ValleyVille

Move On prt. 2

Jess's POV
I cant believe I crashed a rental car. A cat jumped in the road and it had just rained so I skidded off to the side. Now Im paying to fix a car that isnt mine. I have to go pick it up today. I walked into the garage. "Hello?" I ask. My voice echoed through the building. "Just a sec" I hear. A man rolled out from under a truck and stood up. He wiped his hands on a rag and turned to me. I was taken back by his appearance. I wasnt shocked by the grease all over him or how dirty his clothes were. I was more shocked that even in this state, he was super good looking. "You here for the Nissan?" He asks. "The what?" I ask. "You're the one with the rental car, right?" He asks. "Oh! Yeah" i say. I dont know how I forgot what a Nissan was. "So, you did quite the number on this thing. What exactly did you do?" He asks as we walk to the back. "The road was wet and a cat jumped in it so I skidded a little too far" I say. "A little?" He asks with a laugh. I smiled. He went on and on about the damages. "You make it sound like you didn't fix it" I say. "Oh please. You think I wanna be fired? Hell no. Here she is" he says pointing to the car. "Wow, you fixed her up nice" I say. "Yep. How will you be paying?" He asks. "Card" I say. "Ok, Ill go get the scanner" he says. He walked to his desk and searched for the scanner. I walked up to him. I looked at the photo on his desk. "Is that your family?" I ask. He looked over. "Yeah, those are my boys" he says. "And your wife?" I ask. "Yeah. Well, not now. She died awhile back" he says. "Oh, Im sorry for your loss" I say. "Its alright. Thank you though" he says. He handed me the scanner and I swiped my card on it. I signed my name with the stylus. "Ok, Jess. You're good to go" he says reading my name off the screen. "Thank you.. Bruce" I say reading his name tag. "My pleasure, and my job. See you around" he says.

"Mom, where did you go today?" Bella asks. We're getting lunch. "I had to get the rental car from the mechanic" I say. She laughed. "You crashed it?" She asks. "Oh my god. There was a cat!" I groaned. She laughed. "So, how have you been? I dont know much about you" she says. "Uh, well. Not much to know. Im not married or in any relationship. I dont have any pets or siblings. I live in a small apartment with roommates. Im a massage therapist. I make a good pay though so i guess I technically could move out" I say thinking. "Why havent you dated anyone?" Bella asks. "I have. It just never lasts. Apparently I attract a lot of gay men" I say. She laughed. "Thats hilarious" she says. "It would be if it didnt happen so often. Three times in a row, like seriously?" I say. She laughed again. "So no ones caught your eye? Like recently?" She asks. "No. Although the mechanic I met earlier was pretty hot" I say. Bella slowly looked down and held her head in her hand. She looks embarrassed but also like shes gonna have a laugh attack. "Why do you look constipated?" I ask. "Probably cause I heard you" i hear. I turned around. "Well shit. Hey Bruce" I say. "Hi Jess. So you're Bellas mom? I can see the resemblance" he says. "Arent you Jacks dad?" Bella asks. "And Dukes" he says. Bella nodded to herself. "So Im hot?" He asks looking at me. "Yeah, and?" I ask. He smiled. "You got some attitude" he says. "Have you seen my daughter? Did you really think that came from her dads?" I ask. He chuckled. "Enjoy your lunch" he says walking away. "You should've asked him out" Bella says. "What? I barely know him. We're just talking" I say. "No. That was some of the heaviest flirting Ive ever seen." She says. "His wife recently passed. I dont wanna be a rebound. Plus, he's probably not looking for another relationship this soon" I say. "Maybe thats true. Or maybe you're what he needs to move on" she says. "No. End of discussion. Im not acting on him. Change the subject" I say. She sighed. "Fine. I saw my dads" she says. "I figured. You look a lot better. You finally accept what happened?" I ask. She nods. "Yeah. You know when I went to see them, I just really wanted to hug them. It was the main thing I wanted and it hurt not being able too" She says. "Im sorry honey. That must have sucked" I say. She shrugs. "Im actually getting kinda sad thinking about graduating. They wont be there. They got me here and they wont be there to see me graduate" she says looking down. I reached across the table and grabbed her hands. I didnt say anything. What can I say to that? She's right. They wont be there to see her graduate. It'll be painful for all three of them. "So I heard you were in a movie" I say changing the subject. "Yeah" she smiles.

Jacks POV
"Jack!" I hear. "Hey Bella" I say. She held up a finger and took deep breaths. "Shouldn't have run here" she says. I laughed and waited for her to catch her breath. "Ok. My mom likes your dad" She says. "You have a mom?" I ask. She looked at me like Im stupid. "What, you think I magically appeared out of my dads gay magic? No. I have a mother." She says. "And she likes my dad?" I ask. She nods. "And I think your dad might like her too" she says. "Thats crazy" I say. "Ask him about it. Youll see" She says. "You ran all the way here, just to tell me that?" I ask. "Yeah. Its a good workout. Bye" she says running off.

We're all on the couch. "Hey dad? Have you been interested in anyone since mom?" I ask. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Im just curious. I know youve helped us in moving on but have you?" I ask. He looked over at me. Duke is passed out on the chair beside the couch. "Ive accepted that shes gone, but I havent moved on to someone else no" he says. "Bella said something about you possibly liking her mom" I say. He laughed and looked back at the Tv. I fixed her car and then I ran into her when I picked up our lunch earlier. We had a conversation. I overheard her calling me hot. I guess we were kinda flirting but it wasnt something that could mean anything" he says. "So... you dont like her?" I ask. He hesitated. "No. Not that way anyway" he says. "Dad, we wont resent you for seeing someone else. You deserve to be happy again. We'd be happy for you." I say. He didnt look at me. He stayed silent for a moment. "Im gonna go to bed. I have to work tomorrow" he says. "Goodnight dad" I say. "Goodnight" he says.

Bruces POV
I laid back in bed. I put one arm behind my head. I know my boys would be happy for me if I moved on. I just dont know how Im supposed to do that. I loved her so much and then she was gone. Duke has her eyes and her smile. Jacks got her attitude and her laugh. I miss her so much. Should I move on? Would she want me to move on? To see someone else? "Would you mind? If I tried to be happy with someone else?" I ask as if she can hear me. I know she cant. I know it doesnt matter. There was a light knock at my door. "Yeah?" I ask. The door opened and Duke came in. "You want Tylenol for your neck? I bet it hurt sleeping on the chair like that" I say. "I was only half asleep" he says. "Is that a no?" I ask. "I heard what you guys were talking about" he says. I didnt say anything. "Dad..." he starts. I sat up. "She would want you to move on. To be happy. You know that right? She always wanted us to be happy, no matter what. Why should that change now?" He asks. I smiled at him. "Come here" I say. He walked closer and I hugged him. "I dont want to forget her" I say. "You wont dad. As long as Jack and I are here, you wont forget her. We dont need anymore ghosts. We need a family. So go for it dad. Lets see if you can be charming even when your old" he says. "Ok, thats enough" I say letting go of him. He laughed. "Get out of here. Go to bed" I laughed. He went to the door and stopped. "You'll talk to her?" He asks. I hesitated. "Yeah" I say.