I Won't Give Up - Hosie

You're Not Stupid

"It wasn't a flat out 'no'" Freya tries to comfort her niece over the phone.

"But it wasn't a 'yes' either," Hope says frustratedly. "She wants to work out some custody agreement, which means I'm going to get stuck with every other weekend or some crap."

"You don't know that, not yet, honey."

"I know, I just worry I'm going to end up like dad. Always wanting to see his kid, but never finding the time to."

"I know," Freya sighs. "I think you should give her some time to cool off, maybe come to her senses. Earn her trust through small things."

"I guess," Hope sighs.

"Listen, I've gotta go, but I love you."

"Love you, too," Hope hangs up.

Her aunt was only able to cheer her up slightly. But she did give Hope an idea.

After a little over a week of Hope calling and texting Josie without a response, Hope decides to call her up again.

"Hello?" the brunette answers. "Is this an emergency? Because if not then-"

"Do you want to take a parenting class with me?" Hope blurts out before Josie has a chance to hang up on her.

There's a long pause.

"A parenting class?" Josie questions.

"Yeah, once a week. I figured we could use the opportunity to learn how to raise a human."

Another long silence.

"Okay," Josie finally agrees.

"Great, the first one is tomorrow. I'll come pick you up in the afternoon to go."

"That's okay, I'll drive myself. Send me the details," Josie hangs up the phone.

So, the conversation didn't go as well as planned, but Hope supposes it could have gone much worse. For starters, Josie answered the phone. And second, she agreed to do it.

Hope is the first to pull up to the building. From the outside, it looks like some office-space-turned-yoga-studio.

She's a little early, so she waits in her car until Josie arrives.

"Josie!" Hope waves to her with a smile.

Josie's mouth stays set in a neutral line as she walks toward Hope. They walk to the entrance together wordlessly. Hope speeds up to hold the door open for Josie.

But the act goes unappreciated because Josie promptly opens the adjacent door herself and walks inside.

The class goes as expected, learning how to change a diaper, how to feed and burp a baby. Hope knows a lot about what's being taught from taking care of her little cousin, but she figures that's not the case for Josie.

She looks over at Josie occasionally to find the girl listening very intently to everything the instructor has to say, taking down notes and asking questions.

The class ends, and Josie gets up and grabs her things. She walks out the door with a simple, "see you next week, Hope"

That's about how it goes over the next few weeks. They learn how to bathe a baby, putting them to sleep, swaddling, you name it.

One week, Hope does her normal thing, showing up early and waiting for Josie to walk in together. This time, it's Penelope's car the pulls into the parking lot with Josie in the passenger seat.

Penelope gets out and walks around the car to open Josie's door. She gives Josie a kiss on the cheek before getting back in her car and driving away.

Hope has to hide the disappointment on her face at the scene she witnessed when she meets Josie at the front door.

This particular class was about cooperation and support between co-parents.

"Partners, sit across from the mother of your child and take her hands in yours," the instructor says. "Assure her of your confidence and support throughout her pregnancy, birthing, and raising of your child."

Hope does as she is told. Without hesitation, she begins giving Josie positive affirmations.

"You've been doing an amazing job so far, Jo. You are so strong and capable, and I admire you so much. I have no doubts that you're going to be an amazing mother once our little boy gets here."

A small smile crept onto Josie's face at her words.

"Mothers, turn to your partner and do the same."

"Hope, I know you're going to stick around for him and be the best mom you can be. I trust you in raising our son."

Trust. Hope had done it. Josie trusts her now, and Hope can't tell you how good it feels hearing that from Josie.

After the class ended, Josie went back to being cold and unemotional toward her. Hope thought they had a moment, that something had changed during that class. But she was wrong.

It's storming outside once they exit the building.

"Penelope's not here yet, let me drive you home," Hope offers.

"No, I'd rather wait for her."

"Come on, Josie. It's pouring out here," Hope tries to reason with her.

"Fine, I'll wait inside," Josie turns toward the doors.

"Why are you still so mad at me?" Hope asks.

"I'm not mad," Josie insists.

"Yes, you are. At first I thought you were being like this because you thought I wasn't focused on the baby, but you literally just said back there that you trust me, so tell me what it is."

They stand there in the rain as Hope waits for a response.

"You're right, okay? I'm mad, I'm mad at you for having a one-nighter with Jade," Josie finally admits. "I'm mad because that means I was just another one of your conquests, and I thought it was more than that."

"What?" Hope blinks in confusion.

"I thought we had something special. God, it was so stupid of me to think you felt the same way, and I'm so stupid for-"

Hope cuts her off with a kiss.

"What was that for?" it's Josie's turn to be confused now.

"To get you to stop saying you're stupid," Hope tells her. "Because you're not stupid, I felt the same way too."