When You Read Between the Lines

Joe stayed at Faith’s that night since it was after midnight once everything had been cleaned, washed, dried, and put away. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into Faith’s bed in the spot where Nick used to sleep. It was awkward to say the least. He rolled onto his left side, supporting himself on his elbow so he could watch Faith as she got ready for bed. Her hair was pulled back into a bun as she splashed water on her face. He couldn’t help but to smile to himself as he realized that this is how every night could soon be like. He knew the moment Faith said he was the right guy for her that he was going to ask her to marry him. However, now that she and Nick were going through a divorce and now that she was pregnant he was going to have to wait. He’d wait to find out who was the father of the baby. Nine months seemed like such a long time from where he was standing.

Faith shut off the bathroom light and walked over to her closet. She untied her bathrobe, slipping it down her shoulders before hanging it on the hook on the door. Joe’s heart skipped a beat when he saw her in such minimum clothing. He felt more nervous now than he did when they had sex. She slid under the covers on her side and shut off the bedside lamp. As Joe’s eyes adjusted to the dark he was able to make out Faith’s shape. She was on her side facing him. He reached his hand out under the covers and placed it on her hip. She scooted closer to him until her head was resting on his other arm.

They were both silent as Joe traced small circles on her hip and she kissed the crook of his elbow. She sighed and rolled onto her back, his hand moving to her stomach. He almost moved his hand away but something told him to keep it there. It had only been a week since Faith found out she was pregnant and he knew nothing was going to happen but at this moment what was soon to be a baby was growing inside her stomach right underneath his hand.

“Is it weird?” he whispered. She turned her face to his and he lifted his eyes to meet hers.

“A lot of things are weird. This is the first night we are spending together like a normal couple. You’re sleeping where my husband used to sleep. You’re technically still my brother-in-law. And your hand is resting on my stomach.”

“Sorry,” he said, quickly withdrawing his hand.

“No it’s fine,” she said, reaching for his hand and bringing it back to her stomach. “I said it was weird. Not that it was uncomfortable. But none of that is what you meant when you asked if it was weird, was it?”

“Not exactly,” he said, letting out a small laugh. “I just meant, is it weird knowing that right now there’s a baby growing inside you but you can’t feel it or see any evidence of it?”

“Yeah, it is a little different. It’s weird thinking that I’m sleeping next to the man that could be the baby’s father or uncle. But there’s this 50% chance that this man could be the father. It’s that 50% chance that’s keeping me 90% calm right now.”

“What about the other 10%?” Joe asked after leaning over to kiss her cheek.

“It has me nervous,” she admitted.

“What about?”

“The divorce. Our future. Nick’s future…”

“The divorce will go smoothly. Our future will be perfect. And don’t worry about Nick. He’ll be happy again sometime.”

“A perfect future sounds nice,” she whispered, reaching a hand out and resting it on his cheek. He nodded his head in agreement letting silence linger. After a few minutes passed he wasn’t sure if Faith had fallen asleep or not but he had something to say.

“Faith?” he whispered.

“Mm?” she mumbled and he could feel her body shift.

“Do you still want to live here after the divorce? Or do you want to get a place of our own? Something we can call ours.”

“Our own place would be nice,” she whispered. “A new beginning means everything should be new. At least that’s how I feel.”

“A new house it is,” he said, leaning over to kiss her forehead. “Go to sleep.”

“I love you, Joe.”

“I love you too, Faith.”

****

The next morning Joe woke up to find Faith’s side of the bed empty. Rubbing his eyes he sat up to find Faith leaving the bathroom. She stopped when she saw him watching her.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?” she asked, climbing back into bed. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her head.

“Nope. What time is it?”

“9:30. I have absolutely nothing to do today. Or tomorrow now that I think about it.”

“Funny. Neither do I,” he said, a sly smile on his face.

“What to do. What to do,” she mused, looking around the room.

“I have an idea,” he said slowly. She looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. “Well, since neither of us has anything to do for the next thirty six hours… how would you feel about getting the time you deserved at Rosewood Mansion? With me?”

“Are you kidding?” she asked, sitting up. “I’d love it. Will it be possible? I feel like they’ll be booked.”

