Since You've Been Gone. (boyxboy)

Chapter 1: Invite

"He still thinks about him. Even now. He needs to stop thinking about him."
☆

He stares at the envelope. the name written upon it so beautifully scribed, in pitch black italics. The envelope itself in an embossed handmade cream coloured paper. He lets a snort leave his lips at the grandeur of such an invite.

"Hey, come to bed." The voice of his lover could be heard as soft footsteps approach. She drapes her hands over his shoulders from behind as he sits at the small desk, her eyes looking ahead, seemingly following his gaze as he continues to stare at the rather innocent looking invite resting against the mirror. "Thomas Hepler'' she reads out the name, as she kisses the man on the top of his head, covered with the softest black hair. "Hepler... The name sounds familiar."

Jasper reaches up to place his hands upon hers, pulling her around to sit on his knee. Her night shirt rides up a little as she finds her place on his lap. "Just an old friend." he says, forcing a smile.

"An old friend?" she questions, as she puts her hand around his back to steady herself.

"I haven't seen him in ages." He says, now finally drawing his attention to the young woman in his arms. "He's Molly's younger brother. We were close friends once."

"The guy who went travelling?" She wonders as she picks up the card, her eyes glancing once again over the name.

"Yeah that's him." Jasper sighs, as he looks at the invite in her possession. He takes it from her grasp and tosses it back on the desk, before placing his hand on her stomach. He tenderly strokes the area with the pads of his fingers. "He won't come. Like you said he went travelling. He made no effort to stay in touch. I don't even know where I would send it. besides..." Jasper looks up at his lover. He places a soft kiss on her partially exposed collarbone, with the tender kisses making their way to her shirt covered stomach. "He is my past. You and this little one are my future."

She lifts up her hand placing it over his, "Don't you think we should tell your mother?"

Jasper shakes his head, emitting a light chuckle. "Definitely not before the wedding. She would kill me."

She raises his chin with a finger. They meet each other's gaze as she leans in, inches apart as she utters, "I love you Jasper Jones...now come to bed."

As the pair make their way to the bed, there the invite lays on the desk, momentarily forgotten. The invite to Thomas Hepler. The man he had fallen for, over that one hot summer when he was eighteen.

***

The sound of someone knocking on the wooden door to the farmhouse, almost makes Molly drop her piping bag, as a small overzealous helping of pure white frosting is squeezed off the tip. She holds out a finger, catching the falling drop. "Jimmy! Get the door!" She hollers as soon, Jim enters the kitchen, grabbing her hand as he passes and helping himself to the excess on her fingers. "Hey!" She complains, but the man just grins as he sees that she is not all that angry as she breaks into a small smile.

"Looking good Mol." He comments, glancing at the cake, on his way to the door. He turns the rustic key and opens up, to see his sister standing on the other side. "Rosie, come in." He steps back, allowing her to enter.

"Let me see it." She says, full of excitement as she only seems to have eyes for the three tiered wedding cake which stood on its ornate stand in the centre of the rustic farmhouse table. "Ah Molly. It's beautiful. Jasper and Beth will love it." She laces her fingers together, holding them to her chest with delight.

"Thank you Rosie, but this is just for practice." She says, as she takes a step back to admire her handiwork.

"It's just as well I love cake." Jim laughs as he stands next to his sister, admiring the delicate buds of white, cascading down the side of the top tier.

"Well at least this is one less thing for me to worry about. It's beautiful." She says once again as she takes a seat at the table.

Molly rests the piping bag on the table and takes a seat next to her. She sees how Rosie's face seems to bear the weight of the world. She glances up at Jim, just jolting her head a fraction towards the door. Just a hint enough that he would take it to leave the room. "I just need to check on the chickens, be back soon." He leaves the kitchen, with Molly smiling at the back of his head as he leaves. She now turns her attention to Rosie.

"Tell me Rosie. What are you worried about?"

Rosie huffs out a sigh, rubbing her tired eyes. "It's nothing." She says, again looking at the cake practised to perfection. "I'm happy for him...for them. Jasper is finally being a responsible adult and Beth is such a sweet and kind young woman..."

"There's a 'but' isn't there." Molly says, raising an eyebrow. Rosie looks at her brother's partner, but says nothing. "I know what may help." She gets up from the seat to head for the range. She picks up the copper kettle and heads to the sink to fill it with water, before heading back to the gas ring in order to light it.

Rosie watches as Molly grabs her striped teapot and pops in a couple of teabags, ready and waiting. She smiles to herself. "Jasper was so happy here with you over that summer you know. Jim, you and Tom made him a better person."

"He was always a good person Rosie. Maybe just a little lost. That's all. All we did was show him the way."

"I always thought..." Rosie stops herself, wondering if she should continue, but when she sees Molly look back at her, with that look of maybe knowing what she was going to say, it spurs her to continue. "Your brother went away and never came back. Jasper waited and waited. He never said it in so many words but I know he was crushed. I feared he may go back to his old ways for a time."

Molly once again sits at the table, now opposite. She remains quiet, trying to find an answer as to why Thomas had stayed away. "I know grandpa kept him shackled to this place. Even though they never spoke, I think Tom still felt a sense of responsibility. When grandpa died, he wanted to get away, go live his life."

"But why didn't he contact Jasper? Both you and I witnessed that farewell. Tom was his first love and I suspect the feeling was mutual. That stays with a person." Rosie now feels determined to get an answer as she leans a little closer to Molly across the table.

"I can't answer that Rosie." Molly shakes her head. "Why are you asking me this now, after all these years?"

Rosie pulls her handbag around in order to retrieve something from inside of it. She takes out the cream envelope and slides it across the table towards Molly. "I found this in his apartment when I was cleaning it for him."

"You still clean for him?" Molly says with surprise as she picks up what has been passed to her. "He's twenty five."

"Just look at it." Rosie says, tapping a finger on the wooden table top. Molly looks at the envelope. She sees the name of her brother written upon it. "He still thinks about him. Even now. He needs to stop thinking about him."

"What do you want me to do with this?" Molly drops the wedding invite onto the table.

"Jasper can never move on in his life until he gets closure. Tom is the only one who can do that for him. Talk to him. Tell him to get in touch before the wedding so Jasper can unburden his mind."

Molly looks at Rosie. Her eyes pleading for her to help, The moment of intense quiet is distracted by the whistle of the kettle. She gets up to take it off the heat. "I will talk to him, but I cannot promise anything." She says as she pours the boiling water into the teapot.