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The airline offered them a double room in a four star hotel near the airport at a reduced price. They accepted the offer, picked up the vouchers and walked out of the airport to hail a cab.

Heathrow airport, four star hotel.

After a quick but delicious dinner, Jack and Mina went up to their room. Mina had tried cheering Jack up throughout the meal, but he seemed out of sorts. ‘Not a great start to the holiday,’ she thought to herself. He seemed so remote. She wondered if he’d soon snap out of his mood. He sat on the corner of the bed, his arms hanging by his side. Mina sat down next to him.

‘Jack? Please talk to me.’

He sighed and then looking away from Mina, began to speak.

‘I know it might sound stupid, but I didn’t really keep in touch with my mother and sister for almost a decade, until I quit the army. And even then, I only went to see them for the first time six months ago. That’s when we decided to spend our first family reunion holiday together in Thailand.’

‘So where’s the problem?’ asked Mina.

‘I guess I feel guilty for not being there already.’

‘Is something else bothering you, Jack?’ she asked.

‘Why do you say that?’

‘You’re not used to doing nothing with your time, are you? Wasn’t it Daniel who called you an Action Hero?’

‘Maybe. I felt at peace when I started my engineering work at the village.’

‘You were still doing something.’

‘So?’

‘So, I think that instead of worrying for no good reason, you should embrace this time to think about where you’d like to be going.’

He searched her face for any signs of pity and found nothing but an inviting smile. Jack felt the wisdom in Mina’s words, and understood what she meant, but he still couldn’t shake off his worry. Where were his mother and sister? He still hadn’t been able to get in touch with them. But maybe Mina was right and he was worried for other reasons. His family history didn’t usually bother him that much. He just tended to avoid thinking about it. But right now, he felt that his tough guy act was crumbling under Mina’s penetrating gaze.

She sensed he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the right words.

‘When did you stop speaking to your family?’ she asked.

‘It’s complicated,’ he muttered.

‘Try me,’ she continued, softly.

He sighed, ‘When I left home. I was sixteen.’

‘Where did you go?’

‘I had a choice: jail time or the army. I don’t regret my choice.’

‘Why? What did you do?’ Mina asked, a little taken aback.

‘I hurt a guy pretty bad, outside a bar. He was drunk, he insulted me and it made me angry.’

‘Why were you so angry?’

‘Hey. Should I lie down? Do you need a note pad?’

‘I’m not your therapist Jack, but I would like to know.’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said, sincerely. ‘I suppose I had been angry a long time, ever since my dad died.’

‘How old were you?’ she asked, trying to keep her questions short.

‘About eleven.’

‘What happened?’

‘He was gunned down in a drive-by shooting.’

She squeezed his hand softly.

‘My dad could barely make ends meet at the best of times. When he died, we lost the house to the bank and ended up in a trailer park. I was angry at my dad for leaving us like that.’

‘You must have missed him a lot?’

‘I guess so.’

He felt something begin to thaw inside him. He had a sudden vision of his father returning from the mill early one summer’s day and playing baseball with him in the nearby school yard. He remembered his dad’s large rough hands and the smell of freshly-sawn cedar wood on his clothes. They hadn’t spoken much, but it was a good memory. He felt lighter at heart. He looked sideways at Mina, wondering what she was thinking now that she knew a little more about him. He hoped he hadn’t driven her away. But she smiled up at him and he knew he was alright. Slowly, she put her arms around his neck and stroked his hair. He pulled her closer into him, feeling the swell of her breasts against his firm chest. He caressed her lower back. She pulled back to look at him, and then kissed him passionately. He lowered her down carefully onto the bed and started undressing her, removing her clothes, piece by piece, progressively kissing every newly bare area of her silky skin. Since the day — was it only a few weeks ago? — when Mina had seen him walking towards her in the desert with his shirt open wide, she had dreamed of Jack’s firm body pressing hard against her own. Looking deep into his smouldering eyes, she undid the buttons of his shirt. They both breathed in unison, one last gasp before the leap, one last thought before losing themselves to the pleasure of the long-awaited moment.

Mina was curled tightly against Jack’s warm chest, their naked bodies still intertwined.

‘You know, after all we’ve been through, getting shot… I should be a total wreck, but there’s something about being around you Mina, I feel I could do something amazing now.’

‘You already have, Jack.’ She said with a mischievous grin.

He laughed softly.

‘So,’ she said, ‘are you ready to introduce me to your family?’