Packed

I get a call from Jael, her voice is broken and I can tell she has been crying.
“I want you to come to Dublin with me, to live.”
“What?” I replied in disbelief.
“I love you and I am leaving Steve.”
It was an odd conversation, it lasted nearly an hour. Afterwards I felt drained. I said that I couldn’t do that to Steve, he was a friend. I told Jael that Nikki meant a great deal to me and that I wanted to see where it would go. I told Jael that I loved her, but not in that way. She sobbed the whole way, but didn’t plead for me. She understood.
The next day I went to Bristol to meet Steve for breakfast. We had coffee. He smoked his usual cigarette. She hadn’t told him. I was going to, but didn’t. He had his bag with him. He told me he had packed a few things that Jael had been upset to leave behind. He was all set to get on the plane at Bristol Airport. He told me to come and visit them soon. He made me promise. I hugged him, before he left, and cried a little when he was out of sight.