He Told Me To Walk This Way

I'll Put Away My Pride

I hoped that Joe was wrong about Steven getting so angry over Angela’s pregnancy, although I knew he wouldn’t be too happy about it. But what if I became pregnant? Would Steven flee and shack up with some groupie? Of course not; Steven loves me, I thought to myself. Steven could get mad; he’d showed me that side of him before. When Steven’s mad, there’s no telling what he’ll do. He has the Italian in his blood to thank for that.

I scrambled down the hall, nearly slipping on the hardwood floor and my own two feet, until Joe came into view. He was turning the corner that led onto the porch. For a moment I thought I’d caught him, until I heard Steven’s voice saying, “What?” It was a high-pitched, shrill “What?” and I knew that that meant I was too late. I looked be me to see Angela, nearly in tears. She followed me down the hall with her head down and her arms crossed.

Steven slammed the porch door and I felt a gust of the chilly air rush into the room. Then Steven stomped into the kitchen. His index finger and thumb were pressed against his temple. “Holy fucking shit Joe! What the fuck?” Joe backed away from Steven until he was pressed up against the wall. I was confused-why was Steven mad at Joe?

“Look man, all I meant was that we got a lot goin’ on and now this hap-“Joe started, but was cut off by Steven.

“Joe! It could have happened to any of us. With the way we all act around the groupies man…half the time we don’t use condoms and when we do we’re gacked to the fucking nines. It’s not like he was doing anything differently than you or I do so don’t fucking try to make him feel like shit over this!” Steven was defending Joey…this was new. Joe rolled his eyes and took a step forward.

Brad and Tom came inside and looked at Joe, who was now standing there with an expression that could kill, and then they looked at Steven. “Aren’t we supposed to be writing a song?” Brad asked, annoyed at everyone’s sudden preoccupation.

“Yeah, what the hell’s going on?” Tom asked.

Joe looked like he was about to answer with some rude comment about Joey’s “irresponsibility” but Steven spoke first. “We have a…a…situation.”

“A what?” Brad asked. “What the fuck is it?”

Angela stood next to Joey, who was in front of the refrigerator. “Angie’s pregnant.” Steven said, lighting a joint. “She’s fucking pregnant.” He walked out onto the porch, alone. I could tell that he was doing his best to not get upset by removing himself from the situation. It seemed like just when things were about to get better, a so-called complication came along to fuck things up.

Brad looked annoyed more than anything. “Oh. Congrats.” He said, and walked over to the fridge. He pushed Joey out of the way and got out a packet of bologna and half a loaf of bread out.

A wide smile spread across Tom’s face. “I’m just gonna make a wild guess here…but Joey’s the dad isn’t he?” No one dared to answer. Angela awkwardly shifted where she stood and bit her lip. “I’m right, then? Joey knocked Angie up?” He started to chuckle. He walked over to Joey and smiled. Then he put his arm around Joe’s neck and said, “Well, after we finish this album, you two ain’t gonna have nothin’ to worry about and you can raise little Joey Jr. wherever the hell you want. We’re gonna be so rich, dude. You can even buy your kid a little metal lunchbox with the Aerosmith logo on it.” Hey, at least he was bringing some positivity to the table.

Joey and Angela both chuckled. She leaned in and kissed Joey. Again, sparks flew at the very moment that their lips collided. They kept the kiss going for at least ten seconds before they parted and looked deeply into each other’s eyes. Joey’s arm was around Angela’s waist and her arm was around his neck. “Thanks man.” Joey smiled, hugging Angela.