Page 104 of Love It or List It
Joe’s eyes stung too.
“He said—” Another full-body shudder.“He said you were just the ones wholovedme, and I couldn’t—I’ve been such anasshole, I don’t deserve—”
God damn it.Joe was too dehydrated to want to cry like this.“Hey.Hey.”He pulled Will closer.“Will.Yes, you do, okay?God knows what you’re going through isn’t easy.We get it.You think either of us is perfect?I’ve seen Austin eat SpaghettiOs out of the can, Will.”
Will snorted a snotty laugh into Joe’s hoodie.Oh well.Alex could bring up a clean one from the basement.“But I was—I was so mean to him.I thought, if everyone’s going to leave me one day anyway, it’d be easier if—if he already—but he saidwe, Joe, he saidwe love you, and I—”
Joe looked up at the ceiling.It didn’t help.Will sobbed against his belly.“Sorry, kid.You’re stuck with us, so let’s try to make the best of it, okay?”
“Okay,” Will gasped, nodding.
Joe ruffled his hair.“Good,” he said.“Now, uh, I’m glad we had this talk, but I really have to sit down.Pneumonia is no fucking joke.”
He resettled into his chair and found Will, red-eyed and blotchy, watching him with concern.
“I’m going to be okay.The meds are working.”Will nodded to show he understood, but he didn’t look convinced.Figuring distraction was the best course of action, Joe took a conversational left turn.“So, I don’t think you ever explained what’s going on with all this.”He twirled a finger around to indicate everything.
Will shrugged and broke Joe’s gaze.“I asked everyone to come over and help so we could get it all done today.I’m not gonna ask them to every time.I know I need to, like, be better and help out more.I just couldn’t do it all myself this time.”
After taking a moment to chew on that, Joe said, “Look, your home here isn’t contingent on you being good or pleasant or helpful.We won’t throw you out if you don’t help us vacuum.But we definitely appreciate the help, and it’s probably not a bad idea to figure out a system for chores so everything’s clear and feels fair.”
“Okay.”Will nodded seriously and then gave a shadow of his trademark sassy smile.“And I know you won’t throw me out for being a bad house guest.If you were going to, you’d have done it already.”
Joe snorted.“Yeah, probably.”
By the time Austin got home an hour later, Joe had shuffled his way to the living room couch, and the kids were halfway through their plates of manicotti and an episode ofStranger Things.
“Uh, hey,” Austin said slowly as he eyed the scene.Joe tried to see it from his perspective.If he’d walked in to find Austin ensconced on the couch in a cozy blanket cocoon with warm tea, drowning in teens who had sprawled over the remaining couch cushions and the floor at his feet, with the smell of chicken and Nonna’s manicotti on the air, he wasn’t sure he would know what to focus on first.
“Hey,” Joe croaked.“The kids took care of dinner.”
“I can smell that.”Austin sounded dazed as he took another look around.“Why is everything clean?And why are you out of bed?”
“I’m out of bed because I woke up and didn’t feel like hot garbage, so I celebrated with some food and a walk to the couch.”
“The house is clean because we cleaned it,” Gavin added helpfully.“I mopped.”
“You mopped.”Austin looked like he might faint.
“Yes, he mopped, and we vacuumed and cleaned the kitchen, did the laundry, cleaned the litter boxes, made and/or brought dinner, and walked the dog,” Meg added.
“Oh.Why…?”
She rolled her eyes.“Because Will called and said you were both being big dummies.Will promises not to pretend housework isn’t a thing from now on, and you should promise to ask for help in the future.”
Joe bit back the smile that wanted to burst out at the look on Austin’s face.There was nothing like being scolded by a teenager for a failure to successfully adult.He wondered if his own expression was so poleaxed when they served him the same judgement.
Figuring he should rescue his boyfriend from the trials of teen parenting—he’d missed out on several opportunities to do anything boyfriendly over the past two weeks—Joe patted the couch next to him and said, “Why don’t you grab some food from the kitchen and join us in some mindless TV, babe?I’ll even share my blanket.”
Austin did just that, and thankfully missed the shocked looks sent his way by Gavin, Meg, and Alex.
“Did you just—”
“You did.”
“Does that mean—”
Huh, apparently Will hadn’t spilled those beans.Impressive.
