Breathe

Chapter 26

John put his left hand over his left ear, and tried to focus on what Victor was saying as he adjusted the telephone receiver against his ear. Avi and Shawn D were chasing each other around the kitchen island while screaming, each with a turtle figurine in their small hands. Hope was back in the laundry room with both machines going, while Marlena yelled towards the stairs, "Bo! Did you want coffee?"

"Coffee?" Bo's feet clanged on the metal stairs as he descended with a smile, "I'd love some!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. What was that Victor?" John wanted to laugh. It was everything he'd wanted over the last year. Family, connections... but he wouldn't deny that the loft was small, and after his meeting with an architect, there was no way to make the changes he'd hoped to make and keep the building structurally sound. He'd mentioned it to Victor when he'd seen him at an EcoSystems board meeting a few days earlier.

Victor smiled to himself. What he heard was the noise of a family. It reminded him of his childhood in Greece. It reminded him of what he'd always wanted for himself. Bo was his only surviving child, and even after everything that he and John had been through in their past, he saw John as family as well. What they were trying to make he fully supported. Families in Greece often lived together in large family compounds. Speaking slightly louder he said, "I have a property that connects to mine. I purchased it several years ago hoping that Ned and Adrienne might use it. It's been sitting empty, but it's been maintained. I'm offering to your family."

"Victor..." John was surprised, and slightly overwhelmed. He knew which house Victor was speaking of. Isabella had shown it to him once, saying that Victor had offered it to her, but at the time it was much too large for what they needed. He glanced around at his family - Avi and Shawn D on the floor with their turtles, Marlena and Bo drinking coffee, and Hope entering the room with a large basket of warm towels.

"Shawn D, Avi," Hope said breathlessly, sitting the basket on the couch. "Come help me fold the towels."

"Look, John," Victor said with emotion. "Isabella is gone, and you have a chance to start over. I want to do this for you... and for my son." Bo wouldn't accept anything from him without encouragement, which was why he couldn't directly make the offer to him.

John knew what Victor wasn't saying. He glanced at Bo when he started laughing at something Marlena said. A soft blush came over her cheeks, and Hope said loudly, "Brady! Stop teasing Mar!"

"Teasing?" he laughed. "She's the one that–"

Marlena leaned forward smacking Bo's arm lightly, "Shut up, Bo Brady!"

"Mama said shut up!" Avi cried. "I'm not allowed to say shut up!"

"Your mother is an adult," Hope laughed, tossing a towel in his face. "Now fold!"

John couldn't help smiling. He recently found himself smiling so often that his cheeks would ache with it, and he knew this was a different kind of happiness. The only thing that would make it better would be finally having Carrie, Sami, and Eric with them. "Thank you, Victor. I'll talk to Marlena, Hope, and Bo about it, and see what they think," John said into the telephone. All three of them stopped what they were doing, and stared at him. "Can I call you back tomorrow?"

"Certainly. Speak with them, and let me know," Victor said before hanging up.

"Talk to us about what?" Marlena asked as she walked around the kitchen island.

"If it's something to do with Victor, I don't trust it," Bo said as he finished his coffee. "That man always has an ulterior motive."

John sighed softly, running his hands over his face, "I think right now it's loneliness. Losing Isabella hit him harder than he's let on... he wants family."