“Well we’ll just have to see won’t we?” he asked, sitting up and grabbing the phone off of the nightstand and the telephone book from underneath. He flipped through the book, searching for Rosewood Mansion’s phone number. Faith watched him as he punched in the numbers and held the phone to his ear.

“Hello, Rosewood Mansion, how may I help you this morning?”

“Hi, I was wondering if you had one room open just for tonight,” Joe said, looking over at Faith and smiling at her.

“As a matter of fact we do.”

“Well, in that case I would like to make a reservation for two for tonight,” he said, giving Faith a thumbs’ up.

“Would you also like a dinner seating, sir?”

“Yes.”

“Is seven thirty alright for this evening?”

“Seven thirty sounds perfect.”

“And your last name, please?”

“Jonas.”

“Well Mr. Jonas, your reservations are all set. We look forward to seeing you this evening,” the concierge said.

“And we look forward to arriving. Thank you,” Joe said, hanging up the phone. “Pack a bag, Faith. We’re headed to Dallas.”

“You’re amazing!” she cried, reaching over and wrapping her arms around his neck. He kissed her cheek and smiled. He was going to give Faith the night she deserved.

****

About ten hours later, Joe was walking through Rosewood Mansion’s lobby, his arm around Faith’s waist. She was wearing a gorgeous red dress that had his heart soaring up his throat. He led her across the marble floor to the doors of the restaurant where the same hostess from two weeks ago stood.

“Welcome to Rosewood Mansion. May I help you?” she asked, smiling at the two before her.

“Hi, we have a reservation for 7:30 under the name Jonas,” Joe said, smiling back at her. Her eyes widened and she looked to Faith and smiled when she recognized her.

“Oh, Mrs. Jonas, I thought I recognized you,” she said, smiling more as she grabbed two menus. “Glad to see your husband could make it this time.”

Faith gave a slight laugh as she and Joe followed the hostess to their table. Joe held Faith’s chair out for her and pushed it in once she sat down before taking his seat. The hostess set the menus down in front of them.

“Your waiter for this evening will be Derek. He’ll be over in a few minutes. Enjoy your meal,” she said, departing with a final smile.

“You know her?” Joe asked once the hostess was back at the podium.

“She was the hostess here two weeks ago,” Faith said, looking down at her menu. “That was so awkward.”

“It could have been more awkward,” Joe said, shrugging his shoulders.

“How could that have possibly been more awkward?”

“Well, Nick could have actually showed up last time so she would have seen you with him and then tonight she’d see you with me so…”

“Oh, wow. You’re right.”

It fell silent as they both opened up their menus, browsing for something to enjoy for dinner. Joe tried to think of something to say to get some sort of conversation flowing. As he was about to open his mouth the waiter came over, placing two glasses of water on the table.

“Hello, I’m Derek, can I interest you in something to drink?” he asked, looking from Joe to Faith

“I’ll have a glass of Merlot,” Joe said, looking up at him.

“Can I have a Ginger Ale, please?” Faith asked and Derek nodded his head.

“I’ll be back shortly,” he said, turning on his feet to get the drinks. Joe turned to Faith and again, was going to say something when Faith started to speak.

“I forgot to mention I met with my lawyer Thursday evening,” she said, closing her menu and setting it on the table next to her plate.

“Oh, what did she say?” he asked, leaning forward slightly.

“She said that the divorce will be fine either way. Either Nick and I will split everything 50/50 or I’ll get everything, which is what Nick’s been saying should happen. But I think he should get something out of this. I think he should get the house, especially since you and I decided we want to get a house of our own. I could move into the apartment with you before we get one. I mean, it’s not like…”

“Whoa, Faith,” Joe said, trying not to laugh. “Calm down, we don’t have to figure it out right now. That’s something you should talk about with Nick, or your lawyer, or something. Not now. Now is time for you to relax.”

“You’re right,” she said, taking a breath. “I’m sorry, but that’s the second 50/50 problem in my life right now. I don’t like not knowing.”

“I know, neither do I. we’re just going to have to wait,” he said, reaching across the table and gripping her hand in his.

A shadow loomed over their table and Derek was there with their drinks. He set them down and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, poising it in order to take their orders. Joe looked across the table at Faith and gave her a reassuring smile before picking up his menu and looking up at Derek.