I Could Never Pretend

Amelia made her way to the bottom of Johnny’s garden where she could safely light up a cigarette out of her parents’ sight. She knew she needed to stop smoking and she had even considered giving up as her New Year’s resolution but with the way things were going lately this did not look likely.

“Do you want some company?”

Amelia spun around, finding herself face to face with Johnny’s daughter. “Oh hey Madison, I didn’t hear you come over.” She glanced at the cigarette in her hand and felt a little guilty.

“You don’t have to put it out on my account.” Madison laughed at Amelia as she leant down to stub her cigarette out. “Dad thinks I don’t know that he smokes, but I’m fourteen, not stupid.” She smirked.

“Sorry.” Amelia smiled sheepishly, standing back up. “I guess I’m just trying to be a responsible adult.”

Madison giggled. “So do you mind if I join you?”

“Not at all.” Amelia smiled. “I’m sorry about what my mum said. I can’t believe her sometimes.”

“My mom’s the same, especially when it comes to dad. I’ve heard it all before.” Madison assured her with a grin. “But for the record, I think you and my dad go really well together and I know he won’t do anything to mess it up.”

“Well thanks.” Amelia smiled, trying not to blush at the teenager’s words.

“I thought you were going to quit?” Amelia and Madison turned around to see Johnny standing behind them, looking at Amelia in amusement.

Amelia shrugged. “What can I say? It’s harder than it looks.”

“Hey kiddo, your uncle Ryan’s getting his butt kicked at pool by Amelia’s dad. I think he could use a hand.” Johnny winked at his daughter. Madison got the hint and smiled knowingly before skipping off towards the house.

Once Madison had disappeared inside, Johnny set about lighting his own cigarette. Amelia shook her head and laughed slightly.

“What?” Johnny asked in confusion.

“Madison’s a lot smarter than you give her credit for. She knows damn well that you’re smoking.” Amelia told him with a smirk.

Johnny exhaled a large cloud of smoke and looked at Amelia, slightly embarrassed. “She does?”

“Yep. We were just talking about it before we were so rudely interrupted.” She teased, poking him in the rib.

“Ouch!” he laughed, batting her hand away. “Well I guess she’s not stupid.” He paused. “And neither am I. So what’s bothering you?” He looked at Amelia seriously.

“What makes you think something’s bothering me?” She countered, folding her arms. “Is a girl not allowed to smoke when she feels like it?”

“Well for a start...” he looked up at the sky. “It’s raining.”

“It’s only just started.” Amelia corrected him, but she winced a little as the rain started to come down more heavily.

“Ok, I’ll give you that. But you’ve not seen your parents for months, yet you’re choosing to spend your time outside...”

“Fine, you win.”Amelia sighed and stubbed her cigarette out. “My mum decided to lecture me about how I should find someone more ‘stable’ to date.”

“She did?” Johnny put his own cigarette out and looked at Amelia. “Maybe she’s right?”

Amelia’s eyes widened. “Do you really think that?”

Johnny could detect the disappointment in her voice and instantly felt bad for what he had said. He could have used the moment to bring up what Bam had said, but he could see how much Lisa’s comments had upset Amelia.

“Of course not.” Johnny pulled Amelia into his chest and enveloped her in a bone crushing hug. “I mean, sure I’m not the most stable person on the planet, but you know, there’s no getting rid of me now.”

“Good.” Amelia murmured softly into his chest as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. “Because I don’t think I could cope with all of this without you.”

“I’m going nowhere Amelia.” He assured her before releasing her. “Now what do you say we go inside before we get soaked?”

Amelia followed Johnny back into the house, where everyone was now gathered in the living room.

“I have to say Johnny, your daughter is a hell of a lot better at pool than you!” Stuart exclaimed once they’d taken their seats. “She kicked my arse!”

“I should hope so. She’s had plenty of practice beating me.” Johnny laughed.

