the copious amounts of alcohol was hitting him excessively hard.

"Hey... are you okay?" She shook him briefly.

"Hmm." He grunted.

"Yeah, definitely no driving tonight." She reached into his pocket for his wallet and found it empty. "And no cab... alright. Can you stand up?" He groaned. "I'll take that as a 'kinda'. Come on." Rebecca struggled as she attempted to drag the much larger Eric out of the booth, nearly dropping him on top of her. Thankfully the bartender had seen her struggle and caught up with her in time.

"I figured a big guy like your boyfriend could handle his liquor better."

"Oh he's not my boyfriend. He's my friend." The bartender smiled as he hefted one of Eric's arms over his shoulders.

They both helped Eric to his truck, the bartender moreso than Rebecca, they propped him up against the passenger door as Rebecca fished out his keys. She thanked the man as he placed Eric into the truck before climbing into the driver's seat, having to adjust the seat for Eric's much longer frame.

"Hey," she said after several minutes of silent driving through city streets, "wake up and text your girlfriend you're alive. Okay?" Eric groaned and took out his phone and began typing slowly.

Across the city Jodie laid on the couch, an empty carton of ice cream on the coffee table beside her and Lauren on the other end of the couch bundled up in a small blanket, the night of crying and ice cream having finally taken its toll half an hour ago. And so Jodie sat alone, in the dark, as her ice cream melted. Her phone opened to the texts she had sent to Adam the previous days. Still no response. Every few minutes she would type a new message that she would immediately delete. In one she told him the truth about Eric and hoped he could forgive her so they could continue their relationship. In another she told him the truth about herself and would understand if he never spoke to her again. In another she told him she loved him but couldn't go through with being married, explaining everything she had never told him before and a series of apologies for hurting him. But every time she did she would inevitably break down and cry only to start all over again once she managed to stop crying.

Finally, around 3am she made a choice to tell him the entire truth no matter how much it hurt her, to tell him how she felt about him and Eric both and how she wanted to be with Eric in the end. "I hope you can forgive me." As she sent the message another message popped up from Eric.

Fuzzybear: Hey Jordan. I will be home tomorrow morning.

Jodie felt a mixture of relief and worry. He hadn't called her Jordan in so long it almost felt like a slap in the face when he did it earlier. Was it good news or bad? Was he still upset? He must be, why else wouldn't he be home now? Was she expected to pack the rest of her stuff and be gone by morning?! Jodie would get no sleep tonight as she tried to decipher his mysterious text.

Across town Rebecca smiled proudly, "There. Now she won't be worried about you ghosting her." She sat his phone down on the coffee table beside the couch where Eric lay unconscious, having passed out immediately as he fell into the couch. She thought for a moment, "I wonder if you were this sad when we broke up." She stood and walked into her kitchen and brought back a bucket. "Not that I'd deserve it, I know." She placed the bucket beside his head and threw a small blanket over his midsection. "I find you again and find both of us have grown and I find out you are taken." Rebecca sighed, "I can hear Gabby telling me I told you so already. Good night, Eric." She whispered, kissing his forehead and walked off into her room.

The next morning, Lauren jumped as the apartment door closed. Hurrying from the kitchen she saw a hungover and disheveled Eric standing in the living room, watching Jodie.

"Hey."

"Hey. Can Jodie and I talk in private?"

"Are you going to be nice?"

"Of cour-you're my sister."

"Only by blood."

"It's okay." Jodie said quietly from her position on the couch.

"Okay. I'll be…elsewhere." Lauren slowly walked outside, closing the door behind her.

"I guess we should talk." Eric sat on the edge of the couch, trying to take up as little room as possible. Jodie did the same and was better accomplished at the task. Jodie was tired. Both physically and emotionally. She spent the night crying over Eric and Adam. Jodie didn't even have the energy to apply makeup or do her hair. The only reason she wore none now was because Lauren removed it for her the night before as she just kept making her mascara run. Eric took a deep breath before cautiously asking, "Do you love him more than me?"

Tears filled Jodie's eyes as pain tore through her chest, "I love you more than di"

"Then why?"

"I told you, because I was afraid-"

"Not why you didn't tell me or why you did it…why were you leaving me?"

"I thought if I, like, left you'd realize that I tricked you into loving me."

"How did you trick me?"

"I….I don't know. But if I did I'm sorry. I know I'm not the girl of your dreams. I know I'm an idiot and a freak but-"

"Stop it. Have I ever let anyone talk about you like that before?"

"No…"

"Then what makes you think I'll let you talk shit about you like that?"

Jodie stood, twisting her fingers around each other, nervously trying to wring out an invisible wrag, "I know you think that. That I'm so good but I'm not. I know I've only ever dragged you down. And you didn't deserve that anymore, and you deserve a woman so much better than me. So maybe if I left you'd find a girl you deserve-"

"I am so sick of everyone telling me what I deserve." Eric pinched the bridge of his nose so hard he thought it might break. "I don't care what I deserve." Eric stood and stared deep into Jodie's eyes, "I only care about you! Because I love you." Jodie held herself, unsure exactly how to respond, "I don't know when exactly it changed but I loved you my whole life, first as my best friend and now as my girlfriend. You're still my best friend. Even after all of this all I can think about is…how much I still love you. What you did hurt but…I can't stop myself from loving you."

"So we just act like it never happened?"

"Absolutely not." Jodie bit her lip in confusion, "I want us to have a real and mature relationship and I think part of that is not pretending we don't have our faults. We talk about things that are bothering us because…no matter what happens I'll never stop loving you. I'll never abandon you. God knows I've got faults but I want to work on them with you. It won't be easy but-" Jodie threw her arms around Eric.

"As long as I'm with you." Jodie whispered. Slowly the large man wrapped his strong arms around her. And they stayed there, wrapped in the silence of their home. Unaware of what the future held for them but knowing they would face it together.

Not far away in that silent room Jodie's message to Adam flashed with a response. 'Unable to send. Try again?'