When You Read Between the Lines

“So… uh… your apartment’s nice,” Joe said awkwardly as Nick drove them back to Faith’s house. “Well… from what I saw of the outside that is.”

“Thanks,” Nick muttered as he took a left turn.

Joe drummed his fingers against his knee and looked out the window. He wanted to ask Nick about what was going on between him and Charlotte but couldn’t think of a good way to bring it up. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to ask about it when it was just the two of them anyway. He needed a buffer or two and he figured he could probably get Frankie to ask instead while they got ready for bed. Joe looked up as the car slowed down and saw that Nick was pulling up in front of Faith’s house. Everyone else was already there. Joe climbed out of the car and reached into the back for his bag and he and Nick walked to the door.

“Hey,” Frankie said opening the door as they walked up the path. His eyes darted between Joe and Nick quickly before resting on Joe. Nick walked right in, dropping his bag by the door and made his way to the vacant chair in the living room across from his father.

“Can I talk to you?” Joe whispered in Frankie’s ear, jerking his head towards the stairs. Frankie nodded his head and followed Joe up. He turned into the bathroom and shut the door behind Frankie before locking it.

“So how did that go?” Frankie asked, closing the toilet lid and sitting on it.

“It was… awkward,” Joe admitted, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “But listen, I need you to do something.”

“Sure,” Frankie said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Tonight when you, Nick, Kev, and me are getting ready for bed or whatever… I need you to ask Nick about what’s going on with him and Charlotte.”

“Why don’t you just ask Charlotte?”

“Well… I tried but things didn’t go very well,” he said, leaning up against the sink.

“A.K.A. you got mad at her and she’s mad at you for being mad at her because it’s none of your business so now she won’t talk to you.”

“Pretty much,” Joe said, nodding his head in response. “Just slightly more complicated.”

“What’s the big deal if they are dating anyway?”

“I guess it’s not but… she lied to me if that is what’s going on. She said that she just wanted to talk to Nick because she felt he needed a friend and then all of a sudden she’s showing up to family gatherings with him. Something’s just not right.”

“Well if it’s really bothering you then I’ll ask Nick,” Frankie said, standing up and putting a hand on Joe’s shoulder. “On a serious note… how’s Faith really?”

“What do you mean?”

“Before you got here she was just acting very… upbeat,” he said, his eyebrows scrunching together as he searched for the right word to describe her behavior.

“She’s distraught, Frank. There’s so much shit going on right now… the only good thing that happened is that Lizzy actually came out and they’re getting along.”

“Well… maybe she needs that extra boost to cheer her up if you know what I mean,” Frankie said, giving Joe a wink before letting himself out of the bathroom.

“Hey Frankie,” Joe heard Faith say.

“Hey sis,” Frankie said.

“Oh, there you are,” Faith said, walking into the bathroom and smiling at Joe. “I saw Nick and asked where you were and no one knew saying you had disappeared with Frankie. What were you two talking about?”

“Nothing, just Christmas stuff,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “Come here,” he said, pulling his hands out of his pockets and wrapping his arms around her. He rested his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes. They stood there like that for a minute or two. He turned his head and kissed her hair.

“I needed that,” she whispered, pulling her head away to look up at him.

“So did I,” he whispered.

“Come downstairs,” she said, linking her fingers with his. “Mom found White Christmas.”

“The song or the movie?”

“The movie of course.”

“I love that movie,” he said, following her down the stairs.

Everyone was packed into the living room as Meg got the movie set up. Joe and Faith sat on the couch with Kevin and Danielle to watch the movie. Joe looked around at everyone before the lights went out and felt something was missing. As the opening credits came on he realized that that something was the real Christmas spirit. He knew that William was in the hospital and everyone didn’t really feel up to it but the reason that all of the Jonas’ were there was to make it feel like Christmas and he knew he had to do something to make the next day special.

****

When the movie ended almost everyone was half asleep. Everyone went upstairs except the four brothers. They all grabbed their things and headed down to the basement. While Nick was setting up the area he would sleep Joe nudged Frankie and jerked his head towards Nick.

“So, uh, Nick,” Frankie said, clearing his throat.

“Yeah?” Nick asked, looking up from the blankets he was lying down.

“I think it’s time to announce the giant elephant in the room,” Frankie said. Joe looked towards Kevin who looked back at him, confused.

“And that would be…?”

“Are you and Charlotte dating?” he asked flat out and Kevin dropped the blankets he was about to unfold on the floor.

“Did Joe put you up to this?” Nick asked, turning his attention towards Joe. Joe stood there speechless and looked over to Frankie.

“No. No, no, no,” Frankie said. “I’m curious to know what’s going on. I mean… you barely know this girl. You met her twice through Joe and all of a sudden you’re bringing her to our family Christmas celebrations? I just want to know if you’re in a relationship or not.”

“Well if you must know she came to me.”

“She did?” Kevin asked, picking the blankets back up and spreading them out on the floor where he was going to sleep.

“Yes. She called me up and said that Joe had told her about everything and she felt bad for me and wanted to talk. She said it sounded like everyone was basically ganging up on me and that I was all alone in this shitty mess. She said she wanted to be a friend to me so I took up the opportunity. I think she’s a great girl and she’s helping me through a lot. So to answer your question, Frankie, no, we are not dating but… if things keep going the way they are, I think there’s a good possibility it will happen.”