***

That night whilst lying in his king-sized bed with Amelia in his arms, Johnny made a decision. He decided to forget everything that Bam had said at the wedding. Both he and Amelia had worked too hard and put too much on the line to let Bam come between them. Paying just the slightest bit of attention to his demands would only fuel the man’s ego. Even if Johnny was to give in to Bam, there was no guarantee that he would hold up his side of the bargain. In fact, it was almost certain that he wouldn’t. No, Johnny was simply going to pretend the conversation had never happened and concentrate on his new life with Amelia. He was confident that she would sail through the custody case and once that was out of the way, she and Harry could concentrate on the divorce. Before they knew it, Amelia and Brandon would be moving in with him and they could live happily ever after. Johnny fell asleep with a smile on his face.

***

Christmas came and went in the blink of an eye, but it was not without a touch of drama. The morning was fairly low key, with Brandon coming off best in the present department, followed in close second by Madison.

Ryan and Rose disappeared shortly before dinner, much to Amelia’s confusion and annoyance as it left her and Lisa to prepare dinner alone. Amelia was relieved as mother avoided mentioning Johnny or the divorce. In fact, they had some very pleasant mother and daughter bonding time as they planned out the rest of the week. Lisa and Stuart had never visited LA before so they were keen to do the whole tourist thing while they were there. As a Christmas gift from him and Amelia, Johnny had managed to procure VIP tickets for a tour around Paramount and Universal studios. Needless to say, as a huge movie buff, Stuart was more than thrilled.

“Um Amelia, could you come out here a second?” Amelia turned around from the sink where she was peeling the vegetables to see Ryan standing in the doorway biting his lip.

“Oh hey you’re back.” Amelia smiled. “I’m kind of busy at the moment. What’s up?” She asked, expecting Brandon to have gotten into some kind of mess.

“Nothing’s up.” Ryan smirked. “I just need you to come outside with me.”

Amelia stared at him suspiciously. From the grin on his face she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to like what was going on. “You know I hate surprises Dunn, so just spit it out. What’s going on?”

“Oh Amelia you’re no fun.” He shook his head and walked over to her. “It’s Christmas! Just relax a bit would you?” He laughed, taking Amelia by the shoulders and forcibly steering her out of the room.

“Ryan, I’m supposed to be cooking dinner, I...” but she was cut off when he pushed her out of the front door and she was met by the sight of her purple convertible that she had not seen since leaving West Chester. Standing around it was Rose, her father, Madison and Johnny holding Brandon.

“Happy Christmas Amelia.” Ryan grinned, releasing his grip on her shoulders.

“How...?”Amelia tried to form a sentence but she was in far too much shock to speak. She honestly never thought she’d see her car again, but here it was, sitting on Johnny’s driveway between Ryan’s rental car and Johnny’s SUV in all its purple glory.

“How did you get it here?” she asked Ryan as she pulled him into a hug. “Surely Bam...”

“The car’s still in your name and it was just sitting in Bam’s garage. I asked him what he was gonna do with it and he said he didn’t care. Naturally as a car enthusiast I felt inclined to take it off his hands.” Ryan winked. “But as for shipping it here, well, let’s just say I have some friends who owed me a favour.”

“Thank you so much Ryan! I can’t tell you how much I love this car.” Amelia hugged him again. “Even if it was bought for me by a total bastard.” She added with a smirk. “I’ve really missed driving it.”

“We were a little worried you wouldn’t want it...” Rose admitted, handing Amelia the keys.

“But look at this way, now it’s technically a gift from us.” Ryan added.

“This is your car Amelia?” Lisa asked, coming to stand beside her daughter and staring at the purple sports car. “I thought it belonged to Bam.” Everything about it did indeed scream ‘Bam’, but this did not bother Amelia, she had loved the car from the moment she had laid eyes on it

“Nope, it’s all mine.” Amelia grinned proudly. “Do you like it mum?”

