The Catalyst | Joanne

Chapter 25

"Look at this." Tracey emerged from her office that afternoon to find her daughter, her son and her son's girlfriend all sat together in the living room. Both dogs were snoring on the rug at their feet. "It's so nice to have you all here. I was just thinking, actually, why don't we go out tonight? Just to the pub or something for a nice meal? I want to treat you all. I don't get chance very often."

Joe looked up at his mum and smiled. "That sounds nice, mum. Which pub were you thinking?"

Zoe sat up. "Is it The Plough where they do those nice pizzas?"

Joe rolled his eyes. "You and your pizza. But yeah, I think so." He turned to Dianne, rubbing his hand over her knee. "What do you think, Di? Meal out sound OK?"

Dianne looked up at Tracey and smiled. "That sounds lovely. Thanks, Tracey."

"It's no problem. I'll call now and check they've got a table- shall we walk down at about half 7? Eat at 8?"

Everyone agreed and Tracey went off to find the number and call the pub. Joe relaxed back onto the sofa, half-watching the TV. "How's your back?" he asked Dianne, turning his head slightly. "We walked quite a way earlier and I know Hector can pull a bit. Are you alright?"

Zoe, having heard what Joe was saying, sat up. "What's wrong with your back, Dianne?"

"I'm alright." Dianne pulled herself up slightly, stretching her arms up for a moment. "Some knobhead knocked me off my bike yesterday" she explained, "I landed flat on my back. It's a bit bruised, but nowhere near as bad as when Joseph dropped me in front of almost 12,000 people at the O2."

Joe elbowed Dianne lightly. "Hey! Why bring that up?"

Dianne grinned. "Because I can."

"You're never going to let it go, are you?"

"What, like you let me go? No, never" Dianne answered quickly, a sparkle in her eye.

Zoe laughed out loud. "Ah, you two are hilarious. And still super cute."

Joe rolled his eyes. He secretly loved how much his sister was invested in his relationship, but he wasn't about to let her know that. "OK," he said after a brief pause, "I'm going to quickly check with Josh that everything is ready for this week's video before I get ready." Dianne watched as Joe got up. Leaning in, he kissed her quickly. "I won't be long."

Zoe watched Dianne's expression as Joe walked out the room. "You know," she said quietly once Joe was upstairs, "I'm so glad he found the balls to tell you how he felt. He's honestly so happy. I know I've said it before, but I can't believe the difference in him."

Dianne smiled. "Well, he's amazing. Mum and Dad think so, too."

"Well, we feel the same about you." Zoe paused. "Speaking of that, I... I wanted to say, actually, when I got you alone, that I'm sorry for what Alfie said to you. It wasn't fair and- I know Joe probably already told you- but I was so angry with him. I think you're wonderful, as a person and as my brother's girlfriend. You've just fallen right in with everything he does, and it just feels right." She looked up at Dianne and smiled. "I just needed to make sure you knew."

"Thank you" Dianne said. "It, uh, it's been tough. I don't know if Joe told you what had actually happened, but it threw me a bit. I had a girl come up to me at a meet and greet. She told me I'd saved her life and, well, I probably didn't give a good enough answer because nobody has ever said that to me before. And then I saw her a couple of times- once in the supermarket when we were out shopping and once outside the apartment building, which to me says she knows where we live." Dianne stopped for a moment, trying to suppress her emotions as the whole situation came back to the fore of her mind. "She had written me a letter as well. I didn't see it until after the shows had all finished, but it shook me a bit."

"What did she say?" Zoe asked, trying her best to take in everything Dianne was saying. It felt so nice to be trusted like this. She wanted to help in any way she could.

"She told me she needed me to save her again."

Zoe's eyes went wide. "Oh, wow. That's bold."

Dianne nodded.

"So," Zoe continued, "is that where it ends? Do you know who she is?"

Dianne shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. Part of me wants to look for her, but I don't want to get drawn into something I can't deal with. Plus, it's not my place. I'm a dancer, not a therapist."

"Exactly."

"I've taken the week of social media. So has Joe. We both decided we needed a reminder of who we are underneath it all. People will always take advantage of us, but I think I was starting to blur the lines a bit without realizing."

Zoe nodded. "We all do it. The only thing I'll say is that you're doing everything right. Just... be kind to yourself. You're human." She paused, hearing Joe singing to himself from upstairs. "And, anyway, I may be biased, but I think you've got yourself a pretty special someone up there. I can tell you now that he adores you. Absolutely."

"He's been incredible. I just hope it's done now. I want to just be able to dance and make silly videos with my boyfriend and not have to worry about people following me around supermarkets or sending me weird letters."

"Me too."

At that moment, Tracey appeared in the doorway to the living room. "Where's Joe?"

Dianne pointed upwards. "Can you hear him?"

Tracey paused, hearing Joe singing. "Bless him. I was just going to ask if either of you wanted a drink before we go? Dianne, I've got coffee. I've got fruit juice, water, or a glass of wine if you fancy?"

Dianne smiled. "Oh, go on then. Don't open a bottle just for me, though."

Tracey grinned. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm going to have one too." She turned to her daughter. "I'm guessing you don't want a Merlot like the big girls?" she teased.

Zoe shook her head. "No thanks. But I'll join in with you if you'll do me a Ribena in a wine glass."

"Awwh, like when you were little!" Tracey said with a smile. "You know, Dianne, when Zoe was little she and her friend Alex used to have sleepovers and all they wanted was to be treated like grown-ups. One weekend, we were going to have a girly shopping trip the next day so I offered to do their nails and stuff the night before. Zoe asked if we could have a grown-up meal, so I made them spaghetti Bolognese, lit a few candles and then poured blackcurrant squash into wine glasses for them."

"Cute!" Dianne explained.

Zoe giggled. "We pretended we were drunk. Do you remember?"

Tracey nodded. "I do. It was lovely, though. I was hilarious to see what you thought grown up women did all day. Anyway, let me go and get some drinks. Joe!" she called up the stairs, "do you want a glass of wine?"

Joe's feet thundered as he made his way back downstairs. "Ooh! Opening a bottle, are we?" he asked, in a posh accent, his teeth resting on his bottom lip. "I'll have a small glass, definitely. Yes please."

Dianne rolled her eyes. "I love most of your voices, but that one annoys me so much."

Joe grinned. "I know it does. That's why I do it."

Tracey came back in with a tray of glasses. "Well," she said, holding hers out, "let's make a toast. To family."

Joe caught Dianne's eye and smiled sweetly. "To family."