Blended Family

Lin

It broke my heart so see Joey so upset.  This was supposed to be her day.  Her celebration.  The party had gone amazingly well and everyone had been having a good time when Pippa noticed that the guest of honor had disappeared.

After we'd arrived home, Joey had gone straight to her bedroom.  The adults all met in the kitchen and we'd found out from Pippa that Elliott had been caught kissing another girl from school named Cara.  Pippa was appalled and didn't think it sounded like something her son would do.  She kept calling his phone and didn't get an answer.  He must have turned his phone off completely.

Clarita was upset that Joey seemed to be leaning on Pippa during this hard time.  After I'd gone back to talk with her briefly, she'd called for Pippa.  It was another jab in the side for Clarita and her relationship with our daughter.  I was a firm believer in getting out what you put in.  Clarita had made the life choice to work 80 hour weeks and move to Chicago.  The fact that she and Joey weren't close was on her.

Clarita left, looking hurt, and went back to her hotel room.  Pippa was getting antsy about Elliott being MIA.  She called up his friends, his dad, and no one had seen him.

"Do you think I should call the police?" she asked after midnight.  We were still in our party clothes, not able to feel like relaxing just yet.

"No," I told her.  "I'm sure he's just wandering and wants to be alone."

Pippa sighed and kept pacing the living room.  "This doesn't sound like him," she said, arms crossed.  "That girl must have made the moves on him because I know how he feels about Joey."

I certainly hoped so, but right now we had no idea.  All we knew was that Elliott had been kissing this Cara girl and Joey had found them.

Finally, Pippa got a call from Steven that Elliott had showed up at his place.  He didn't want to face Joey and wanted to give her space.  Steven promised to talk to his son in the morning.

Pippa continued to pace, still upset.  I stood up and tugged at her arm.  "Come on.  Let's go to bed."

"I'm still too worked up," she told me.  "Give me a few minutes."

I nodded and headed down the hallway.  I pushed Joey's door open to check on her on the way to my own room.  She was fast asleep, frowning.

The next day, Clarita showed up early.  Nine a.m., wanting to talk to Joey.  I was up because Alex and Jack were up, but the rest of the house was asleep.

"Clar, she's not gonna want to talk right now," I tried to advise her as she started to walk around me.  "Let her sleep."

"I'm worried about her," Clarita responded, still moving towards the hallway.  I gently grabbed her upper arm to stop her.

"So are we," I reminded her.  "She had a long, tiring night and she needs her sleep."

"I'm her mother," Clarita growled, turning around to face me.  Her eyes were angry.  This wasn't about Joey.  This was about Clarita wanting to feel needed.  She still couldn't stand that Joey was going to Pippa instead of her.

"I know that," I said softly, not wanting to upset Alex and Jack.  "And as her mother you need to wait until she's ready.  She'll bite your head off if you go in there right now."

I managed to coax her back into the kitchen and fixed her a cup of coffee.  She reluctantly sat at the kitchen bar and sipped at her drink as I tended to the little kids.

"Who are you?" Alex wandered up to Clarita curiously.

"I'm Joey's mom," she responded, smiling.