Apparently while Julie and Alex were upstairs in her room, Ray and Carlos took it upon themselves to help the boys set up their phones. Ray was a little confused as to why Luke and Reggie didn't seem to know more about phones, but Carlos was able to cover and distract his dad when needed.
"Okay so you now have each other's numbers, as well as mine, Carlos', and Julie's. I suppose I should give you Victoria's as well in case there is an emergency and you can't get a hold of me."
"So... so I can talk to you, whenever? Like even if I'm here and you're at work? Or if I'm at the shelter, and you're here? What about if I'm in the studio and you're on the beach? OOH or what if you're in Canada? And I'm in Australia?" Everyone stared at Reggie's outburst.
"Yes Reggie, you can call or text me in all of those situations... but are you planning to go to Australia any time soon?"
Reggie smiled. "No, but I like to know that I could."
***
Alex was plotting. Plotting sounds like such an evil word, but there was no hint of malice in what Alex was planning. He knew what he had to do. He didn't get caught the first time, so why would he get caught now?
Dear Julie,
I'm sorry we were interrupted again. Can we try again tomorrow? No distractions this time?
Love, Luke
P.S. Sorry for freaking out about Jax.
Success. And now one for Luke.
Dear Luke,
I'm sorry we were interrupted again. Can we try again tomorrow? No distractions this time?
Love, Julie
P.S. Don't worry about Jax.
Okay, was it lazy to write the same letter? Perhaps, but at least this way both Julie and Luke would be on the same page. Plus he wrote 'love' on both of them so hopefully they will be able to finally communicate how they felt about each other.
Was Alex trying too hard to make Juke work rather than face his failed relationship with Willie or acknowledge the possibility of something happening with Jax? Maybe. Was he going to ignore that rational thought and slip these notes under Julie and Luke's doors? Absolutely.
***
Julie was coming back from the bathroom after getting ready for bed. As she opened the door, she felt something underneath her foot. She looked down to see a folded piece of paper. It was a note from Luke asking to talk tomorrow, but what Julie noticed what how he wrote 'Love, Luke'. Was this for real?? Did Luke just admit how he felt? Or was she reading into this too much. Was it just friend love?
***
Luke was tired. Alex had come back downstairs and they had practiced using their phones for over an hour. Carlos had taught them all about "texting" and had sent them all messages so they could work on replying. Reggie especially liked how you could add little smiley faces to the messages.
He said goodnight to Carlos and the guys and headed up to his room. He looked at Julie's door and thought about knocking on it. He really wanted to talk to her. It was late though so she was probably already asleep. Sighing, he went into his room. He looked down and saw another piece of paper – had Julie written him another note? He grabbed it and jumped onto his bed.
Julie wanted to meet with him! This was great news. And she said she was sorry about the confusion with Jax (another plus), and... she wrote love. Okay okay calm down, deep breaths. Luke had to play this cool. He didn't want to come across as too eager. He decided he would write her another note, so he grabbed a piece of paper and started to think of what to say. But then he remembered last time about how she hadn't seen the note he left her and that's when everything started to go downhill. Then he remembered his shiny new phone.
Jules
Hey Jules.
It's Luke.
I'm on my new phone.
Carlos said you would get my phone number if I sent you a text message.
Is that right?
Do you have my phone number now?
Is this Julie Molina?
How do I know if this is Julie Molina?
***
Julie was reading a book when her phone kept buzzing. She looked at it and saw that she had 8 messages from an unknown number. Who sends 8 messages at once to a stranger? Julie giggled when she saw the messages were all from Luke.
🎸Lulu 🎸
Haha hey Luke. Yup it's Julie
Cool!
So... were you just checking to see how the phone works?
No, I was wondering if maybe I could come meet you after school tomorrow.
Before work.
I was thinking we could talk then. Without distractions.
Gotcha. No distractions.
Yeah that would be cool.
Cool. I'll see you then. Goodnight Jules
Night Luke 😘
Julie had felt bold when she sent the last message. She wanted to know that she had seen his note without having to acknowledge it outright. She had thought it was pretty cute that Luke would write her a note and then follow up with a text. But having phones was going to make communicating with the boys so much easier! She'd have to get Reggie and Alex's numbers tomorrow. She could already picture what those messages would look like. Reggie's would be filled with emojis, exclamation points, and lots of capitals. Alex's would be drama filled, contemporary slang, and lots of eye rolls and hand emojis. She truly loved her boys, and they loved her back, and hopefully Luke loved her as more than just a friend.
***
Ray Molina
Hello Ray, this is Alex Mercer.
I just wanted to say thank you again for the cellphone.
I know it means a lot to all of us.
No problem Alex. I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Ray aka Jules's Dad
Thanks again for the phone Ray!
I've already messaged Julie so she has my number in case she needs to talk to me.
You're welcome Luke.
DAD
HI RAY! 😁
IT'S ME, REGGIE! 👨🏻
THE BASS PLAYER! 🎸
I'M IN AUSTRALIA!!! ✈️ 🏝 🚤 🤿 🐨
JUST KIDDING! I'M IN MY ROOM NEXT DOOR! 🤣
THANKS FOR THE PHONE!!! IT'S SO MUCH FUN!!! 😛 🤡
BUTTER SAYS THANK YOU TOO! 🐶
WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A PHOTO TO SHOW YOU HOW HAPPY WE ARE! 📷
OKAY I CAN'T FIND WHERE THE PHOTO WENT, BUT JUST IMAGINE US BEING HAPPY! 📷❓ 🐶 😁😎
GOING TO BED NOW 😴! LOVE YOU!!!
Ray was definitely going to be making pancakes for that boy tomorrow.