Ain't This Life So Sweet | Joanne

Chapter Eighteen

Joe woke up in his bed, immediately sensing that he was alone. Dianne had been restless in the night, but he had been so wiped out from dancing that he had just fallen asleep by her side as she laid there awake. The bathroom light was off, and her side of the bed was cold; he knew exactly where she was.

Joe couldn't blame her. He knew he would never fully understand how difficult it was to be apart from your own child when you love them so dearly. He only knew that he would do whatever he could to ease their pain.

Turning over, Joe spotted Dianne's phone on her bedside table. He smiled; there was certainly one thing that Joe could do which he hoped would help. Quietly, he pulled on loose trousers and a t-shirt and made his way down to his office.

As he sat down, Joe unlocked Dianne's phone. He smiled as he realised the background had been changed. The image was now a picture of the three of them pulling silly faces that had been taken last night at dinner. Plugging Dianne's phone into his laptop, Joe quickly transferred a file over. He then did the same with Emelia's iPad, which he had taken into his office the night before.

Once the transfers were complete, he put the items back where he had found them and walked into the kitchen.

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"Mama?" 

"Yes baby?"

Dianne had been awake for a while. She had always loved snuggling with Emelia in the morning. Her skin was so soft, and she smelled like sleep. Even though Emelia was now six years old, in the mornings Dianne was still reminded of the tiny baby she had brought home from the hospital swaddled in a pink blanket.

"What time is uncle Andrew coming?"

Emelia played with Dianne's hands as they laid side by side.

"He's going to meet us here later on. We thought you might like to come to the studio this morning. Maybe you can help us with our dance? We won't be long, and then we'll come back here." Dianne stopped herself before she explained the rest of the day. She didn't want to admit any of it was actually happening.

"Andrew will be here when we get back. We'll all go for lunch at the airport."

Emelia sighed. "And then it will be time to go."

Dianne nodded, leaning over to kiss Emelia's forehead. "Yeah, then it'll be time to go."

The two of them laid together for a few moments before Emelia spoke again.

"Mama, I like London."

Dianne smiled. "I'm glad you had a good time. Like Joe said, you can come back again soon."

"And I like Joe."

"Me too, peanut."

At that moment, the bedroom door opened softly. Joe stood in the doorway, smiling.

"Sorry, I didn't know if you were awake yet. I made you both breakfast."

Emelia got up quickly and walked into the kitchen. Dianne rolled over in bed, pulling herself up and walking towards the door.

"Thank you". She leaned into Joe's side as he kissed her cheek. "You're amazing." She reached for his hand, squeezing gently as they walked to the kitchen where Emelia was waiting.

"Pancakes!" she shouted loudly.

"Yeah, it's a pancake party." Joe explained. He had laid out toppings in little bowls on the breakfast bar. There were three plates and a huge stack of pancakes.