Epilogue
Thea
“Oh,” I said slowly. “I should have thought of that.”
“You and me both,” Joe said dryly.
We were on a video call. He was working, as was I. I could hear the sound of an air-powered machine in the background.
“He wants you to come up next weekend, and I’m supposed to take you to the pizza place for a date. He promised to play in the play area.” Joe’s lips twitched with his smile.
I stared at the only man I'd ever loved, and my heart felt light as air followed by a piercing but sweet twist.
“That’d be nice,” I whispered.
“It'd be more than nice,” Joe said flatly. “By the time you get here, it will have been three weeks since I last saw you.”
I bit my lip, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. “I know.”
“It'll be worth the wait.”
Our call was interrupted when Joe glanced over his shoulder. “Someone's knocking.”
“Why are you staying open late today?” I asked.
He stood, carrying his phone with him to his office door. “I rotate having the garage open one late night a week. Dad always did that, and the locals love it. It’s great for people who are too busy to drop their car off when they're at work.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said, just as he opened the door.
Jack, one of the mechanics who worked for Joe and who I'd met when I'd been by the garage, waved at me. “Hey, Thea!”
“Hey, Jack,” I offered with a return wave.
There was a pause as Joe conferred with Jack. When his face came back into view, I said, “I’ll let you go. Sounds like you need to work.”
“I do. Love you.”
“Same.”
We ended the call, and I leaned back in my desk chair.
I was still at my office. Sometimes when I wanted to work late, I was more focused if I stayed here.
I tapped a key on my keyboard, and my computer screen came to life.
A click later, and I was staring at my calendar.
It was Monday evening, and I had to wait all the way until Friday to see Joe.
I didn’t want to wait that long. I had vacation time that I would either have to cash out or use before I left.
It was a windy evening, but traffic was light.
That was a major bonus to driving up from Boston during the week.
During summer weekends in Maine on I-95 and Route 1, traffic could be bumper-to-bumper at times.
Maine dubbed itself Vacationland for a reason.
The flow of travelers from the East Coast was near constant on the weekends with some major cities close enough to make the drive worthwhile.
On a Monday evening, the contrast was nice.
My dashboard lit up with an incoming call, and I smiled when I saw Joe’s mother's name. I tapped the screen to answer on speaker.
“Hi, Maria.”
“Hi, Thea. We're headed over to pick up Joey right now. You’re in the clear,” she said, her tone conspiratorial.
“You don't know how much I appreciate this,” I said quickly.
I still felt a little nervous that I'd even had the nerve to call and ask her for help. She seemed to enjoy being a part of my plan, though.
“It is never a problem to babysit Joey. We're taking him to a movie. That way we can throw Joe off the scent as to why we called to take Joey tonight. You might want to check the garage first, or at least look for his car.”
“I will. Thank you again.”
There was a pause, just long enough that I prompted, “Maria?”
“Oh, I’m right here. I was just about to say I'm really glad you and Joe found each other again.”
“Thank you. I'm feeling pretty lucky,” I said honestly.
“Luck is only one part of love. Take it from someone who's been married for years and years. Soul mates are made. Don't forget that. You take care of my boy.”
“I will.”
Emotion welled inside, and I had to clear my throat after that call.
It meant more than Joe's mom could know that she said that.
Although I knew intellectually it wasn't my fault, it still stung that my father had refused to allow me to keep dating Joe in high school.
They were a tight family, and it meant a lot for her to be open to me.
A little while later, I smiled when I saw the exit announcing Haven’s Bay in two miles.
Butterflies took flight in my belly, and my pulse was racing.
I wasn't even there yet, and I didn't need to be nervous.
I'd never surprised Joe like this. I didn't even have to go out of my way to check on the garage.
When I spied Joe's SUV in the employee area of the parking lot, I turned in. A few other vehicles were still there.
I sat in my car for a moment, gripping the steering wheel once I turned the engine off. I had already told Joe I loved him. I'd already said I'd marry him. But it felt as if these past few weeks had been a test I needed to pass.
Tonight wasn't the night, but I would eventually tell Joe those weekends apart had given me time to let the logic around my issues with fertility disentangle from the situation with Joey. Learning how Joey had connected dots that didn’t actually connect about my presence in his dad’s life and what was happening with his mother had clarified a lot for me.
Just like children's minds could connect dots that didn't make sense, I’d done the same with my lingering grief about my infertility. I’d needed something to help me let that go, and I had.
I was still gripping the steering wheel when there was a light knock on my window.
I shrieked, whipping my head to the side to see Joe standing there.
He was in his mechanics outfit, which really did something for me.
My belly flipped, and my pulse kicked off like a horse out of a gate, thundering forward.
I started to open the door, belatedly realizing my seat belt was still buckled. Joe chuckled as he finished opening the door for me. “This is a nice surprise. I'm filthy,” he said, gesturing his hand up and down his body.
I let my eyes travel up and down his body, taking in the smears of grease on his overalls and just how delectable he looked. “I don't care.”
Joy fizzed inside as I climbed out and stepped closer to him. All my emotions tangled together—joy, the piercing ache of missing him finally being relieved, letting go of my worries, and an intense, deep love.
He wrapped me in his arms, and I breathed in the scent of him. He smelled like the garage, but that scent was so closely entwined with him for me that it was him. Underneath it, I could smell that crisp, ocean scent that clung to him.
“You couldn't have known your timing was so good. Joey’s with my parents tonight,” he commented, the rumble of his voice rolling through me.
I leaned back to peer up at him. “It's possible I could have known.” My lips stretched into a smile.
“Oh, you planned this. You called my parents? I didn’t think much of it, but it was a little odd for them to plan a movie on Monday night.” My smile widened. “God, I fucking love you,” he murmured.
Then we were laughing together, and my giddiness at being with him spilled over. By the time we stopped laughing, we had tears in our eyes.
“Wow,” I said when I could finally catch my breath. “I don't know why that was so funny.”
Joe brushed my hair away from my face before pressing a lingering kiss on my lips. When he lifted his head, he said, “I have a few things to tie up inside. You want to come in and wait?”
I wasn’t ready for this moment to pass. “In a minute.” I placed my palm on his heart. I could feel the steady beat thumping against my palm. It anchored me in the maelstrom of my emotions. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said easily, just as easily as saying the sky was blue, or the grass was green.
Our love was a basic fact of the universe for us.
“Even though I missed you, I needed those weekends because I got a little—” I circled my hand beside my head in the air.
“All up in my head about it when Joey thought I was trying to take his mom's place.
I wasn't, but I also can't be a mom, not the way his mom is.” Joe opened his mouth to say something, but I pressed my palm on his chest a little more firmly.
“No, this is important. I know that the biological part of being a parent is just one part and that the being of it is more important, but my emotions needed to catch up with my brain.”
Joe leaned down, his eyes holding mine like a magnetic force. “Good. We've got this.”
“I know,” I whispered.
“It's us. It’s all we are. That's all that matters.”
I bit my lip, and then we were kissing. I lost sense of everything but Joe until the sound of a car horn honking punctured my haze. We broke apart, gasping for air.
Jack rolled his eyes from where he stood beside a car nearby. “You’re putting on a show, boss. Go in there and close up your office. I'll take care of that truck.”
“You sure?” Joe asked.
“Yep.”
Joe held my hand as we walked into the garage. He did close things up in his office, but not before kissing me indecently up against his office wall.
Thank you for reading Joe & Thea’s story - I hope you loved it!