Tired n' Lonely

I woke up when my son sat a bowl of cereal noisily down on the coffee table, switching the TV on to some old and overplayed episode of Friends.
“Good night last night?” He asked, more than a little sarcastically, nodding towards Joey, who was still fast asleep at the other side of the couch.
“Oh yeah, I had a riot. Now why aren't you ready for school?”
“Well you're not ready to take me.”
“I'll be ready in five minutes, now get going. Where's your sister?”
“Upstairs talking to someone on the phone.”
ugh... parental responsibility... I had to see whether she was ready or not, too. I dragged myself upstairs, obviously with more stealth than I thought as she did not cut off her phone call.
“...can you believe he's asleep on MY couch right now? Oh, totally... He used to stay here for days so I guess so.... uhuh.... well, I'm gonna pull a sicky today so I can stay at home, you come over at about one, but I'll let you know if he's still here first... I don't know, something abut a break up from what I heard last night.”
“Jade Isabella Moore, what an earth are you talking about pulling a sicky for?”
“shit... gotta go, I'll talk later.... Mom, I'm really sorry I just...”
“... no excuses young lady, I know exactly what you were planning. Joey is here because he needs a friend right now, I don't think he'll appreciate your friends coming over and gawking at him alright?”
“But mom...”
“He's staying here for a couple of weeks, I'm sure your friends will be able to come over at some point to see him, but right now I don't think he needs to be made to feel as though he is some sideshow attraction, do you?”
“Oh come on that's hardly what I was going to do.”
“Well, how would you feel if a bunch of kids came over to just... look at you?”
“Can I at least have the day off?”
“No. Now get dressed, you're going to be late.”
“That is SO unfair, you're not going to be opening the shop today, I'll bet.”
“Well, if you really want the day off, you can open it up for me.”
“ugh.... school it is then.”
I stopped off at my bed room to put on a fresh set of clothes before heading down stairs.
“Craig, you better be ready to leave in the next thirty seconds. JADE GET DOWNSTAIRS.” I turned towards the living room to see Joey stood sleepily in the doorway.
“Woah, you would make one hell of a dominatrix.”
“It's all part of being a mom.” I said throwing on an old sweater which was hanging in the hallway.
“You need a hand?”
“No it's fine, I'll only be five minutes.”
“...oh.”
I realised he probably just didn't want to be left in the house alone. “Though it would be good to show you how much my shop has changed now we're in the digital age afterwards, if you're interested?”
“Oh, for sure... I'll go get my jacket on.”
My son materialised in the hall with his bag ready to leave but I had to call up the stairs four times before my daughter appeared. She tried to conceal a grin when she realised Joey would be coming on the school run with us.
“Hey little lady. You're not so little anymore, eh? It's weird to see you all grown up.”
She blushed, and I could not help but raise my eyebrow at her choice of attire – tight leather trousers for school was not her normal every day wear.
“It's been ages, I guess.” She said, trying to sound casual.
“Jade loves Joey, Jade loves Joey!” Craig taunted her.
“Oh shut up scuzzball.”
“That's enough. Get in the car NOW you two or we'll be astronomically late.” I brushed my hair from my face, more than a little stressed at this point, before heading to the car to start it up.
Jade made me laugh when she got out of the car, as she near enough screamed “Bye, mom. BYE JOEY.” So that people would know he had dropped her off.
“OK, time for a quick escape I think.” I said, flooring it away from he school.
“So, how is business in the digital age for a small record store owner like yourself.”
“It could be better. I have the regulars still but... well it just about pays the bills, that's all.” I said, a little sad that the shop was probably going to have to close soon. It was the only job I had ever had and I did not know what I would do without it. At least I owned the building outright. I could rent it out to a hair salon or something when the business eventually died.
I pulled into the car park behind the block of shops and opened up the back door of the shop, which led to the old back room I had slept in in the past.
The couch was still there, and the old TV... Joey followed me into the shop, looking around him in interest as he did.
“My goodness, you still sell vinyl?”
“Oh yeah... people come from quite a distance for my vinyl, I'm one of the few stores in the state to still sell it.”
“This shop reminds me of when we were younger.” He said.
“Well, we had a lot of good times here.”
“I remember.” He said, rather suggestively.
“We were young back then... and carefree.”
“No we weren't. I was... you were never really carefree, Nicky. Now look at us. You can do what you want now your kids are older and I'm chained down by the one thing that was supposed to set me free – my fame. I can't do anything. I can't even fall in love because there is always going to be a chance that it's not me they love.”
“haha... fall in love with someone you knew before you were famous then, that would guarantee they loved you for you.”
“Well, the only person from back then I have any feelings for is you.”
“Wouldn't life be so simple if I didn't have my kids to look after? We could elope to somewhere nice, and live the rest of our days out care free.”
“We would have done that years ago if you didn't have your responsibilities here, Nix. We both know that.”
“Yeah. I guess life would be no fun if things were simple, eh?”
“Oh fuck that... I've had enough of complicated. Haven't you?”
“I had enough of complicated the day I found out my husband was dead.”
“So what's to stop us now? Why can't things be simple between us now?”
“Because I still have to live here, you still have to travel and I'm pretty sure that this would just be a rebound thing. Nothing simple about it.”
“Are you normal, Veronica?”
“What?”
“Answer me.”
“No... I guess not. I never wanted an average life at any rate.”
“Am I normal?”
“Definitely not.”
“So why do we have to have a normal relationship? Why not one that works for us? It's obvious from what you said last night that you love me, and I love you too... what's the point in holding back any longer?”
“We were together for four years in the past, remember. It didn't work out.”
“But that wasn't because of US. It was because of the way life was for us back then. Life was just too different for us to work as a couple, but now. Things are different.”
“Joey, please... I don't want to tell myself this is going to work out at last and then be let down yet again. This is it... D-Day.... There is no going back from this point, OK?”
“Good, because I don't intend on letting you go again.”
“I didn't say yes, alright? I think I need a little time to think this through.”
“No... we need to talk this through, together. We want to be together right?”
“Yeah.”
“But we can't because of my job, your job, your family.”
“Yeah.”
“So... we need to have a serious talk about how this is going to work. And I mean just that, because it IS going to work. I've had enough of being screwed over but silly little girls, I love you, you love me, you would never hurt me, and I would be lost without you. I think that is something worth working the logistics out for, don't you?”
“I guess it is, yeah.”
“You guess it is?”
“I know it is.”
“Love like we have doesn't come around more than once in a lifetime, Nicky. We nearly lost this chance and I sure as hell won't be fucking it up this time around.”