Make A Wish - (Roman Reigns)

Chapter 9

Roman brushed a strand of hair out of Robyn's face before he leaned down to kiss her. The tour brought them closer than they could've ever imagined. It intertwined them both physically and emotional and he couldn't be happier.

"Alright, I have to catch my flight," he had to force himself away.

"Joe?" the look on her face was serious as she stared up at him.

"Hmm?" he asked, curious, watching her chest rise and her lip tremble for a moment.

"Joe, I...I...I love..." Robyn trailed off before clearing her throat. She shook her head slightly. "I love...the time we've spent together these last two weeks."

Roman nodded in agreement. "And just think, soon we'll be riding home on a plane together."

"Yeah, I hope everything goes well with Jojo when you break the news."

"Me too..."

The flight from Providence to Tampa was only 3 hours but it felt like an eternity. The entire ride his mind was fixated on having the second hardest conversations he'd ever have to have with Jojo; the first being telling her that his leukemia returned. This was something he never thought he'd have to do but since it's here, he had to deal with it.

"What's with this Wildcard stuff?" Galina asked after he made it home. "You're working both shows now?"

"Yeah, it's a ratings thing. My check reflects the extra load so there's that," he shrugged.

"I'm not concerned about the money, Joe. If they wanted you to work Raw, they should've left you there in the first place and you would've been home yesterday. We'll be transitioning soon and you'll be living with Robyn I assume so that extra day could've been spent here with the kids," she replied.

"Yeah, you have a point there," he acknowledged. Galina bringing it up caused him to inhale, fearing what was to come later on tonight. "Have you done any prep work or dropped any hints?"

"No, I was waiting for you so we could do it together."

"It's my first day home, do you think I should do it tonight or wait? You know Aladdin hits theaters Friday. We got married on a Disney cruise and A Whole New World was our wedding song so I was thinking we could go together as a family for old times sake before telling her," he suggested.

"That's very sweet, Joe but I think it should be done tonight and if she doesn't take it well, we'll have the next 2 days to talk about it. Then, on Friday if everything works out, we can all go together to show her that we're still a family no matter what."

Roman could barely speak as he drove Jojo home that evening. School was almost out for the summer and she talked about being able to attend more shows and pay per views on Sunday since she wouldn't have school the next day. She chatted peacefully unaware that her world would be shattered in the next few hours.

He watched as Galina set the table with Jojo's favorite foods, trying to set a conciliatory mood. Roman suspected that her nervousness was compelling her to do something positive in order to counteract the events for tonight.

They had insignificant conversations and there was a definite tension in the air between Roman and Galina, both trying to goad the other into initiating. Several times Roman cleared his throat to begin only to get cold feet and stop.

Finally, after several glasses of wine, Galina summoned the courage to go the next step. She pushed her chair back. "I'm going to take the boys to their room and I'll be back."

Jojo hummed, eating, while Roman stared down at his hands. Galina returned and took her place beside him. They held hands as Roman spoke. "Joelle..."