Lessons in love

chapter 31- developments

Nora was happy to see them back, and back happily. As they sat together, hands touching, their bodys not even an inch apart, this seemed to of worked. The make or break holiday she had suggested had definitely and clearly worked. For some couples, they were less lucky. The time they spent together would make them realise they weren't actually made for eachother, but joe and Dianne clearly were. They were soul mates and it had taken them alot to realise that over again.

"So...you both look much happier and dianne I must say, you are glowing"
She began, looking towards the couple who weren't a couple just 2 weeks before. Dianne had been all alone. But she was glad that she had taken her advice, it had worked out and now they were here.

"Well maybe that's something to do with Joseph here..."
She smiled looking over to her boyfriend. It felt much more normal to call him that now because they were something. They were together. They were back.

"Oh...well would you care to explain this glowiness dianne has, joe?"
Nora asked him making the two of them laugh.

"I've just..."

"It was a nice holiday, is what Joe's trying to stay. A very nice holiday"
She finished his sentence for him.

"Well, I'm glad. That's what we hoped it would do and you look at you both. You look a hundred times better. Much more refreshed and alot more loved up too"
She said.

"It was good, and we are. We are alot more....comfortable"
Dianne said trying to find the correct word. There really was no single word that could sum up how she was feeling currently though. She felt special after what he did in asking her to be his girlfriend again. It showed her that he acknowledged the fact that them breaking up meant they no longer had a status. They were nothing but now they were something and she liked that. She liked being 'joe Suggs girlfriend'. It felt right. She wasn't meant to be anyones but his. She was all for him.

"I can see, so the holiday definitely worked"

"It did"
Dianne told nora, even though it was clear to see.

"I need you to tell me everything because when couples go on trips like these, things just don't happen just because, did you have a conversation about what's been going on recently?"

"Yeah, we did have a few chats. We went right back to basics and spoke about what we both need and expect from a relationship and how the other can show that"
Dianne explained. That was one of the most impactful things they could of discussed and they did. It was good to know what was important for the other. They now knew what they were lacking in and it helped them to find more of a balance which was what had been missing. There had been no balance for them since getting back together. They had been totally thrown. The dynamic now was never like how it was before. This was different. It was a whole new relationship. They had to learn to love again.

"That's the most important thing to start with. What did you find was important in a relationship?"
Nora asked them.

"Everything that joe is"
She said.
"Everything I find is important to have in a realtionship, joe has got and I feel like he's putting in more effort to help me realise that again, which is why I think were so...I feel so normal. This is how it's meant to be"

"So what is it joe you are trying to do to help dianne feel this way with you?"
Nora asked.

"Well I asked her to be my girlfriend...again"
The redhead smile just thinking about it. It was something she was for sure never going to forget. The time at which it came couldnt of been more perfect. Their trip had been going so well and to top it all off with him asking that all important question was just perfect. To put a label back on things really confirmed to her how serious he was and it solidified things again.

"And I'm assuming you said yes?"

"Of course. I couldn't think of any reason why I should of said anything else. Nothing had gone wrong or unexpected those few days. It was just perfect"
It really had been. She didn't know what about it had brought them back so close together but she now understood why nora had suggested it. It was probably the only thing that could of resolved what had happened between them and it had. They couldn't think of one negative that was overshadowing them. Of course it wasn't perfect but they were so much better and this was a place the needed to be.

"And so what are your steps from here on?"

"I think it's best we try and get familiar with the versions of eachother that we are now. We're both so different from the person eachother met 5 years ago and even before all of this happened. Were both completely different people now and we need to get to know those people"
Joe knew this was the only way forward. He wasnt the same person he was before and neither was she. The person before was who they were in love with, not the person now.

"Who is the joe now? And how is he different to the joe before?"
Nora asked him. This was a difficult question. He didn't really know who he was now. He had never felt this way before.

"I'm not sure, but I know now I'm much more scared about us. When I first met dianne and I started having feelings for her, I was anxious about how I presented myself and I didn't want to come across in a way that made it look like I wanted to be all over her because I didnt know if she felt the same about me as I felt about her. Now I feel even more scared. I dont want to come across in a way that will make dianne feel uncomfortable or not want to be with me. I think I'm so much more cautious about how I act and what I say"

"That's what i want you to be like. I want you to be cautious because i feel like that was what was missing when we first broke up. It was the reason we did break up"
The redhead turned to him. This was clearly something she had forgotten to talk about because she hadn't realised until now that this was what she wanted from him.

"I want you to think before you speak and before you act but I also want it to be natural"

"What do you mean dianne?"
Nora asked her.

"I dont want joe to change. I want to be with the joe I was with up until what happened"
She said.

"What was joe like before this all happened?"

"He was like how he was at chewton glen. That's the joe....that I love. That I'm in love with"
That was a big confession but it was true. Their little break away made her realise who they really were as a couple. They were in love but only in certain moments and that was the routine they had been stuck in since they had gotten back together. They were in and out of feeling loved.

"Are you saying that you love me?"
Joe asked nervously, knowing this could be a big moment if she was to say those three little words again.

"When you're like that Yeah, but you're not like that all the time. I know were going to have our moments but if you can show me that you can come back from that then I'm definitely going to fall back in love with you. But...I dont feel that way yet"
She confessed.

"But I dont want it to be one sided. I need you to try too"
He told her.

"I think you've both tried. And you've both tried hard, its just about continuing now. Diannes got you to go on this holiday and started conversations that you needed to have and you joe have done things that made her feel happy again. It's just about keeping it up. I think you're in a really good place and that's why we're throwing around the word love. You just need to continue what you're doing and then when this baby comes along, you'll be happy and hopefully you'll be in love"
She told them, a pause coming after before what she was about to say next.

"It will come sooner than you think....love"

And she was right.....