Chicago (GXG)

Part 11

I think I'm going crazy...

The legal battle over my son Jonathan has driven me to the edge and if it wasn't for my friends and a certain girl, I'm sure I would have lost custody by now. And my mind. Speaking of Jess, I haven't heard much from her in the last two days. As much as I miss her presence, I think I need some time to figure out this bullshit my ex keeps putting me through.

As if she read my mind, my phone dings and I see a message pop up on my screen. 'About that date, I would like to take you to a restaurant. When's the next possible day?' The text read.
I replied telling her that we could meet up over the weekend. On friday I have another hearing at the court house and there should only be a few more left thankfully. It's extremely difficult for me to be in the same room with that abusive man after all he did.

It's funny how difficult proving abuse is in court and how little affect that has on the custody battle. The court only cares about which one of us makes more money. According to them, a financial base is better for a child than an emotionally supportive one I suppose. If Jonathan testified I would get him instantly, but I decided not to drag him into this just yet. My lawyer and I are trying to come up with anything else, Jonathan doesn't have to know that we fight so seriously with his father, and making him testify might make him uncomfortable.

I dial up Joanne knowing she would be out of work already by this time. "Hi Joanne, is this a bad time? I could use someone right now." I said over the phone. "Sure, I will be there shortly." Joanne replied before hanging up.

My shift at the nightclub doesn't start until 8 PM, meaning I have a few hours to be with my friend. I could try to convince her to accompany me to work aswell, It's much better if people I know are there. I opened up a wine bottle, waiting for Joanne to knock on the door like she always does. I want to catch up with her because it's been a while since we really talked.

Eventually she arrived and I opened the door and let her in. Joanne's wearing clothes that compliment her usual formal style. A black pencil skirt and a tight top underneath a blazer, and looking at her feet you could see dark blue heels that matched the color of her jacket.
"I'm so glad you came here, I was feeling so lonely and lost." I thanked her while guiding her inside. "It's alright, I had nothing else to do anyway besides correcting some assignments from students." She said.

"Speaking of students, Jess mentioned one of her friends possibly getting closer to you the other night. What's that about?" I hinted carefully to get some drama to talk about. "Yeah, Ron. I don't know if I should talk about this, it's not really appropriate. It's like we know we have these feelings but are too scared to act on them. He's a senior so maybe we'll just warm up until he graduates and then see if he still wants me." She sighed.

"I'm just not sure if it's some teacher fantasy that he has or not, you never really know people's intentions." She sat on the couch looking done with the topic. I decided to console her a bit since I was the one that brought it up anyway. "Well, I doubt Jess would keep a guy like that around. I'm sure he'll make his desires clear to you if you ask him?" I said.

I mean, you can't know something if you never ask, right? I just want her to be happy after so long of just existing. Of course being with a student would be wrong, but if he's the one then there's no running from it. I believe in soul mates and once you meet that person you should fight tooth and nail to keep them.
She hums in thought before answering. "I understand. I'll ask him about what he wants. We haven't really acknowledged our status or feelings yet so it'll be an interesting conversation. I hope it isn't too soon yet as I don't want to scare him away." She said thoughtfully.

We spent some time talking about our love lives and work before I made sure Jonathan was sleeping and I tucked him in. "Good night Jonathan, I'll see you in the morning." I said as I kissed his forehead.
I returned to Joanne afterwards and we continued our gossiping. "So, this Jessica chick I keep hearing about. How are things going between you two?" She asked. "She is my student, right? We're talking about the same Jessica?" She clarified.