A Jaylor Love Story

Paper Rings

Which takes me back to the color we painted your brother's wall

I'm awoken by the loud thud of the plane touching down on the runway. I look out the window to see the gloomy London skies I had grown so fond of. I woke up Joe, who had somehow managed to sleep through the rough landing and began to gather up our things. I quickly put Meredith and Olivia back into their carriers while Joe loaded our bags into the car with the flight attendant. He opened the passenger side door for me then hopped in the driver's seat.

The two of us will be spending the next two weeks in London staying with Joe's family which we are both very excited about. We decided to come to London to surprise Joe's younger brother Patrick when he gets back from camp for his 16th birthday. Over the past year I have grown close with Joe's entire family, but Patrick and I had a special bond. He is extremely sweet and actually has a very similar personality and sense of humor to me. He very quickly became my little brother too. While I already have a younger brother, Austin and I are only two years apart, so it is a very different experience having a brother over ten years younger than me.

Before I knew it Joe turned down the familiar windy street that led to his family home. We pulled into the driveway and were met with his mother and his dog Saber standing in the doorway. His mum grinned and waved excitedly as she saw us pull up. Joe got out of the car and his Saber ran down the front steps and into his arms. The large dog knocked him onto the ground and the two of them rolled around in the grass for a few minutes. I hopped out of the car and greeted Joe's mum Elizabeth with a hug.

"Long time no see sweetheart, how have you been?" she asked me with a smile.

"I've been good, it's good to be back" I replied.

Joe finally got up from the ground and walked over to hug his mom. They talked for a few minutes, I leaned down to pet Saber who surprisingly remembered me. Mrs Alwyn helped us unload the car and we carried our bags into the house and upstairs to Joe's childhood bedroom. We took our time unpacking and then headed downstairs to meet back up with Joe's mum. The three of us sat on the couch and talked for awhile because we had a lot of catching up to do.

Soon enough, Joe's father arrived home from work and gave us each a hug. It was getting close to dinner time so his mum left the living room and went to go start dinner. I politely excused myself from the conversation between Joe and his dad and went to go help with the cooking.

"You don't have to help me honey, you're a guest" his mum told me upon seeing me enter the kitchen.

"Oh, don't worry I love to cook." I reassured. "Plus, they just turned on the game so I would honestly rather be here". She laughed and handed me a few potatoes to peel.

Over dinner we mostly talked about Patrick and what they were planning for his birthday. At one point Joe's mother mentioned how Patrick had been wanting to redo his bedroom, as he felt it was a bit childish, which gave me an idea.

When we finished eating Joe and I volunteered to wash the dishes. I was in charge of washing them, while Joe cleaned them and put them away. We finally finished and were left with a sink full of soapy water. I turned around to grab my drink, but as I took a sip I immediately felt ice cold water hit the back of my neck. I turned around, my mouth gaped open and eyebrows raised. Joe had a large smile on his face and his hand in the sink.

"Oh, you're going to regret that" I taunted, dunking the rag in my hand into the full sink and tossing it in his direction. It smacked against his chest, soaking his torso, neck and face. He gasped loudly and flicked a handful of water back at me.

After a few more minutes of fighting, we composed ourselves and laughed at the amount of water on the floor and on our clothing and bodies. We used a few towels to clean up the room and then snuck upstairs to change our clothes. At this point it was getting late, so Joe's parents already headed up to their room to go to bed.

Joe and I took a quick shower together and changed into pajamas. We cuddled together on the double bed and started a movie, because we were not yet tired due to the five hour time change between New York and London. As the credits began to roll, I turned to Joe and decided to tell him my idea from earlier. I thought it would be a nice birthday surprise for Patrick if we redecorated his room for him. Joe loved the idea and we decided that we would go shopping for the room tomorrow morning.

〜

I woke up to an empty bed. I stretched out and wandered down the hall to the bathroom. I got ready quickly and headed downstairs. I stopped a few steps down and smiled at the sound of the love of my life laughing with his family. I finished down the stairs and saw the three of them on the couch with Saber sprawled across Joe's lap. Joe looked up and his eyes met mine, he smiled "good morning love" he said. The four of us said our good mornings and ate breakfast. Over the meal, Joe and I described our plan to decorate Patrick's bedroom and his parents thought it was a great idea.

Joe and I left the house and went to the hardware store. The store was relatively empty and since Joe and I kept to ourselves, no one noticed us. We looked at paint colors first and settled on a dark blue color. We loaded a few cans into the cart and then went to go look at furniture. We ended up buying the paint cans, a bedspread, some curtains and a new desk.

Back at the house, Joe and I immediately got to work on Patrick's room as he would be home in two days. We took out all of the furniture and changed into some casual clothes that we didn't mind dirtying. I covered the outlets and windows with tape, while Joe got the paint and supplies ready. After a few hours, the walls were finally done. Joe and I stood back smiling, admiring our work, we were pretty exhausted from the painting and decided to wait a little bit before bringing the furniture back into the room.

The two of us sat on the tarped floor with a glass of wine each, talking and laughing to each other. Eventually we brought the furniture back into Patrick's room and I did a little reorganizing while Joe put the desk together.

〜

The next morning, Joe and I woke up early and put a few finishing touches on the room. We took Saber for a quick walk around the block because Joe's parents had already left for the airport to pick up Patrick.

We got back to the house soon after and worked together to make Patrick's favorite meal for lunch. By the time we had finished setting the table we heard a car pull into the driveway.

Joe went outside to hug his brother and I stayed behind hiding in the kitchen so I could surprise Patrick. I heard Patrick and Joe's voices coming through the front door and Saber's barking boom through the entryway. I waited until they got closer to the kitchen and then jumped out in front of them.

Patrick yelled my name and ran over to hug me.

"I missed you kid" I whispered to him as we hugged. He pulled away and playfully smacked Joe's arm for not telling him. The five of us ate lunch together and then helped Patrick take his bags upstairs. He was shocked at the changes we had made and he seemed to really love his new room. We spent the rest of the day catching up, since Patrick had many stories about his weeks at camp to share. Our two weeks in London were going to be incredible.