A/N: it's my birthday! Leave me a star!
I knew my son, and while he did stupid things sometimes like most teenagers, I knew he wouldn't willingly cheat on Joey. I'd seen how he oogled over her. When he walked into the apartment Saturday after the party, the look on his face confirmed my suspicions. He was completely broken.
Lin and I had a quick word with him and I tried to reassure him. He'd disappeared down the hallway about twenty minutes ago to go talk to Joey. For once, we didn't enforce the door open rule. They needed some privacy to talk.
Lin and I were both on pins and needles, wondering how it was going. We sat together on the couch, making sure Jack and Alex were doing okay as they played. Lin kept tapping his heel as we waited.
Finally, the door opened. We didn't want to appear too eager, but I turned around to see who it was and what was going on. Joey appeared, looking less stressed than she had been the whole day.
"Everything okay?" I asked her. Lin craned his neck as well.
She shrugged her shoulders as she went for the refrigerator. I glanced at Lin, and we were both wishing that she'd say more. We didn't want to pry. Since it was his kid, I let Lin take the lead. He walked over to get himself a drink and started asking her more questions. She answered, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. Lin gave her a kiss on the head and came back to the couch with me. I looked at him eagerly, wanting to know what she'd said.
"They're taking a break," he informed me as he sat down with a glass of water.
"A break?" I asked, confused.
He nodded and set down the glass. "Joey said she's been feeling overwhelmed lately and needs some space."
"Space?" I asked. "They live in the same house."
"I know," he said, rubbing at the back of his head. "Not sure how that's going to work."
"A break..." I thought out loud. "I thought they were really into each other."
"I thought so too," he said, and we both sat quietly for a few minutes as the little kids played.
"I should go check on Elliott," I decided, standing up, but Lin caught my hand.
"Don't," he told me gently. "Trust me. Elliott doesn't want to have a conversation with his mother right now."
I studied his face for a moment and he was dead serious. I knew Elliott was growing up and he didn't want his mommy in his business, but there was still a big part of me that wanted him to need me. He'd grown up way too fast.
Reluctantly, I sat back down and Lin draped his arm around my shoulders. He kissed my head. "Don't worry, he'll be fine."
"He really likes Joey," I told him. Lin just rested his chin on my shoulder and we sat there for a while quietly.
I tried to keep my mind off the Joey/Elliott situation for the afternoon but it was hard. I'd caught glimpse of Elliott a couple times as he came out for a snack or to use the restroom. He didn't look totally upset, but he was morose. I gave him some space for a while, but after a couple hours I couldn't not say anything.
I pushed his bedroom door open and he was laying on his back, earbuds in. I slowly walked over and sat at the end of his bed. His eyes opened and he pulled out his buds.
"Hey," I said gently. "You've been in your room most of the day. Everything okay?"
"I'm sure Joey told you," he said, looking at his feet.
I sighed. "I heard. Are you okay?"
He shrugged and didn't look like he wanted to talk. "It's fine. Whatever."
I put my hand on his shin. "I know you've had a lot of feelings with Joey. Do you want to talk about things?"
"No," he said with annoyance. It still hurt when he pushed me away, but I was a mother. I didn't want to see my kid suffering.
"Okay," I said softly, trying not to let the hurt show in my voice. "Well, Lin and I are both here if you want to. I love you."
He mumbled that he loved me back and I stood up to leave. I went to the kitchen and found Joey making herself an afternoon snack. Apple slices with caramel.
"That looks tasty," I told her, giving her a small smile. She smiled back and licked a bit of caramel off her thumb.
"Want a couple slices?" she asked.
"Sure," I said, reaching for one. We both crunched on our slices as Lin played with Alex in the living room. He was on his back, holding Alex above him like an airplane as she laughed.
"I heard about you and Elliott," I said lightly, not wanting to upset her. "You okay?"
She sighed and dipped another slice into the caramel. "Yeah. I don't know, things were getting kind of intense. I'm only fifteen. I have a lot going on."
I nodded as I munched some more. "You are a busy kid," I agreed.
"I don't know," she shrugged. "I just wanted to take a breath. Sorry if Elliott's upset."
