Page 134 of The Last Second Chance
“Sorry for bothering you guys so late,” Joey told Franklin as he took her coat.
Franklin, dressed in flannel pajamas and slippers, tut-tutted. “You’re always welcome, Joey.”
The ever-present moving boxes had been neatly stacked along the wall behind the dining table. Phoebe and Franklin’s quest to move in together seemed like it was taking longer than a college education. But Calvin was ready to break ground on their new home in a sunny pasture back on the farm. And soon Franklin would be watching TV or whipping up a gourmet Italian meal in those pajamas in their brand new house. Probably with grandkids and granddogs underfoot.
Phoebe, in fleecy pajama bottoms decorated with pink flamingos, bustled out of the kitchen and wrapped Joey in a hug. “It’s good to see you, sweetie.”
“I’ll start the tea,” Franklin said, winking at Phoebe and dropping a kiss on her cheek.
Phoebe blushed prettily.
“Oh, crap. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Joey asked, embarrassed that she might be crashing a pajama party.
“No, dear. We finished anything worth interrupting before you called,” Phoebe winked.
Joey smirked. Love knew no age, that was for sure.
“Come on in and make yourself comfortable,” Phoebe said, leading the way into her living room. “You sounded upset on the phone.”
Joey sank down on the couch. “I was. Am. I’m sure you heard by now about…everything.”
Phoebe nodded. “I heard Jax and your father had a bit of a run-in the other day.”
“Did you know Jax is writing a screenplay about me?”
Phoebe’s eyes widened behind her glasses. “I had no idea! Oh, I bet it’s wonderful!”
Joey rolled her eyes. “Yeah, let’s put the maternal pride on hold for a second. He started it before he came back and has it sold to a studio already. It’s our whole story. From kindergarten on up to present.”
“He let you read it.”
Joey nodded. “Most of it. He kept the ending. But he did include John’s write-up of the accident.”
“Smart boy,” Phoebe said proudly.
Joey shot her a look.
“Sorry,” Phoebe grinned. “But you have to admit that’s a pretty creative apology. Giving you the other two sides to what happened the night of the accident.”
“Yeah, yeah. Creative. Whatever. How did you forgive John for letting him go and not telling you?”
Now it was Phoebe’s turn to roll her eyes. “Oh, Joey. That situation taught me more about love and forgiveness than any other I’ve ever been in. I was heartbroken that Jax left and I was so angry at John for letting him.”
Phoebe shook her head at the memories. “I felt betrayed by them both for quite some time.”
“How did you get unbetrayed?”
“I had to trust that John felt that the decision was the right one. Now that’s completely different from agreeing with the decision. Because to this day I don’t. But I knew deep down, John never would have let him go if he thought it wouldn’t be in Jax’s best interest.”
Joey frowned, her brain contemplating the areas of gray. “So even though you thought he was wrong, you didn’t bash his head in with a frying pan?”
Phoebe nodded. “Exactly. Oh, I was furious with him when he came clean. To know that he’d driven Jax to the bus station and given him money and just sent him off into the unknown. Knowing he got to say good-bye and I didn’t have that chance? There were many times I picked up the metaphorical frying pan. But what finally got through to me is the pain that John carried for that decision, even though he still believed he was right.”
Joey gave a half-hearted “Hmm.”
“You and your mother and I would have solved the entire thing in seconds if they’d bothered to bring us into their testosterone fueled pow-wow of idiocy. Instead, we all had to live with the consequences of their decisions. But what it all boils down to is each of them thought they were doing the best they could for the people they loved.”
Joey flopped back against the couch. “I get what you’re saying. I do. But, my God, how do you forgive stupidity like that?”
