...And Beyond... | To Infinity... Book Two [ON HOLD]

Chapter 9: On the Road Again

Tuesday May 19, 2021 - Richmond, Virginia

2:00 PM

Joe POV

I get to the elevator bank after leaving Dean's room and when the elevator doors open, Lenni is standing inside with a raised eyebrow and I already know I'm in for it, knowing that Desi's already filled her in. I roll my eyes and get in beside her and press the button for where our rooms are.

"You're a piece a'work, you know that Joseph?" She says looking at me.
"I understand." I say avoiding her gaze but I feel her eye roll.
"So, where are you off to, Mister Try-hard?"
"I'm going to my room."
"Uh-huh, leave her be."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I growl as the doors open and we step out on our floor.
"Because we're right. You're being overbearing and it's not helping things go faster or smoother, you're just frustrating her."
"I know that! Ugh, just...I'll leave her semi-alone after I've talked to her and apologized for being so overbearing. I just-I don't know how else to show her I care, show her that I'm sorry."
"You're doing more than enough and she really really appreciates it. Just let the girl breathe some, damn."

As I get my keycard our to open my room door, Seth comes out of Desi and Lenni's door.

"Hey Seth, what's up?" I ask.
"Nothin' much man, just had a talk with Desi. Listen man, you really gotta—"
"Leave her be, I get it, alright? Everyone get off my back now, thanks."

I unlock the door and walk in, leaving Seth and Lenni out in the hallway. I walk in and see Desi standing in the open doorway that connects our rooms. We stand there and look at each other for a few moments before she looks away.

"We should talk...again." She says quietly.
"Just tell me where." I answer.

She walks past me and sits up in the middle of my hotel bed beside my partially packed luggage bag. She, Seth, Dean, Lenni, Renee, and I are all piling into a rental van and driving to the next city together, so it's imperative that we squash any issues that we have before we head out. I sit down on the edge of the bed and look her over; she's so cute in her oversized sweater and Rick and Morty pajama shorts, her hair in a fishtail braid, glasses on, some clear lip gloss on her plump lips. Damn, I love her but everything I do breaks us even more than we already are. She twirls the end of her braid and clears her throat.

"Um, I should apologize for blowing up on you earlier, Joe; it was uncalled for."
"Nah, babygirl, I'm sorry. I'm so desperate to make up for what I did to you, fix things between us, that I can't recognize that I'm just pushing way too much. I really do understand why you wouldn't be too keen on meeting my kids, but I think I should go ahead and confess something to you, just to put some things in perspective for you."
"Oh no."
"Okay...um...my family kinda already knows about you. Like, they don't know what you look like, but ever since Galina and I had started having issues, I would always talk about it to my siblings and cousins and even my mom on certain occasions; actually, my mom was the first person I told about you. It's all crazy, I know, but when you left me I needed to get it out and so I told her, I told her everything. So, when I ask you how you would feel about meeting my family I'm really asking if you would finally reveal yourself to them. Granted, not everyone knows about you but the ones who are really close to me, my parents and sisters, they know and they'll pop up here eventually and I just want you to be ready for that, or I just wanna be ready to tell 'em that you're not comfortable with meeting them."

She blinks her eyes at me a few times and runs her hand over her face.

"You're truly unbelievable, do you know that?"
"If being 'unbelievable' and 'a piece of work' are the same thing then yes, I've heard that before."
"Just...why Joseph?"
"I don't know. I guess I just wanted, needed my family to know that I could be happy without Galina, that having three kids together doesn't mean I have to sacrifice my own happiness to save face in front of everyone for a dead marriage. I found you when the one person who was supposed to love me for the rest of eternity got tired of loving me and you filled that void, made me whole again, and I just needed them to know that the divorce wouldn't break me, only free me...and then I lost you and I lost a piece of my heart with you."