Fight Left In Me ✔

Chapter 38 - Memories

They walk to the back of the house and Dart points at a tree house in the highest tree in the garden. Jo smiles and imagines him and Pierre in there. Dart pulls her along a tiny trail through the bushes, with a wide smile on his face. On the other side of the bushes is a large fence and behind it is a small house with a small backyard. Dart chuckles and runs his fingers over the fence, until he finds what he is looking for. He fiddles with the mesh of the fence and then pushes part of it forward, revealing a hole to crawl through.

He has to squeeze his body through, but eventually manages and says with a smile: "Not scrawny any more." He holds his hand out to Jo and helps her crawl through it. He stands there, holding her hand and says: "That's Pierre's childhood home. It always felt so welcoming to me, it still does really. Let's see if his mom is home." They walks towards the backdoor and about halfway down, the door flies open and a woman runs out. She pulls Dart into a warm hug, talking to him in rapid French. She looks him over and pinches his cheek. 

Jo looks at the scene with amusement. Pierre's mother has a soft body and really lively, brown eyes. She looks like the loving mum from a children's book. The kind that kisses your scraped knee and mends broken hearts. The woman suddenly notices Jo and apologizes in French. Jo smiles at her and Dart introduces her as the woman of his dreams. 

The woman reaches for her hair and pulls one of her curls with a smile. She asks something in French and Dart smiles while he answers her. Jo looks at them and Dart explains: "Madame Aimant knows about the comic. She said the curls and the soft body are there, but she wanted to know if you were strong too. I said you were."

They go inside and Jo gets handed a photo album, filled with pictures of Dart and Pierre. Jo smiles at the boys, looking so happy together, while Dart talks to Mrs. Aimant. Jo turns the page and sees a picture of Dart and Pierre, with a girl in between them. She seems older. She looks a bit like Pierre's mother though. And then it clicks, it must be Pierre's sister. 

Dart notices the change in Jo's demeanor and glances at the photo album. His face turns white and he looks away from the picture, but Mrs. Aimant notices it and asks him something. Dart answers reluctantly and avoids eye contact with Jo. Jo starts to feel very uncomfortable and closes the album. She gets up and walks out into the garden. Dart tries to follow her, but Mrs. Aimant grabs his arm and urges him to sit down. 

Jo looks up at the sky and hears her phone ring. She pulls it out of her pocket and sees it's Pierre. She picks up, a bit surprised and says: "Pierre?" 

"Jo. My mother texted me. Are you okay? You're in our backyard, right?" 

Jo sighs and says: "I'm in the backyard." She chooses to avoid answering if she is okay. 

"Do you see a shed to your right?" 

Jo looks to her right and says: "Yes." 

She can hear Pierre smile and he says: "Go over there and look inside." Jo walks over to the shed and opens the door. She steps inside and looks around. The walls are covered in drawings and there's an old sofa, surrounded by comics. 

"Wow, Pierre. Did you draw all these?" Pierre tells her about spending hours in the shed with Dart. 

"I drew whatever he came up with. And we would read and discuss comics together, playing our favorite music." Jo looks around and finds a Bon Jovi tape. She chuckles and Pierre asks her what she found. She tells him and he says: "Oh yeah, we loved Slippery When Wet. We didn't understand half of it. But loved it all the same." Jo relaxes and sits down on the sofa. 

She says: "I wish I could show you my childhood room. There's a Bon Jovi poster on my wall there." 

Pierre notices the change in her voice and breathes out: "For real? You loved Bon Jovi too?"