All We Are by J.H. Croix

Author:J.H. Croix [Croix, J.H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J.H. Croix

Chapter Sixteen

Joe

Oh, hell. Fuck my life. I wanted to think my mom would have been sensible enough not to mention to Joey that I wanted to marry Thea. Sometimes, my mom said too much, especially when it came to me.

I caught Thea’s expression and winced slightly. She was startled all right, but she handled it like a pro.

“Well, I don't know. Maybe we don't need to worry about that right now.”

“If Dad's in love with you, I want you to get married,” my son replied, his gaze swinging to me in the rearview mirror.

“How about we pump the brakes on this?” I commented.

“Does that mean to slow down?” Joey asked.

Like most kids his age, Joey tended to think literally.

“Yeah, slow down. We're not to marriage yet. I love Thea, and that's what's important right now. We'll figure the rest out when the time is right.”

I was seriously winging this and hoped he hadn't just screwed things up with Thea.

Joey shrugged. “All right. I guess you can just be in love.”

I couldn't help but chuckle and was relieved to hear Thea’s soft laughter beside me.

“What's for dinner tonight?” Joey asked, blessedly moving on.

“We're going out.”

Joey sat up straighter. “Where?”

“What do you think about Pizza Play?”

“Yes!” Joey exclaimed, punching one fist and then the other into the air. He wiggled sideways in his seat, entirely distracted from the wedding idea. “It's my favorite pizza place, and they have a playground. Can we go now?”

I glanced at the dashboard clock, having already anticipated this. “That's the plan.”

Thea knew where we were going already. This pizza place was a rarity in the universe of pizza and parenting. They had gourmet wood-fired pizza, but it was also totally family friendly with an indoor play area on one side. For parents, it was heaven with delicious pizza, a kid-friendly menu, and occupied children.

With Joey practically bouncing in his seat all the way to the pizza place, it didn't take much effort to keep him talking. He was full of information for Thea. He told her about the kids in his class, his favorite gym teacher, his favorite substitute teacher, and his favorite lunch menu, which was called the fun stuff menu, and they only had it once per quarter.

“What's the fun stuff menu?” Thea asked.

His eyes went wide as he spun in his seat. I called over my shoulder. “Stay in your seat belt.”

“Okay,” he said quickly. “Did you guys have the fun stuff menu when you were in school? Dad said you went to elementary school together.”

Thea smiled. “We did. And we didn’t have the fun stuff menu. What’s on that menu?”

“It's tater tots with cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza and hot dogs and milkshakes,” Joey explained.

I caught Thea’s eyes, commenting, “That's basically what our regular menu was, if I recall.”

Joey’s mouth dropped open as he looked between us. I winced slightly. “Sorry, they feed you much healthier food now.”

“That's not fair,” he said slowly.

“It probably is. I think you're going to be a lot healthier when you grow up than I am.

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