Page 27 of Dance With Me
He sat through the movie and tried not to drool whilst watching Robert Downey, Jr. do his stuff. They arrived back home just as Dave was dishing up.
“Wash up, kids, time for tea. I hope you didn’t feed them too much crap, Joe; they’ll be hyper all evening otherwise.”
“Hey, they’re not my kids. I did my bit.” To be honest, Joe had enjoyed his afternoon, just chilling with the kids, watching the movie and not having to think about anything. Not Seb, not Clare, and certainly not the wedding.
After they’d eaten, the boys went upstairs to play on whichever game console they had. Joe couldn’t keep up.
“So,” Hazel said as they disappeared out of the room. “What’s really going on? Where’s Clare?”
Joe dragged his hands through his hair, sighing as he did so.
“What makes you think anything’s wrong?”
“Well, whilst we love your company, you don’t often come round on the weekend, not lately anyway, with the wedding arrangements and all. And Clare rarely lets you out of her sight.”
“OK, so I might have wanted to talk to you, and I didn’t think the office was the best place.”
Where to start? Joe hadn’t planned on saying anything to anyone, but he feared if he didn’t talk to someone soon, he’d just blurt it all out to Clare, and he wanted to talk to someone who’d be able to give him advice first.
“Why don’t you just start from the beginning? It’s obvious you have something important to say,” prompted Hazel.
Joe paused, unsure what to say. “I’m having second thoughts about the wedding.” Joe looked at both Hazel and Dave, but neither of them showed an ounce of shock. “What, nothing? You’re not surprised?”
Dave stood up. “I think we need something stronger than beer for this conversation.” He returned from the kitchen with three glasses and a bottle of Jack Daniels. He poured a measure for all of them and handed one to Joe.
Hazel put her hand over Joe’s and squeezed. “Go on, we’re listening.”
Joe didn’t know where to begin but took a deep breath.
“Since I proposed, everything’s changed. She’s changed, I’ve changed. My feelings have got confused somewhere along the line, and I don’t feel the same. I’ve been feeling like something’s missing from our relationship, but I haven’t been able to put my finger on it.” Joe took a drink and paused.
“She seems to be pulling away, working a lot of nights, going out with her friends when she’s not working and generally not spending a lot of time with me. We argue all the time when we are together, and not just about the wedding. Anything can set us off.”
Joe waited to see if they had anything to say, but they just looked at him. Hazel motioned for him to continue.
“I also can’t be sure, and it could just be me projecting, but I think she might be seeing someone else.”
“What makes you say that?” Dave asked.
“Just little things, really. The same car picks her up from the dance lessons each time.”
Dave spat out his drink at this comment.
“I’ll explain later,” Hazel said, patting Dave’s hand as Joe took another drink.
“As I said, the same car picks her up every time, and I can’t see who’s driving. The last time I offered to walk her to the car, she snapped and said no. When I picked her clothes up the other morning, I could smell a man’s cologne on them, and when we went out last night, she was dancing awfully close to one of her colleagues. If I’d have danced with you, Hazel, the way this guy was dancing with her, Dave would not have been happy.”
“Did you speak to her about it this morning? Is that why she’s not with you? You had an argument?” Hazel looked at him sympathetically.
“I can’t say that I’ve spoken to her since last night and am unlikely to until Tuesday evening when we go to the dance studio. She went to bed last night, and this morning, she’d gone when I woke up. I had a voicemail message saying she’s gone away with the girls to a spa until Monday, and then she’s working. I just don’t know what to do. I know I need to speak to her, but I’m not sure where that will leave us.”
“It could be something and nothing, Joe. She might just be wanting to spread her wings a little before you tie the knot. Give her the benefit of the doubt at least before you start making any assumptions.”
“I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything right now. I’m just so confused.” Joe finished his drink. “Look, I’d better go. I’ll catch an Uber home and pop back for my car tomorrow. Thanks for listening and the food. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do.”
They chatted a little more, and Joe said his goodbyes when his Uber arrived.
“I love you. You know that, right?” Hazel asked, looking into his eyes. “It will all work out, you’ll see.”
