231 Drunk and Stressed (1/2)
According to Eliza, something was off. Not only was he tired physically but the look in his eyes wasn't as lively as he normally was. Yet she didn't allow anyone to enter his room or even glance at him. Eliza made sure that Jack wasn't disturbed and he was allowed his beauty sleep.
The drifting smells of the succulent lunches on the main floor's tavern started to fill the air. One by one the party found themselves drifting toward their private dining room and making themselves comfortable.
Being the furthest from the door, Rydel and Maynard cheered each other in excitement for the adventure waiting head. They were the first to notice Jack taking his time to enter the room, still with a distracted look in his eyes. ”Jack, come! The lunch special is great.”
Jack nodded. Still in no rush to approach them, Jack sat down. He didn't bother getting anyone's attention, patiently waiting for more food to arrive on its own.
”Something wrong, Jack?” Asked Rydel.
”No, why do you ask?”
Rydel looked at Jack carefully. ”Jack, I know you well enough to know when you lie. Something's up and you don't want to talk about. Well, until you're ready to talk about it how about a few drinks to loosen up.”
”Sure… Sounds good to me.”
Overhearing the conversation, Eliza poured a glass of brundy for Jack. She and the others carefully paid attention to the weary-eyed hero.
In a single gulp Jack rushed the glass to his lips and allowed the liquid courage to flow. He slammed the glass back down on the table, feeling a bit better about himself, at least in the moment. ”I'll have another!” He repeated the action again but only once before Marisha brought in the next round of food.
Maynard gave Jack a weird look. ”Yeah, you've never been one to drink much but ya wouldn't tell that from what you're doing now.”
Jack didn't respond. He only eyed his food and took it eagerly, speeding up his pace with every motion of his hand and fork. Savoring the taste of the roast beef and the roasted potatoes he tried to lose himself in the moment. But his lingering thoughts still remained in the back of his head.
No matter what he did Jack couldn't distract himself for long while he was sober.
He chugged to the third glass of brundy and held it up. ”Give me the strongest stuff you got, the whole bottle.”
”Coming right up.” In moments Marisha disappeared and returned with a bottle down and slid it across the table. It had no label and no sign of its contents. All Jack, Rydel, and Maynard could see was a dark liquid sloshing around inside as Jack picked up the bottle.
Neither Rydel nor Maynard said another word as they lifted their glasses and cheered alongside Jack.
The girls sat across from them but didn't chime in. They were already enjoying their own company when Jack started to make even more of a ruckus.
Lena was the first to say something. ”Big bro!”
Maura put her hand on the teen's shoulder. ”Lina, how about we let Jack drink a little bit?”
”Why?”
”He needs to loosen up before we can ask him some questions,” stated Eliza. ”At least then, maybe he'll be more honest with us.”
Keela and Dalia kept quiet as Maura and Eliza chatted about Jack's treatment toward his wife's.
The beautiful Keela kept her thoughts to herself as she pictured what it be like to be one of Jack's wives. Thinking honestly about it, though, Keela now found it harder to seek after that sort of a relationship with Jack.
Daliea, on the other hand, focused on something else. She still thought of Jack, mainly how she might be able to better help him. It was obvious to all the girls that something happened with Jack and he couldn't hide the stress from everyone. Daliea pondered ways that she might be able to help him relieve that stress and make it easier for him.
The afternoon quickly rolled in as Jack was well into his second bottle of the mystery liquid. His speech wasn't slurred but his usual judgment and mental fortitude were opening up without any inhibitions.