“Actually, I do.” Lisa laughed. “I’m sure it’ll fit right in here in LA.” That was true, compared to the majority of the cars that could be spotted in the area, Amelia’s was positively subtle. “It’s a lot nice than that piece of junk you picked us up in.”

Later that day when the Christmas dinner was well and truly out of the way, the Jones’, Johnny, Madison and Ryan were slumped in the living room, nursing their swollen stomachs, full of food.

“Dude, that was the best Christmas dinner I have ever had.” Ryan exclaimed, rubbing his belly.

“I’m so full I can’t move.” Rose agreed, kicking off her shoes and stretching back.

“I take it nobody wants more dessert?” Amelia grinned, pouring the adults a glass of red wine. A collective groan confirmed her suspicions.

“I could use something a little stronger to aid digestion.” Johnny laughed when Amelia came to him with the bottle.

“Here here.” Stuart agreed, gulping down his wine at the same time.

Johnny got up and made his way to the kitchen to pour glasses of brandy for himself, Stuart and Ryan, when he was ambushed by Lisa. “I think it’s time you and I had words Johnny.” She declared, placing her empty wine glass on the table in a stern manner.

Johnny took a deep breath, he had been expecting this to happen at some point during the week and he supposed it was better sooner rather than later. “Can I get you a drink?” he offered politely.

“Brandy would be nice, thank you.” Lisa’s eyes softened and she took a seat at the table. After a few moments of awkward silence, she spoke up. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a little harsh over the past few days Johnny.” She started, as Johnny passed her a glass. “I was just trying to look out for my daughter. I guess sometimes I forget that she’s not a little girl anymore. She’s more than capable of making her own decisions, even if they’re not necessarily the right ones.”

Johnny remained quiet, not quite sure what, if anything, he was supposed to say.

“My biggest fear has always been that my girls might make the same mistakes I did, getting married and divorced young, you know.” She paused. “But I can’t wrap them up in cotton wool forever. They need to go out and make their own mistakes, so they can learn from them right? You’ve got a daughter; you must see where I’m coming from.”

Johnny took a sip of brandy and nodded gently. “I do.”

“But enough about me” Lisa sighed. “I want to talk about you Johnny. I really want to apologise for my behaviour. It’s not fair for me to tar you with the same brush as Bam. Truth be told, I think you’re a lovely, intelligent young man and it’s obvious how happy you make my Amelia.” Lisa smiled. “Plus you seem to be a great hit with my husband and grandson.”

Johnny laughed slightly, touched by Lisa’s words. “Thank you, that means a lot.”

“I’m serious Johnny. You’re one of the good ones. So will you accept my apology? I don’t really think you’re unstable.” Lisa’s eyes twinkled.

Johnny stuck out his hand for Lisa to shake. “Apology accepted.” He agreed, pouring her another glass of brandy. “So we can call it a truce?”

Lisa gratefully accepted her drink and smiled across the table at her daughter’s boyfriend. She held up her glass to him. “Johnny, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

***

“She really said that?” Amelia laughed, later that night when everyone had gone to bed. She was lying in bed, waiting for Johnny to join her, while he recounted the conversation between himself and Lisa that afternoon. Amelia had been shocked to learn of her mother’s apology. Under normal circumstances, hell would have to freeze over before Amelia’s mother would so much as mouth the words ‘I’m sorry’. For Amelia, Lisa’s approval of Johnny was a far better gift than any material object. “‘The start of a beautiful friendship!?’” Amelia giggled. “I didn’t even realise she’d seen Casablanca. Perhaps dad’s movie trivia is starting to rub off on her.”

“I’ll admit I was impressed.” Johnny agreed, unbuttoning his shirt. “But I was even more surprised to have been given her seal of approval so early on in the week. I thought it would take far more of my southern charm than that.”

Amelia laughed and kissed Johnny on the cheek as he slipped into bed beside her. “Maybe it’s not going to be such a long week after all.” She sighed contentedly.