Page 35 of The Light Year (Stardust Beach #6)
Frankie starts to cackle as she leans sideways, bumping into Jo’s shoulder. They laugh together at the ridiculousness of this image.
“But seriously,” Jo says. “There were things I needed to get off my chest, and before we could relax and spend time together, I needed him to hear me.”
“Did he?”
Jo shrugs. “Yeah. I think he did. He didn’t deny anything about Jeanie, but he also didn’t admit that anything had happened. I just wanted him to understand that I’m not an idiot.” The last sentence comes out sounding far more angry than Jo had intended it to.
“No one thinks you’re an idiot, Joey-girl,” Frankie says gently. She reaches over and puts her hand on top of Jo’s. “No one thinks that.”
Jo is still staring up at the window. “Regardless, I feel like one. I understand that life is long, and that marriage has a lot of twists and turns, but I can’t sit by and watch the man I love pull away from me without putting up a fight.
Would you, Frank? Would you let Ed just drift away without trying to bring him back? ”
When Jo turns her head, Frankie is watching her with heat in her eyes.
“Listen. Speaking as someone who almost pushed her husband away, I can tell you that there comes a point that you have to decide whether or not you’re all in.
And, for me, I was. I wanted my marriage to work out, and I wanted Ed to be happy with me.
Which meant I had to get happy with myself.
I had to let go of the things that hurt me in the past.” She pauses here, and Jo doesn’t look away from her friend.
“I know Bill has some things in his past that have hurt him, too, so it’s possible that he’s going to therapy to try to let go of those things.
And when he does, maybe he can get happy with himself, too. ”
Jo nods slowly. She has to admit, Frankie makes a good point. “You’re not wrong.”
“So let him.” Frankie says it with gravity, but it’s so simple and clean. “Let him find a way to be happy, and when he does, he’ll drop some of the weight that’s holding him down.”
Jo nods again. “Okay,” she says. “I’ve been patient this long. I can keep waiting.”
“Atta girl.” Instead of squeezing Jo’s hand, Frankie gives her knee a firm pat. “Now, let’s get back out to your party and dance, huh?”
Jo lets Frankie take her by the hand again and lead her back out to the backyard, where someone has put on Chubby Checker’s “The Twist.” Without giving it a moment’s thought, Jo follows Frankie over to the pool deck and they start to do The Twist, laughing and smiling as some of the kids join in.
Before too long, Jo loses herself in the party, pouring a second mixed drink and letting Bill throw an arm around her shoulders as he tells his coworkers a story about a time they went rafting together in Minnesota before the kids were born.
By the time the stars come out, Jo has gotten good and soused, and her joy over her beautiful children, her strong and determined husband, and the book she’s written purely from her own dedication and imagination have left her feeling giddy with joy.
The kids have gone inside to watch television while the grown ups slow dance drunkenly on the patio, and Jo looks up at Bill, arms around his neck as she lets her wet noodle weight lean against his firm body.
“Are you happy, Jojo?” he asks. She can feel the heat of his body through his shirt on this warm spring night as they sway to Percy Sledge singing “When A Man Loves A Woman.”
Jo closes her eyes and immediately feels dizzy. “Right now?”
Bill tightens his grip on her. “Sure. Now is good.”
Jo puts her head on his chest and nods. “Mmhmm. This was a good party.”
Bill chuckles lightly. “It sure was. And I’m really proud of you, Jo. You wrote this book, and it’s going to be published. That’s a huge accomplishment.”
“Well,” Jo says sleepily, “I’m not going to the moon or anything.”
Bill stops swaying abruptly and it forces Jo to open her eyes. “Hey,” he says, giving her a light shake. “We’re not competing for who can do the biggest or the most impressive thing. We’re here to support each other, and to cheer one another on. Got it?”
Jo, feeling slightly sobered by his tone, nods. “Sure. I got it. I’m proud of you, too.”
“I know,” Bill says, looking down into her eyes.
Around them on the pool deck, several other couples are dancing, and Ed kisses Frankie.
Baby Lucas is inside, napping in a playpen where the big kids can watch over him.
Jo smiles at their friends as they enjoy the early years of parenthood and the bliss of growing a family.
“I’m tired, Bill,” Jo says, leaning against him again. “I think I had too much to drink.”
Bill laughs again as he holds her. “You might have, but you’re my famous author, so you’re allowed one evening of excess and debauchery.”
Jo opens one eye and peers around the pool: piles of children’s shoes, empty glasses from their neighborhood friends; the swaying bodies of four other couples dancing in the moonlight—none of it feels terribly debaucherous, but it will undoubtedly feel less dreamy in the light of day, as Jo fights off a hangover and picks up the yard.
She sighs and tries to forget about tomorrow. For right now, all she wants is this moment, this feeling of being a writer with a success under her belt, this feeling of being safe—in her husband’s arms.
Most of their friends have gone home, and the lights are on in the neighbors’ houses, but Jo isn’t even tempted to turn down the volume on the speaker as they dance to “Stand By Me.” All she wants is this moment. Forever.