Chapter 236

Joe’s POV

After school the next day, William and Joe are supposed to go to the bus and take it home, but they sidetrack, heading downtown instead. Using one of the kids at school’s phone, they already texted Isabelle their plans, asking her to pick them up. They didn’t stick around to see if there was a reply.

For now, they walked the entire way to the channel 22 news station. There, they headed inside and walked right up to the reception desk. Looking up, their eyes like saucers, the receptionist looked down at them with almost the same expression, surprised to see them there.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Joe said. “We would like to see…” Joe told her the name of the producer.

“Uh, do you have an appointment?” she asked.

William and Joe looked at each other, then back to her. William shook his head.

The receptionist must have felt bad for them, because she said, “Wait one moment,” and picked up the phone. Turning it away from them, she whispered into the phone.

After a few moments, she turned back, no less surprised than she was before. “He’ll be right out,” she said.

Joe couldn’t believe their luck. He’d thought of this plan, but he and William had argued a bunch over whether it would work. Even now, William seemed like he was waiting for someone to show them out.

Yet, after a few minutes, Mr. Producer himself showed up in the lobby.

“It is you,” he said, smiling. “Come into my office and you can tell me what’s going on.”

Joe, in politeness, told the receptionist, “Thank you.”

She smiled warmly at him. “Good luck, kid.”

Joe and William followed Mr. Producer into the heart of the news station. There were more cubicles than Joe would have expected, with some offices along the walls. Mr. Producer led them into an office, and left the door open. Then he went around to sit behind his desk.

Joe and William sat in the two chairs facing the desk.

“Alright boys,” Mr. Producer said. “Tell me why you’ve come all the way down here.”

Joe hesitated, a little nervous now under pressure.

William dove in, as if sensing Joe’s nerves. “It’s the interview from the other day, sir. Mom and Dad are worried about it. They said we might have to move. We don’t want to do that.”

“Please don’t show it,” Joe said, emboldened by William’s confidence and his words. “Mom and Dad are good. And we like it here.”

Mr. Producer considered Joe and William. He listened carefully, looking at the two of them. “You two came here on your own because you are worried about your parents.”

“Mom is a good mom and Dad is a good dad,” William said.

“They shouldn’t be sad,” Joe replied.

“I see…”

Joe felt like what he was saying wasn’t enough. There had to be more he could say to convince this man… but he didn’t know what.

“Please,” Joe said. That was all he had.

“Double please,” William added.

Mr. Producer looked between them. He was silent for a long moment, and then he smiled. “Alright, boys. You convinced me. You can tell your parents they don’t have anything to worry about.”

Isabelle was furious when we met her outside the station. “What on earth were you doing here?” she asked.

Joe and William just looked at each other and smiled.

“We fixed everything,” Joe said, and refused to say anymore. They had already decided it would be a surprise.

“Don’t tell Mom,” William asked.

Isabelle rubbed her forehead and sighed.

Aria’s POV

When I returned home from work, Isabelle was there with the kids. The kids seemed excited to see me. Isabelle, less so.

“What’s going on?” I asked her.

She just shook her head. “How was work?”

I’d let her keep her secret… for now. I trusted Isabelle and knew she would tell me if something was important.

“It was okay…”

Honestly, it was difficult to pay much attention. Tonight was the scheduled date and time for the interview to air. It was all I could think about all day. There was no escape from those dire thoughts, and what kind of outcomes they might bring.

Would we have to move? Would we be able to stay? There were too many unknowns, yet now that we were closer to finding out, I wasn’t certain that I was ready to know. I’d almost rather live with the unknown than find out how terrible everything was.

I really didn’t want to have the kids leave their friends.

I didn’t want to leave mine either.

Isabelle stepped forward and gave me a big hug. “If you have to leave, maybe I’ll just come with you.”

I pulled back to look at her. “You serious?”

“Why not?” she said. “Like in a new place? Sounds great. Besides, those kids are going to need their Aunt Isabelle to bail them out now and then.”

I gave her a piercing look. “Did something happen today?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, then checked her watch as she backed away. “Oh, look at that. I have to go.”

“Isabelle,” I said.

“Love you!” she called as she walked out the door.

“I love you too, but --! And she’s gone.” I stood in the doorway, flabbergasted. Fortunately, as she drove away, Liam arrived. Exiting his car, he came over to me and kissed me lightly on the mouth. That made everything better, if only for the moment it lasted.

Perhaps that was the solution to happiness – kissing Liam constantly. I could get used to that I supposed. He started to walk around me, but I grabbed his shirt, stilling him. As he gave me a curious expression, I wrapped my arms around his neck and then kissed him once more.

He smiled against my lips. “I could get used to this.”

“Me, too,” I told him. I was used to it already, and couldn’t get enough.

Eventually, though, we had to part. Liam went to change while I headed to the living room to turn on channel 22. Craig was there, still recounting the evening news. They hadn’t switched into the longer segments yet.

Craig was in his on-camera persona. I frowned at him, knowing the kind of jerk he was underneath the façade. How many people he fooled each night with a good camera presence!

Liam returned wearing more comfortable clothing. When he say me standing there, clutching the remote with both hands, he approached me and rubbed his hands up and down my arms.

“No matter what happens, we will be okay,” he said. “Our family will remain intact.”

I nodded, nervous but more comforted now than I’d been before. We kissed again, and Liam used that moment of distraction to slide the remote away from my clenched hands. Taking my hands in his, he then led me to the couch, where we sat down side by side.

Not long after, William and Joe peeked their heads around the corner. “Can we watch too?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I said.

“They should maybe know,” Liam told me. “So they can be prepared for school tomorrow. It would be better for them to learn about this with us, so we can explain properly.”

In my heart, I knew he was right. “Okay,” I said.

Joe came and sat beside me. William sat beside Liam.

Then, the broadcast started.