Daylight - Taylor Swift

Chapter 17

December 23, 2016

Jo was in the small shop, a mom and pop grocery store run by an old couple in the town they rented their ranch in. She was picking up a few things that Taylor had added last minute to the grocery list for their Christmas dinner and of course stayed home to avoid being spotted.

She turned down the aisle that she assumed would have the baking soda Taylor requested, the small grey basket looped around her flannel covered arm already carrying a special type of onion and a fresh loaf of bread that was going to be made into homemade dressing.

In the aisle was a man, stood a little shorter than Jo with a trimmed beard. He turned around and Jo smiled politely before doing a double take, "No way!"

He looked at her closer and gasped, "Josephine! What are you doing here, kid?"

Jo set her basket down and opened her arms for a hug, "Uncle Frankie! Oh my god, I didn't know you were in Pennsylvania still. How have you been?"

Jo's transgender uncle, who had been exiled from the family by her grandparents just as she had when she was outed, said, "I'm good! Hey, are they here? If so I kind of need to run."

"Oh, no. At least I don't think so, I don't really know. I've been disowned, taken out of the will. You know," Jo pursed her lips together, gesturing to the black and white flannel she was wearing.

"Oh man, I'm sorry, hon. What are you doing here? You visiting someone?" He asked, cautious around his words.

"My girlfriend and I are staying here for a little bit, we rented a ranch out on Poplar Road. What about you, do you live here?" Jo inquired, the shopping trolley quite full of groceries.

Frankie nodded once, "Yup, me and the Misses. I got married, thank god that Peter left me when I came out. You're on Poplar Road, is that the Locke ranch?"

"Yeah, we have a six month lease. Do you want to get coffee and catch up sometime? I can tell you about my Dad and Charlotte, and I would love to hear about your wife."

"How about you and your lady come over for lunch tomorrow and celebrate some of Christmas with us, it'll be nice to have some family around for a change. Gosh, I haven't heard from your cousins for six years. Although Luke got married and Brock is in the military, that's all I've been able to see on their FaceBook's."

"Can I get your number and let you know? It's really sweet of you to offer but my girlfriend is a bit of an anti-social homebody with a big dinner planned for tomorrow and if I say yes and she's not up for it then I'll feel terrible," Jo explained, watching the man nod and chuckle.

"Of course, here. You let me know tonight and if not we'll do it another time. Good to see you, Joey. Have fun with your onions," Frankie smiled and waved goodbye after pulling out a business card and handing it to Jo. It appeared that he had started a plumbing business, in a small town like that one it was likely he was the only one, too.

Jo returned to the ranch with the paper shopping bag and set her keys on the hook, bringing the bag to the kitchen and putting it away before she went upstairs and found Taylor with her fingers covered in paint, trying to blow a hair out of her face without getting paint from her fingers on it.

"Hey, you'll never guess who I ran into at the store. My uncle on my Mom's side, the trans one who my grandparents kicked out. He invited us to lunch tomorrow for Christmas, his wife and him only. You don't have to go, I warned him you may not want to."

"Are you going?" Taylor hummed, smearing some more blue onto the canvas before adding, "Can you tuck that hair behind my ear before I lose my mind?"