Chapter 49: (1) Old Friend
Jack replied, "Alexandre!" and pulled his friend into a hug.
Despite the age difference between the two, Jack and Alexandre had been friends for almost nine years by the time the Genesis Project ended and Alexandre began forging his new identity. Alexandre considered Jack his brother, a man who'd helped him realize that humans could be something other than absolute monsters.
Jack stepped back and took Alexandre's luggage. "Let me take these," he said. "You go right on in."
The two men entered Jack's apartment building and ascended to the fourth floor to find Jack's unit. It was a beautiful, classical-style apartment about a hundred square meters in size.
When Alexandre entered, a pregnant woman looked up and smiled from where she was sitting and reading a book.
"Josephine!" Alexandre said with a laugh. "You look great. How come you're still married to this asshole?"
The young woman laughed. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"
Jack set down Alexandre's luggage and the two men walked out onto the balcony, which gave a magnificent view of the Hudson Bay. Jack called out, "Darling, will you bring us a couple of beers?" Then he turned back to Alexandre and said, "So you finally made it!"
Alexandre gave a grim nod. "Yes. A lot of the candidates went through hell."