Ain't This Life So Sweet | Joanne

Chapter Seven

"Was everything OK this morning?" Dianne asked as she pulled on a pair of leggings. "Sorry... I didn't realise I'd fallen asleep down there."

Joe smiled. "It's fine. I woke up not knowing where you were, but when I came down Emelia was awake."

"Sorry. I only came down to check on her, and... well, I stared at her for a bit, and then I decided I needed to snuggle. And clearly slept through her waking up."

Joe shook his head. "Don't apologize. I wanted you to get some sleep. I'm happy to take care of her, you know that. Anyway, we had loads of fun."

"I can see". Dianne gestured to Joe's t-shirt, which was still covered in flour and almond butter.

He smiled. "Well, it was great."

///

The weather wasn't on their side. Rain clattered against the windows as the three of them settled onto the couch.

"Sorry we can't go out exploring today, peanut", Dianne said to Emelia as she sat herself down. "But the weather is awful!"

Emelia nodded. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

Dianne sat back and looked at Joe. "If I remember rightly, we're going to a place called Wiltshire, which is where Joe is from. They all have silly voices like farmers."

"Alright, I'm Joe. I can thatch a roof, I can quickstep and, turns out, I'm pretty good at pancakes" Joe put on the accent. Emelia giggled.

"And then", Dianne continued, "we're going to go and see some of Joe's family. And the most exciting thing is that we're going to stay in a really fun hotel which has got its own farm we can explore. Does that sound good?"

Emelia nodded. "When we go in the car, can you guess what I want to listen to?"

Joe pretended to think deeply. "Hmm... I wonder!"

"THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!" Emelia sang loudly, leaping off the couch. Joe rolled his eyes.

"Of course."

Dianne smirked at him. "Hey. You want this" she pointed down at her body and winked, "you put up with this" she gestured back to Emelia, who was now dancing around the room. "You made a fully-informed choice."

Joe smiled. They had had a lot of serious conversations about what it meant to be in a relationship with someone who has a child. He had learned quickly which parts of his life would need the most adjustment, but he was happy to do it. He loved Dianne, and he absolutely adored Emelia. Even when she was singing at the top of her lungs.

Joe moved to sit next to Dianne as Emelia carried on her performance. "Well, she's more in tune than you."

Dianne punched his arm softly.

///

"OK. Bath time."

Dianne clapped her hands and walked towards the bathroom. "Emelia, I'm going to run your bath now. Can you help Joe tidy away your toys please?"

Emelia put away the dolls she had been playing with, and helped Joe pick up all of the accessories that came with them.

"Did you get these from Santa?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, I got four of them. This one is Maisie. This one is Rebecca. This one is Luna and this one- this one is my favourite and her name is Taylor. Like Taylor Swift."