Bittersweet Love

Chapter 23

Jo's point of view:

I knock on the door of Camille's apartment and wait. Hopefully, everything will work the way we imagined. When the door opens, Camille is standing in front of me. She looks at me friendly, but also a little confused. "Hey Jo. What's up?"

"I wanted to ask your dad something."

"My ... what? Why?"

I shrug. "You will see. May I come inside?"

"Okay ..." she answers suspiciously and leads me into the living room. There Mr. Roberts sits in front of the TV, watching a football game.

"Hi, Mr. Roberts."

He looks up and smiles. "Hello, Jo. How are you?"

I smile back. "I'm fine, thank you. And you?"

"Oh, good so far. Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of stress, as you can probably imagine. But right now everything is back to normal." He looks over at Camille, who doesn't look happy, then looks back at me. "So, Jo, what brings you here?"

"Well …my dad isn't there on the weekend. He's traveling with a friend. That's why he asks if I could stay with you and Camille. I'm fine on my own, but he would find it better if I had company. Well, you know how fathers are."

He nods and looks back at Camille as he answers, "Yes, fathers just want the best for their children."

Camille says nothing. She probably doesn't want to start a fight with her dad while I'm still here. Mr. Roberts looks back at me and smiles. "Of course you can spend the weekend here, Jo. And your dad's gone for exactly how long?"

"From Friday afternoon to Monday noon."

"Okay. That will not be a problem. Right, Camille?"

"No, of course not," Camille replies, smiling.

"Okay, thank you. Then I'll let my dad know. Have a nice evening."

"Thanks, you too, Jo," Mr. Roberts replies, turning back to the TV.

"I'll take you to the door," Camille says, and I follow her. Outside in the hall she looks at me seriously. "Your dad's gone for the weekend?"

"Yes," I answer. That's the hardest part for me. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you don't talk much to my dad. And suddenly you were so friendly to him. That seems strange to me."

"Camille," I say angrily, though I don't mean it. "Just because you don't trust your dad doesn't mean I'm lying to you too. I only asked if I could stay here because I wanted to distract you a bit. I thought it would be a good idea. But if you don't want that, then I'll let it be."

She looks at me silently for a moment, then she sighs and hugs me. "Oh, Jo, I'm so sorry. You're right. I don't know what's going on with me lately. James noticed that too. It would be great if you stay over the weekend. What would I do without you?"

"I hope we never have to find out," I reply, smiling, and return the hug.

Mr. Robert's point of view:

Thursday afternoon:

I'm looking at the mail Mr. Bitters gave me, when I see Jo's Dad walking into the lobby. "Hello, Kenneth," I greet him and walk up to him.

"Hello, Marc. How are you?"

"I can't complain at the moment."

"That pleases me. Thank you for allowing Jo to spend the night with you and Camille."

"Oh, that's no problem. After all, Camille and Jo are best friends."

He nods and sighs. "Yeah, but it looks like it probably won't be necessary anymore."

"Why not?"

"A friend has a serious emergency at home and can't come along anymore. I tried to find somebody else. I thought it might not be hard to find someone who wants to spend an already paid weekend in Las Vegas. You can obviously be fooled."

"Las Vegas?" I ask, looking at him in surprise. He nods. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No, of course not. I just didn't think a man like you would spend his free time in Las Vegas."

He laughs. "Yes, I often hear that. Well, let's see, when it will be the next time. Unless …" He looks at me thoughtfully. "Have you ever been to Las Vegas, Marc?"

I shake my head. "No, when you're married and have three children, you rarely get the chance to come to Las Vegas."

"Would you be interested?"

"Well, I …" For a moment I think seriously about this offer. But then I remember the events of the last few weeks and I shake my head regretfully. "I can't leave Camille alone."

"I guess Camille and Jo are old enough to live without their dads for a weekend."

I nod. "You're right, but that's not what I'm concerned about. I know that Camille can handle it on her own, but at the moment it's better to know what she's doing."

"Don't you trust her?"

"Unfortunately not at the moment. I assume you know why."

He nods slowly. "Yes, I've heard of it."

"Then you know why I don't want to leave Camille alone."

Silence spreads. I'm about to say goodbye to him and leave when he suddenly asks, "What about Jen?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as far as I know, she wasn't happy about this special news too. Why don't you ask Jen if she could keep an eye on Camille and Logan when you're not there?"

"Yes, she was really mad at Logan. I think you could be right, Kenneth."

"So, if Jen agrees, would you come along?"

I smile and nod. "OK. I will ask Jen. I will tell you then."

Mr. Taylor's point of view:

When I enter my apartment, Jo is already waiting for me. "And?"

I smile. "He wants to ask Kendall's mom. If she says yes, he'll come with me."

Jo's beaming. "Don't worry, Mrs. Knight will say yes. And you really don't mind traveling with Camille's dad?"

I shake my head. "No. But if that fails, you'll be grounded for a month. Roger that?"

"Yes, sir," she replies, hugging me.