A New Normal || ClarksonHammondMay

Chapter 1

Richard doesn't really fancy going out at all. He'd much rather just stay at home by himself wallowing in self pity while getting shitfaced drunk. He really doesn't have the motivation to go out to the Grand Tour office in London and plan out everything for the next season with James, Jeremy, and Andy.

Unfortunately he has no choice but to go and plan shit out with the guys. Especially now that they've decided to bring back the tent and studio audience after just doing specials these past few years. Doesn't mean he's going to be happy about it. Well, he's happy that they're bringing the tent back, just not so much having to go out and interact with people right now.

It's been a couple days now, and Mindy has officially moved out, and both the girls have left, too, having decided they want to help their mother get settled into her new house. Which leaves him all alone, save for the animals, in his home that now feels much too big for him. Not to mention a little too quiet.

At least, it was a little too quiet until his phone starts going off at least....

He doesn't particularly want to answer it, especially when he sees that it's Jeremy calling him, but he knows that if he doesn't that the guy will just keep calling until he does. Or James and Andy will start calling him too, demanding to know why he's not shown up yet.

So he reluctantly grabs his phone off the table and answers, being greeted with the great loud bellow of Clarkson's voice asking him where the fuck he is, and why he's not shown up yet. Or why he's mostly been avoided them for the past month.

Though really, any one of them not seeing each other for a month is pretty normal, and they've gone much longer without seeing each other. Working with the same people for the past twenty years (especially when it's James and Jeremy), you'd really need all the time you can get to be away from them. Which is precisely why the three of them don't live close to one another. Him being in Herefordshire (or nearly Wales like James and Jeremy like to joke), Jeremy in Oxfordshire, and James in Hammersmith.

But even if they don't see each other in person for months at a time, aside from the very infrequent outings to the pub together (usually James's pub), or small get-togethers at each other's houses that usually results in a lot of alcohol, before getting back to work and seeing each other almost daily, they still keep in contact by means of text or phone calls. And those outings are usually very infrequent considering their distances from one another. Him living the furthest away from James and Jeremy.

And Richard's avoided all means of contact with James, Jeremy, and even Andy. Except for one zoom call in the last week between the four of them where they all had decided that they're going to go through with bringing the tent back for the next season of the Grand Tour. Something they have talked about maybe getting back to now that the restrictions surrounding covid have mostly calmed down, and things have somewhat gone back to normal.

But even in that call, Richard barely participated in the conversation with his colleagues. Mind elsewhere, and just generally not wanting to be there. Would rather have them work it all out without him, and he'll just show up to filming when needed.

He's got other things on his mind instead of getting back to work.

"Fuck off, Clarkson." He sighs. "I'm coming, okay? I just..."

He doesn't know what to tell him. He's not told anyone about him and Mindy's separation. Doesn't know how. Doesn't know how to explain to the men he's known and grown pretty damn close to in the past twenty years, that his marriage is over. That the woman he's spent the past twenty-odd years with, has left him.

"You're just what ?" Jeremy asks. "Hammond, what's going on?"

He doesn't miss the hint of concern in Jeremy's voice. And while he's sure that Jeremy would understand his situation, considering he's been through two divorces, he chooses not to confide in him what's going on. Among not knowing what to even say, he also doesn't think he's ready to tell him, at least not by phone call anyway. Seems more like something that should be announced in person.