You Can't Fight Fate

Chapter 8

I pushed my glass away from me & slid to the edge of the booth. "I should go." I said, quickly, looking down as I was just about to stand up.

Joe grabbed my wrist as I slid to the edge of the booth. "No. No. Wait. Please. Don't." I looked down at his hand, like it was a disgusting bug on me. "I'm not going to hurt you or judge you. I won't tell Nick you were here, if that's what you want. So please just stay. Can we just talk?" He pleaded with his eyes, so I sighed.

"What could you & I possibly have to talk about?" I asked, folding my hands, as the rest on the table. 

"For starters... what are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to Nick."

"Did you change your mind about letting him be in his daughter's life?"

"Yes." I replied, looking toward the door that Nick would be coming out of. 

"That's good." Joe said, then sighed, heavily. "You know... I haven't really had time to process all of this, since Nick just told me that he had a daughter this morning."

I looked at Joe, confused creases on my forehead. "He just told you today?" I shook my head, in disbelief. 

"Yea but, believe me, it wasn't intentional. I happened to see the picture of him & her on his phone. When I asked him about it, he said it was a coworker's daughter. I knew he was lying. I know my brother better than anyone, so I know when he's lying & then I saw the look on his face, in the picture. It was a longing type of look, with a little shock thrown in. And then there's the fact that the poor girl looks just like him." Joe let out a chuckle, but I was too surprised to join him, in laughing at his joke. "Anyway, I beat it out of him & he told me everything."

"I'm really surprised he didn't tell you or anyone in your family about her, when he found out a few months ago."

"If he would have told our parents, they would have moved heaven & earth to help him fight you. They would have taken out a second mortgage on their house or something like that to pay for a lawyer. That's what he told me when I asked why he didn't tell our parents & he's right. They would have totally done whatever was necessary to fight & Nick didn't want them to do that. He also told me he didn't want to cause tension in the household where his daughter lived & if he tried to fight you, then...well... it could have gotten messy. My brother doesn't like drama or conflict as it is & that's why he didn't want it for his daughter." Joe shrugged, then took a drink of his beverage. 

I looked down at my hands, thinking how I misjudged Nick. He was a decent guy & I didn't even give him a chance to prove that to me. I kept him from his daughter & he didn't deserve that. I was too busy protecting my own life & my own reputation. I didn't want to have to explain to people, what I did, when I told them who Nick was to Moira. 

I didn't say anything, but Joe spoke again, maybe because he sensed that I was surprised by this information he had told me about Nick. "I've known Nick his entire life. I probably know him better than anyone, because he's my best friend, as well as my brother. He's loyal to a fault & he's compassionate. He's honest. He's one of the most generous people you'll ever meet & he's really really nice. Too nice sometimes because I've seen him get taken advantage of. A lot." He seemed to be talking about me, but I wasn't sure, so I just nodded, knowing what he meant. "As his big brother, I try to protect him. I've tried to get him to not be so nice... but... he doesn't always listen. He's very trusting.. Which is not always a good thing." Joe leaned back & sighed, keeping one hand on his glass. "My point in telling you all of this, is that you couldn't have had a child with a better guy."