Joe, Kevin, and Frankie all looked at one another. Frankie shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the floor. Joe looked back to Nick who was already lying down, his iPod headphones in his ears. Kevin walked over to the light switch and flicked it off. Joe was lying there on the floor just staring at the ceiling and thinking of the evening’s events. He was restless and couldn’t sleep. He sat bolt upright when an idea hit him. Silently he stood up and crept his way upstairs. If he was going to pull this off he needed to do it quietly so he wouldn’t wake everyone else.

****

The next morning Joe woke up feeling very achy. He grabbed his neck and turned his head slowly, feeling a few snaps. It probably wasn’t his best idea sleeping at the dining room table but he was just so tired that as soon as he sat down with the mug of hot chocolate his eyes couldn’t help but close. Once it clicked what day it was he jumped up and went to the living room.

No one was awake yet and he was kind of glad that he didn’t miss anyone seeing what he did. He had spent part of the night stringing the extra white lights across the ceiling so it looked like a bunch of stars. Paper snowflakes were made and dangling from the ceiling with bits of string as well as taped on the walls and windows around the living room. The presents were all placed under the tree, the stockings were stuffed, and the rest of the night was devoted to prepping the roast beef for that night’s dinner. It was now sitting in the refrigerator marinating. He figured he should get an attempt at starting breakfast before everyone woke up.

Coffee was brewing on the counter. In the fridge he found ingredients to make a dish he saw on the Food Network once. Some tubes of crescent rolls and raspberry jam and a preheated oven. Just as he was putting it in the oven he heard footsteps and he realized they were coming from the basement. He turned to see Kevin walking towards him, stretching his arms over his head as he let out a yawn.

“Morning,” Kevin said, his voice heavy from sleep.

“Merry Christmas,” Joe said, cheerily but quietly.

“What’s that smell?” Kevin asked, taking a seat at the small kitchen table. “It smells good. I want some.”

“You’re hilarious when you’re tired,” Joe said with a laugh as he poured coffee into a mug for Kevin.

“Thanks,” Kevin said, gratefully taking the coffee and taking a sip. “What are you doing up so early anyway?”

“Uh… I couldn’t sleep.”

“Nice one. Now tell me the truth. There’s no way you’d be cooking. What have you been up to?”

“Follow me,” Joe said with a sigh as he headed towards the living room. He walked into the center of the room and turned to look at Kevin whose jaw dropped as he looked around.

“Joe this looks… amazing.”

“Thanks,” Joe muttered, looking down at his feet.

“This must have taken you all night.”

“Yeah. I slept for maybe an hour and a half at the kitchen table.”

“She’s going to love it.”

“Yeah? You think so?” he asked and Kevin looked up to the ceiling as they both heard footsteps.

“We’ll find out shortly,” he said in a sing-song voice.

“Something smells wonderful,” Meg said as she made her way down the stairs followed by Lizzy. “Oh.”

“Mom? Is everything okay?” Faith asked as she came down the stairs followed by Denise and Kevin Sr. When she saw Meg just standing there she turned and looked into the living room, her hand rising to her neck.

“Wow,” Frankie said as he walked through the kitchen into the living room.

“Mom… did you?” Faith asked her mother and all Meg could do was shake her head. Faith looked up towards her in-laws but they shook their heads in response as well.

“Joe did it,” Kevin said with a smile as he walked over to Dani and placed a kiss on her lips.

Faith turned to look at Joe, a look of awe on her face. Joe looked down at his feet before looking up at Faith, a smile on his face. She walked down the rest of the stairs and across the living room, right into Joe’s arms. Their foreheads touched and Joe was leaning in to kiss her.

“What’s going on?” Nick asked with a yawn as he walked into the living room, stretching his arms over his head.

“Joe made Christmas happen,” Dani said, wrapping her arms around Kevin. Nick turned to look at Joe and Faith, wrapped in each other’s arms then turned back into the kitchen to grab some coffee.

“Well come on,” Joe said, waving everyone else down from where they were all standing on the staircase. “The presents aren’t going to open themselves.”

“Merry Christmas,” Frankie shouted, chorused by the rest of the family. Faith turned in Joe’s arms so her back was to his chest to watch everyone as they took their stockings down and gathered in a circle. She turned back to face Joe and rested her forehead against his chest.

“Thank you,” she whispered, lifting her head to look into his eyes. He reached up and moved a strand of hair out of her eyes before placing a kiss on her forehead. He pulled her close and rested his chin on her shoulder.

“I love you,” he whispered in her ear and he felt her squeeze his body tighter.

He looked up to see everyone smiling and laughing. Frankie tossed some wrapping paper at Lizzy who ducked and tried to retaliate. Everyone was there and having fun like it should be on Christmas, all thoughts of the past twenty four hours pushed to the side. He did a quick head count and realized that Nick wasn’t there and he faintly heard him in the kitchen. With a sigh he pulled away from the hug and grabbed Faith’s hand, leading her to join the rest of the family.