Teach Me How To Love Again

Chapter Six

Bill paused for a moment, beginning to wonder if he'd misremembered his conversation with Jill from the previous night.

"Jill said she was staying with you," he explained.

Donna bit her thumbnail nervously as she tried to think on her feet.

"Oh, um, yes. Yes, she did stay with me." she stuttered. "She already left this morning for work."

Bill seemed suspicious but satisfied enough with her answer to not press further and she breathed a sigh of relief into the air. If she had known Jill needed her to cover for her, she would have happily done so.

But now she was left to wonder where Jill spent the night., and frankly, worried that her friend seemed to be missing She rushed upstairs to get dressed. With the intent of heading over to Joe Biden's home.

-

Jill quietly snuck downstairs before the boys awoke and made her way to the kitchen. Joe made coffee before he left earlier in the morning for the train so she poured herself a hot cup and retreated to the living room where she slumped down onto the sofa, her head in her hands.

The memories of the previous night played through her mind. The way the candlelight flickered in his eyes, the way his hand briefly came to rest on her thigh, the way his sweatshirt felt like a warm hug.

She was hopeless.

She loved the boys, but she was grateful that this job only lasted for two more months. She was desperate to return to her normal life, the life she pushed aside as they countless hours in their pseudo-familial bubble. Over the past few months, it became harder to resist the feelings that crept up on her. The ones she pushed down and ignored, chastising herself for spending so much time daydreaming about what it could be like if she was married to Joe Biden instead of Bill Stevenson.

-

Joe tapped the tip of his pen on the desk in front of him, unaware that he was doing so until his colleague glared at him for disrupting the peace as they worked separately on their tasks.

"Huh?" He asked when he noticed that he was being spoken to.

"I said you seem a little preoccupied. Something with the kids? Your parents?" He probed.

"No, no, it's nothing like that," he reassured, crossing his arms.

The truth was, he'd been thinking about Jill. She'd fit into his life like a missing puzzle piece and he wasn't sure how to cope with the idea that he couldn't pursue a woman who seemed to be everything he didn't know he was looking for. Instead, he opted to keep the conversation about the files spread out in front of him, well aware that the sharp change in the subject didn't go unnoticed but was still respected.-

At the Biden residence, Jill was assisting Beau with tying his shoes. The independent boy frowned as he struggled with tying a knot tight enough to keep them together. Beau became easily agitated when he was unable to master something on the first try, another trait he'd picked up from his father.

"You'll figure it out, Beauy," Jill comforted, tussling his hair as he pouted.

"Over... under... and around the tree..." he recited on his fourth attempt.

"Hunt," she yelled. "Please get your shoes on or you're going to be late for your playdate." The kitchen table was full of remnants of the morning's art projects and breakfast still lingering. Jill ran her hand through her hair as she surveyed the house, pondering which task to tackle first.

It was then that she heard a knock coming from the living room.

She looked up at the clock and groaned. Surely Daniel's mother hadn't already arrived for their playdate. From what she'd heard from the mothers of the kids' friends, this particular woman was ostentatious and judgemental. Jill wouldn't be entirely surprised if she came with a complimentary white glove inspection.