Pictures that tell 1000 words

The Instagram post

"Which is..." Joe began, hoping to further his sons thought process.

"You know that yesterday Mummy was telling me about the pictures... In... In the book." Alex began, his gaze now turned onto the front of the car.

"Yeah?"

"Well, Mummy said that you kept it a secret... So how did everyone find out?" He questioned tentatively, almost fearful about the answer he would receive.

"It was in an Instagram post." Lily said somewhat bluntly from her position in the front seat.

"Wait how do you know that?" Joe questioned in surprise that her daughter actually knew about that photo which was put on the internet 4 years before she was even born.

"Ellie's mum used to be a fan of you and Mum so once she found out who I was, Ellie said that her mum basically told her all about what you two used to do and your YouTube and stuff. Then of course Ellie told me to ask if it was all true." She said with a look on her face that told Joe she thought it would be obvious.

"Oh, okay..." Joe said slowly, slightly freaked out about the fact that her daughters friends seemed to know more about his relationship with Dianne than his own children did. "I bet you that you don't know the full story to that photo though do you?"

Looking over to his daughter next to him with a gentle smile across his face, Joe watched as Lily shrugged her shoulders a little, clearly not bothering with the story he was about to tell.

"What happened Daddy?" Alex asked with an adventurous air of excitement from his leaned forward position on the back seat.

"Well, It was the Final of Strictly Come Dancing 2018, and despite all the odds, Mummy and I had made it..."

15th December 2018

Joe stood in his dressing room, looking at himself in the mirror as he pulled on the black and gold matador jacket he would begin the show wearing - the music to Bastille's Pompeii going through his head like a broken record.

"Last show Joe... You've got this mate." He whispered to himself as he smoothed down the black shirt he wore and ran a hand through his red hair. Letting out the breath he didn't know he was holding, Joe felt his attention get diverted by the sound of two gentle knocks on his dressing room door.

"Come in!" He said to the entrant. Turning his head towards the door, Joe felt his nerves instantly calm and a smile widen across his face, as the sight of the sprightly red head he had started this journey with walked through the door.

"Hey you." He said with a soft smile as he enveloped the red head into a gentle hug, the trail end of her hair extensions brushing against the back of his palm as his hands found their usual spot in the small of her back.

"Hey you." She replied softly, revoking the little tradition they had started of addressing each other in the same way every time they saw one another. As she pulled her head out of his chest, Dianne lent up slightly and gently pressed her lips onto his. Something that they didn't usually do before a show, but tonight was a little different.

Noting the smile that grew across her lips as she looked up at him, Joe furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "Lipstick?"He questioned as he pointed towards his lips. Shaking her head in return, Dianne looked deeply into the crystal orbs of his irises. "Nope." She began - "Just you."

The two shared a soft silence for a moment before turning back to Joe's original position in front of the mirror. "I still love the way you look in that jacket ya know." Dianne said with a soft smile as she watched his chest rise and fall with the heavy breaths he was taking.