Strangers

Disclosure

Taylor woke up and realized she was breathing fully. She was lying in her bed, under the blankets, in the clothes she'd been wearing yesterday, and her mind was as light as it had been in a long time.

Joe was gone. She wondered when he'd left. Last night or this morning? And if he'd left this morning, had Jenny noticed him, because if she had...?

Taylor stopped herself from thinking. And what if Jenny noticed him? After last night, Taylor and Joe had officially decided that they were not going to hide their relationship from now on. So it was about time to tell her daughter.

The woman rubbed her eyes and reached for her phone, she'd slept until 10am. It was a day off, but the apartment was empty. Taylor remembered that Jenny must have been spending the day with Tom, his wife, and her little half- sister.

So she had no choice but to get out of bed, and normally she would have gone straight to the kitchen, but instead she picked up her phone from the floor, which was miraculously not dead, and texted Joe "good morning" before moving on and doing her usual morning routine.

~~~~~~~~~~

The day had arrived for Taylor and Joe to officially announce their relationship to their children. They'd gathered Jenny and Michael in the living room, with an air of anticipation surrounding them. Jenny, being in a good mood, was on her toes with mischief, every now and then a small smirk would appear on her lips because she couldn't wait for the revelation she'd already suspected.

When they were all seated at the table, and the children were staring at their parents expectantly, not even thinking about eating, Taylor realized that it couldn't take much longer, and clearing her throat, she began: «Jenny, Michael, we have something important to share with you and it's that Joe and I have been together for almost five months now. Our relationship started as an unexpected connection, but it involved into something much deeper»

Joe nodded, a warm grin on his face. "That's right. We've come a long way,and I'm glad we did it together.Our journey has been quite the adventure not gonna lie, with it's ups and downs but it was worth it at the end of the day"

Taylor continued, "We wanted you to hear it from us first and let you know that we're happier together than we've ever been."

The American swallowed and looked at Joe anxiously. He, on the other hand, was perfectly calm, his blue eyes looking at her. Jenny was staring intently at the two of them, and what frightened Taylor was that she couldn't tell what her daughter was thinking from her face.

Those few seconds seemed to be the longest of Taylor's life but then finally, Jenny's lips began to spread into a poorly concealed smile.

Seconds later, Jenny bursted laughing out loud,Michael was laughing with her and Taylor was looking from one to the other spaced out

"Oh my god, Mom, I've never seen you look so scared before"

«You  know, if you didn't went silent and just glare at me, I'd feel a little better.»Taylor was relieved to laugh, as she and Joe exchanged happy glances, Jenny decided to take the lead, her smile sly and her tone teasing.

"Come on, we all knew what's up. It's not like you two have been very discreet about it. You're not as secretive as you think, and I'm not so clueless." Jenny explained.

"Really?" Taylor asked.

"Yup. So I just waited for the truth to come out, and I was right"

Joe put his arm around Taylor, and have her shoulder a little supportive squeeze, earning a smile from her

Michael looked at Jenny, puzzled. He had a bet with her, and he believed their parents were just close friend. Jenny had been adamant about the real nature of their relationship, and now she was reveling in her triumphant moment.