When the Walls Come Crashing Down

Joe sat next to Faith on the couch, his arm loosely draped over her shoulder. Faith shifted uncomfortably as Nick cleared his throat. The three had been sitting in complete silence since Nick had arrived close to five minutes prior. Finally, Faith cleared her throat and sat up.

“So, you said you’ve been thinking of names?” Faith asked, looking at Nick.

“Oh, uh yeah, just... when I haven’t been too busy,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “Do you know the sex of the baby?”

“Not yet, I find out at my next appointment which is on Friday.”

“Oh,” he said, nodding his head.

“Would you like me to call you to let you know afterwards?”

“That would be great, yeah,” he said, a small smile forming.

“I think it’s going to be a boy but Joe thinks it’s going to be a girl. What do you think?”

“I’m... not really sure. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“Of course it doesn’t,” Joe said quietly under his breath so only Faith could here. She nudged him in the stomach with her elbow and he rolled his eyes.

“Joe, why don’t you tell us some names you’ve thought of,” Faith said, trying to turn the conversation somewhere.

“Well... for a boy I like the name Jason. And I think if it is a boy his middle name should be William,” he said, looking at Faith.

“I agree,” Nick said quietly, tentatively looking at Joe.

“I’d love that,” Faith whispered. “What about you Nick... any boy names in mind?”

“For some reason the name Bryan has stuck in my mind.”

“The choice is yours, babe,” Joe said, shrugging his shoulders and in his peripheral vision he could see Nick wince slightly.

“Well... maybe we could combine the two? Because William would work as a middle name for either of them so if they’re combined... it could work twice as well?” she suggested.

“Bryson?” Joe asked, looking at Nick.

“I... really like that, actually,” he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Bryson William Jonas... I love it,” Faith said, smiling at both Joe and Nick. “What about for a girl? Maybe we could make the same thing happen.”

“I like Natalie Anne for a girl,” Nick said and Joe looked at him, a smile on his face. “What?”

“Nothing just... I picked Anne for a middle name too,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“That's... weird” Nick said, a slight laugh escaping his lips.

“Veryy,” Joe said before turning to Faith. “For a first name I was thinking Emily.”

“So how about Emilie Anne, we’ll spell it E-m-i-l-i-e.”

“Sounds good,” Joe said, nodding his head.

“Yeah,” Nick said in agreement.

“Bryson William or Emilie Anne,” Faith said, rubbing her stomach, a smile on her face. Joe smiled at Faith then turned to Nick who was looking at Faith’s stomach and Joe couldn’t interpret his expression. He couldn’t tell if his brother looked sad, happy, or jealous because it seemed like a mix between all three. He bit his lip and looked down at his feet, wondering what the future would hold.

****

“Well that was...”

“Interesting,” Joe finished as he and Faith walked into the kitchen.

“Did he tell you he was still in love with you again?” Lizzy asked, popping a grape into her mouth as she sat on a stool at the counter.

“No he did not tell me he loved me,” Faith said in a mocking tone as Joe cleared his throat.

“I couldn’t really tell how he felt,” Joe said, resting his elbows on the counter. “He seemed interested when we were talking about names but the rest of the time he was really quiet.”

“I’m sure he just felt awkward,” Meg said, brining glasses of water over to her daughters and Joe before getting one for herself.

“Thanks,” Joe said, taking a sip. “I’m sure he did but... he seemed kind of sad, too.”

“What makes you think that?” Faith asked, taking a grape from Lizzy’s bowl.

“I don’t know... the way he’d look at you, and then at your stomach. I think he regrets not being there the past six months when you’d come back from doctor’s appointments or picking out things for the nursery and all that.”

“I wouldn’t blame him if he did feel sad,” Lizzy said, shrugging her shoulders.

“I don’t think any of us would,” Faith said with a sigh.

****

Joe walked into work the next day with Nick still on his mind. He was so preoccupied by his thoughts that he walked right into someone causing them to drop what they were carrying. He snapped out of it and bent down to help pick up the photographs and looked up to find Charlotte bending down next to him.

“Sorry,” she muttered, quickly looking away from him.

“It’s my fault,” he said, handing her the photographs.

It had been a long time since they had talked civilly. The last conversation he could remember that hadn’t been awkward had been before Christmas. He’d be the first to admit that he missed their friendship. He used to tell her everything that was going on in his life but since William’s funeral things hadn’t been the same. For a moment they just stood there staring at each other, neither knowing what to say. As Charlotte opened her mouth to say something their boss, Dave, rounded the corner.

“Ah, Joe. Just the man I was looking for,” he said, a smile on his face coming over and putting a hand on Joe’s shoulder. “I hope I’m not interrupting something.”

“You’re not,” Charlotte said quietly, turning down the hallway and heading toward her office. Joe sighed and turned to Dave putting a smile on his face.

“What’s up, Dave?” he asked.

“Walk with me,” Dave said, dropping his hand and turning in the opposite direction of Charlotte towards his office. “Are things alright with you and Charlotte lately? I don’t think I’ve seen the two of you working together in quite awhile.”

“They’re fine,” Joe muttered, hoping Dave wouldn’t go further into it. He didn’t feel like explaining his problems to his boss.

“Well that’s not why I wanted to talk to you,” he said, holding the door open so Joe could enter. Joe took a seat in front of Dave’s desk as Dave sat behind it. “I have an assignment for you. A very big assignment.”

“What is it?” Joe asked, a bit of excitement in his voice. He sat up straighter in his seat, eager to hear the news. This was the first “big assignment” Dave would be assigning him.

“I assume you’ve heard of the band Black Rose?”

“Yeah, they’re the hottest new music group,” Joe said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well they’re going on a world wide tour for three months starting in the beginning of August and they need a photographer and they came to this company for someone. I want you to be that someone,” Dave said, leaning back in his chair, a smile on his face as he waited for Joe’s response.

“R-really? You want me to do this?” Joe asked, his eyes widening.

“Yes, you. I know it’s a big responsibility and it’s something you haven’t done before but I trust you. And I know your girlfriend is pregnant but from what I hear it may not even be your baby...”

“How do you...”

“People talk, Joe,” Dave said, a sympathetic look on his face. “I understand if you don’t want the job because of the baby but let me remind you of two things. First, this is the biggest opportunity of your career. Second, it may not even be your kid.”

“Can I think about it?” Joe asked, glancing at the floor before looking back up at Dave who nodded his head.

“I need an answer by the end of the week.”

“No problem,” Joe said, rising from his chair. He reached out and shook Dave’s hand. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course,” Dave said. Joe smiled and turned to leave, his hand on the doorknob. “Oh, and Joe,”

“Yeah?” Joe asked, turning to look at Dave, his hand still on the knob.

“You’re going to need an assistant.”

“Right. Well I’ll think about that too.”

“No need,” Dave said and Joe’s hand slid from the doorknob. “If you decide to go on this tour, Charlotte will be your assistant photographer. The two of you work so well together and I’ll need both of you for this to help the company in a big way.”

“But...”

“That’s all,” Dave said, turning to his computer screen. Joe stood there for a moment longer just staring at his boss before finally twisting the doorknob and walking into the hallway. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him he started to walk down the hallway, his footsteps echoing around him.

“Shit,” he muttered, shaking his head as he made his way to his office.