"Oh, he'll be okay," I told her, but I knew he'd be hurting for a while. With any other girl, I'd have daggers for her if she hurt my son. But with Joey, I knew her heart was in the right place. She was doing what was right for her at the moment.
She disappeared to her room with the rest of her apple slices to do homework. I realized this was typical - the teenagers tucked away in their rooms and the little kids out in the living room being noisy.
An hour or so later, Clarita showed up again, unable to stay away. I watched Lin's body language change as he opened the door and let her in reluctantly. He wanted to respect Joey's wishes but also knew Clarita was leaving tomorrow and wanted to see her daughter. She walked back to Joey's room and I hoped Joey would talk with her.
I was busy with Jack when she came back out ten minutes or so later, looking a bit defeated. Lin stood in the kitchen with her so they could discuss their daughter. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her being more physical with him than usual. She put her hand on his arm and was looking at him differently. Lin looked uncomfortable.
Clarita walked to the door and turned to tell me a quick goodbye. Lin followed her and locked the door behind him. He rubbed behind his ear, then tucked his hands into his sweatpant pockets.
"What was that about?" I asked.
He sighed as he sat down. "I think she's confused," he said. "She has a lot of feelings right now. I think she hates that Joey's not close with her. She's trying to make us all closer again."
"She was...touching you," I pointed out.
"I know," he acknowledged. "It threw me off a bit."
I thought it was super odd that she seemed to be coming onto him. They were divorced and she'd been dating females. I knew Lin certainly wasn't still interested. I kind of shook it off as one of Clarita's oddities. She was heading back to Chicago in the morning anyways.
Dinner was...awkward. The little kids were, of course, oblivious, but Elliott kept his head down most of the time. Joey didn't seem upset, as she'd been the one who'd done the breaking up. Lin and I could certainly sense the tension.
Elliott finished quickly and asked to be excused. He hadn't eaten enough, but I let him go. He rinsed his plate and disappeared to his room. Joey sighed and looked at her plate, pushing her green beans around.
"Don't pway wif your food!" Alex admonished her, and Joey chuckled a little.
"Sorry," Joey told her, and it made me laugh that she was apologizing to a three year old. "Dad, can I go lay down?"
"Sure," he told her. "You feeling okay?"
She shrugged. "Just tired."
"Go relax," he told her, and she got up to rinse off her plate. Alex sat in her booster seat, dancing her head back and forth a little as she chewed.
"Their grandmother texted me," Lin told me. "They want the kids to visit next weekend."
After the whirlwind of Joey's party, it sounded nice to have a weekend without the kids. Lin and I could have some time to ourselves. The kids were starting to play so we decided dinner was over. I took the lead with bathtime and soon the kids were down and Lin and I were lounging in bed.
"How was Elliott?" Lin asked, running his hand up and down my arm softly.
"Oh, still kind of love sick," I admitted. "I guess he's not sure what kind of a break she's talking about. How long."
Lin kissed my arm and nodded. "I'm sure it'll be hard seeing her all the time," he commented.
"Maybe he'll want to be at his dad's more," I replied. They hadn't exactly broken up, but Joey had pushed him away for now. I couldn't imagine having to see an ex every day in my own home.
"Well, maybe they'll work it out," Lin said, turning onto his back.
"Maybe," I said. "They're still just teenagers though. It's not likely they'll end up staying together forever and getting married."
"Yeah," he agreed. "Still, they seem good for each other. Remember how they used to despise each other?"
He looked over at me, smirking at the memory. I nodded and laughed. "I thought Elliott was going to kill me when I said we were all moving in together."
"Joey wasn't happy," he agreed. "That's for sure."
We were silent for a few moments. "I remember a certain someone else not being fond of me," he said playfully, turning and snaking a hand onto my belly. I grinned as he rubbed at my bare skin.
"Well, deep down I always had feelings for you," I said, playing with his growing hair. "I was just upset for a long time."
"Yeah," he said quietly, looking at me with love in his eyes. "I'm glad you decided to like me again."
We both smiled and he leaned in to give me a sweet, gentle kiss. "Me too," I told him as he settled in to my embrace. "Me too."