Joe was giving it back, to me and my girls.
Standing in the bathroom, I felt my side of the scale crash down, it was loaded so full by Joe.
I walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom and I didn’t look at Joe as I walked to the door and locked it. Then I turned, my eyes went to Joe in our bed and I walked to the end of it. I stood there and, as Joe watched silently, I pulled off his tee, tugged down my panties and stepped out of them then crawled on all fours up his legs. I kissed his belly then slid the covers down.
“Buddy,” he murmured.
I took him in my hand and slid him into my mouth.
“Christ, buddy,” he groaned, both of his big hands sliding my hair back at the sides and holding on.
Not knowing how to give him everything, I gave him what I could, making him come with my mouth.
When I was done, he yanked me over his body, shoved my face in his neck and his hand went between my legs and he made me come with his fingers.
That was Joe, balancing out the scales.
“You good?” Joe murmured when my heart rate went back to normal, his fingers still sliding gently through the wetness between my legs.
Yes, I was good.
Except I found just then I wanted Joe’s side of the scale to be heavier than mine.
For the rest of his life.
But I whispered into his neck, “Yeah.”
His hand slid away and he moved me to his side.
“Sleep, buddy,” he ordered softly.
“Okay, Joe,” I replied, his hand went to my hip to draw his random patterns and my mind filled with ways to unbalance our scale.
I fell asleep not coming up with much.
*
The nightmare came again that night. It woke me and Joe and he held me as my breathing steadied and the tremors slid out of my body.
He did this silently but when I’d recovered Joe spoke.
“Don’t like this shit, Vi.”
“It’ll pass.”
“Don’t like it,” he repeated.
“I’ll be okay.”
“You have this when Tim died?” he asked.
“No,” I answered.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“I’ll be okay.”
His arms squeezed me then he said, “Yeah.”
But he didn’t sound convinced.
*
On Tuesday morning while I was drinking coffee and the girls were still sleeping, Joe went out front which was something he did first thing every morning since he’d moved in. I knew why and I chose to pretend it didn’t happen.
That morning I couldn’t because Joe came back in, stood in the door and looked to me.
“Come out here, buddy.”
At first I panicked then I saw his lips twitching so I walked to the door and followed Joe outside and into my yard.
He looked to Tina’s house so I looked to Tina’s house and then stared.
The front yard, her trees, her fence, her bushes, everything was covered in toilet paper.
Once I got over the shock of seeing Tina’s white, toilet-paper-strewn yard, I let out a strangled giggle.
“Know anything about that?” Joe asked and I looked at him and shook my head.
“Nope,” I lied.
Joe looked back at Tina’s and noted, “Looks to me like Jessie Rourke’s handiwork.”
He was wrong. Toilet papering was Dee’s idea.
I kept silent.
Joe looked at me again. “We got war here?”
“War?” I asked.
“She gonna retaliate?”
I thought it was highly unlikely Tina would retaliate with Joe’s truck in my drive but she was a bitch and I wasn’t. What did I know what bitches did?
“Um…” I mumbled.
“She fucks with your yard, buddy, we got problems,” Joe warned then suggested, “so maybe you two should have words, settle this.”
“I’m sure it’ll be all right,” I assured him, not wanting to have words with Tina again.
“It isn’t, I have to wade in then it really won’t be all right,” Joe told me.
“Joe –”
“Talk to her.”
“Joe –”
He got close, tipped his chin down and assumed his sinister look.
“Buddy, talk… to… her.”
I tried to decide if I should mess with Joe when he was looking sinister.
This took half a second before I decided not to mess with Joe when he was looking sinister.
“All right,” I muttered.
“Fuck,” Joe muttered back, his eyes going to Tina’s, “I finally find a woman and she’s fuckin’ friends with Jessie Rourke and enemies with Tina Blackstone.” Since he sounded aggravated, I suggested, “I’ll make her cupcakes.”
Joe looked at me and said not a word.
I bit my lip.
Joe looked at my mouth, shook his head then slung an arm around my shoulders and walked me back into my house.
*
When I got home after work that night, Joe wasn’t home and neither were Kate and Keira.
I had three notes, two from Kate, one from Keira.
Note one:
Heather’s folks are taking us to Costa’s. I get to wear my new dress which looks awesome with my tan! Don’t worry, using Joe’s money to pay for mine. Will text you when I’m on my way home.