Chapter 2

Poems, poems…and more poems! “If I could figure out what that stuff meant, I’d consider myself an accomplished man,” he grumbled. He put one book back, skimmed some titles, then picked up a well-worn leather-bound volume to take a closer look.

Then it happened.

His breath caught in his throat and his heart skipped a beat. He took a step back, startled by what he’d just seen on the other side of the shelf: that mop of ash blond hair, those two blue eyes that looked like sapphires framed by little wrinkles caused by too many smiles. The very same smile Benjamin’s heart had never forgotten.

It couldn’t be…

Thud!

The book hit the floor, and Benjamin bent over to collect it, his heart racing and his hands trembling. He stood up, dropping the book again. His head was spinning, and he felt completely disoriented. He caught his breath and looked again—whoever he had seen was gone.

You know it couldn’t possibly be…

He found Vinny behind the counter, just as he heard the bell on the door clang. “Who just left?”

“I beg your pardon, sir?”

“I asked if you saw the man who just left!” Benjamin said, raising his voice.

“Yes, a young, fair-haired man. He went that way.”

Benjamin rushed to the street. Looking in the direction Vinny had indicated, he saw a blond man heading towards the Rock.

You know very well it couldn’t be…

Distracted by his haste, he bumped into a short, dumpy woman. “Hey! Watch where you’re walking!” she grumbled.

“Forgive me, ma’am,” Ben muttered, without even slowing down.

It was like something, or somebody, was calling him.

You’re being ridiculous, Ben, he repeated to himself, you’re following some random blond man through the streets of Gibraltar. Pathetic!

He saw him enter Westin’s Inn. He froze, feeling like a lost child taking his first steps. His heart was pounding in his chest and he could hear a little voice echoing in his head. Idiot, idiot, you know it’s not him!

Even though a few years had passed, the pain lived on, just below the surface, as if it had all happened the day before. And his silly attempt to bury his loss only made it more and more unbearable.

You were stupid then, when you refused to believe that your love was genuine. And you’re being even more stupid now, thinking God would grant you a second chance.

There was a tavern across the street. He settled in at a table outside, just in front of Westin’s, and ordered a beer. He knew he should forget the whole thing, but he couldn’t. He waited, staring at the inn’s facade, until he saw the shutters of a second floor window open.

“Jack,” he murmured. He stood up and paid for the red pint he hadn’t even taken a sip of.

He figured it had to be the second room on the left, on the second floor. He found the door in less than two minutes flat.

He stood there, barely breathing. In the past, he’d been forced to make bold life-and-death decisions affecting not only himself, but his men as well, and he had done so courageously and without hesitation, but now he was standing there, like a complete idiot, unable to make even the smallest move. He tentatively reached out to knock, but immediately pulled his hand back. He swallowed.

Then the door opened.

“Jack…”

The door was open only just enough for him to catch a glimpse of that face—a blue eye, the outlines of his features—but that was enough. He couldn’t be mistaken. At least, that’s what his heart kept screaming. A sharp, stabbing pain appeared right in the middle in his chest. He smiled at the man.

“Perhaps you’ve got the wrong room, sir,” the blond man said softly. “I heard steps coming from the hallway and thought it was the girl. I asked for a hot bath.”

Ben’s smile quickly melted away. Deep down, common sense told him things could never turn out the way he wanted. The man he’d been unable to love was never coming back to him.

Benjamin stared, unable to reply, absorbing every nuance of his voice. It was so similar to Jack’s warm voice, perhaps a little less deep. Or maybe it was completely different, and it was just his heart making him think it was the same.

I told you so, you’re being a complete idiot.

His voice returned as if by magic, but the pain in his chest was in no hurry to leave. Even though he knew the answer full well, he had to ask: “I’m sorry, I was wondering if maybe…you were someone I used to know a long time ago.”

“I don’t think I remember you, sir. Perhaps I could ask the name of the man you’re looking for?”

Benjamin opened his mouth and immediately closed it again. Then he opened it one more time, still staring at that one blue eye he could see through the narrow opening of the door. “Hughes. Jack Hughes,” he responded, holding his breath.