Honey Whiskey

Outpouring

"-Jonah?"

The rain was drizzling against the window. His eyes wandered back to his therapist who had stopped scribbling on her yellow notepad. Jonah repositioned himself in the armchair, looking around before locking his attention on the clock - a few minutes had passed by.

"-Mhm?"

"-You were going to talk about your visit to your parent's house. Do you want to continue?"

"-Yes, sorry. Well, as I said, she put up a facade as always."

"-Your mom? What do you mean by facade?"

"-Oh, she's always being so perfect around everybody. Nothing out of place, always pristine.", Jonah smiled, clearly angry about the subject of this conversation.

"-And, her being always perfect - as you said, does it bother you?"

"-Yes. I just want her to stop acting as if there's nothing wrong. She and I have made mistakes. I think it's time for her to realize that she can't hide behind her perfect made-up life anymore.", the pencil began scratching words on the notepad. Jonah exhaled after letting go of this weight that had been resting on his shoulders.

"-Why do you think it is time for her to get rid of her facade now?"

"-I'm tired of all of this. I just want her to admit to making mistakes. I can't keep my mouth shut anymore."

"-So it's taking a toll on you?"

"-Yes."

"-Mhm, I see. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"-I followed your advice. I tried to invite my friend Maybelle on a date, to get to know her better and have a nice time but she said no."

"-Well I'm sorry that it didn't work out how you expected it to."

"-It's okay. She will never feel the same way I do."

Jonah adjusted himself on the armchair as his eyes were sealed to his therapist, Brandy. The sudden jingle of her alarm on her phone was announcing the end of their session.

~

Taking the keys out of the ignition, Jonah left the Cadillac in the garage. He strolled back into the house before following the noise coming from upstairs. Passing by one of the bedrooms, he couldn't help but smile as he saw Romy and Elaï.

"-You guys are going to move in?", they were placing their two newly bought luggage into the room.

Before he even had time to react, Romy had already pulled him into a tight hug. He was happy that his new friend was moving into the house more permanently. He finally had something to look forward to when he would come home from work. Elaï glanced their way and waved slightly to Jonah.

"-We are going to stay for a while. The cops told me to stay in town, they want to question me again.", he released Jonah from his grasp.

"-Oh. I thought they would be done with you after interrogating you the other day."

"-I thought the same thing."

"-Well, welcome to this grandiose mansion. I hope you guys will appreciate the excellent room service.", he bowed down while holding back a chuckle.

Leaving them to get moved in, Jonah went into the kitchen. He approached Miss Elliot who was knitting at the dining table.

"-Hey, Miss Elliot.", he kissed her cheek before giving more attention to the new project she seemed to be working on.

"-You are back home early. How was therapy?"

"-It went well, apparently we had a breakthrough today."

"-I'm really glad that you did."

"-Yeah, she was really helpful. She tried to nudge me in the right direction and I told her some things I never thought I would ever talk about again."

"-Good. Are you going to make dinner for us?"

"-Yes. Lasagna.", without even an ounce of hesitation, Jonah started preparing the lasagna and cooking the ingredients while Miss Elliot was knitting away.

Opening the oven, he swatted the steam away from his face. Jonah grabbed the cooking glove and pulled out the bubbling lasagna. After cutting portions, he sat at the dining table with two plates filled with seemingly delicious food. After she had put her knitting needles aside, they started eating together. The other residents of the house were always out and about. Sharing a nice moment, Jonah swallowed a piece of pasta.

"-It reminds me of the last meal I had with my husband.", Miss Elliot smiled fondly before sitting back comfortably in the chair.

"-The last meal?"

"-Yes, the night before he had to leave to fight in the war."

"-And, what happened to him..?"

"-He died in battle."

"-I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"-It's fine. You know, while he was gone, I bought this house. I always dreamed of him coming home and us being able to have our own family."

"-It seemed like a nice dream."

"-It was. After I learned of his death, it took me a while, you know, to get back on my feet. But once I did, I opened up my house to people. I might not have had the chance to make a family with William, but I made my own family over the years."

"-I like this family.", Jonah took her hand in his, squeezing it lightly.

He smiled before he continued to eat his meal. They shared the rest of the dinner in complete silence, they enjoyed each other's company. He had never really asked Miss Elliot about her past but he was happy that she felt comfortable sharing it with him.