Several people stopped by our table to talk to Jo. I was amazed at how many people wanted to be a part of his world.
“It’s always been that way.” Bill muttered to me reading my mind as Jo stood to shake hands with the Supreme Court justice. “The kid has charisma.”
I nodded and was going to tell him I was beginning to see that, but right then Jo reached for my hand and introduced me as the love of his life, the woman he soon hoped to make his bride.
You see, this had been the fourth time he’d said this today. I didn’t want to read more into this than what it was. Jo was a smooth talker; he would say anything to get what he wanted, but what could he possibly want from me that he hadn’t already gotten?
So why keep saying that he wanted me to be his bride if he didn’t mean it?
The one time he’d said anything about marriage had been the night of his party. He hadn’t uttered another word about it till today. Now I couldn’t tell if it was something he really meant or something he was just telling his peers.
And oh my goodness! These were his peers. He was introducing me to them and that just confused me more. Could I have made a mistake by assuming all those things about him?
I know what I saw at his retirement dinner. But how can I explain this?
“Jo, my wife is driving me crazy.” Bill said after the Supreme Court justice had moved on. “She’s really concerned about climate change.”
His words drew me out of my thoughts.
“I don’t know what nonsense she’s been watching, but she’s convinced the damn planet is dying. Claims she can’t grow anything in our soil anymore without adding crap to it.”
I wiped my mouth with my napkin. “With all due respect, sir, she is not speaking nonsense. What she said is a fact. You only need to study any data collected by the Unites States Department of Agriculture of the nutrient reduction in the soil from 1981 till now to know she speaks the truth.”
Bill looked at me surprised, up until this point, I hadn’t said much. I had been too busy trying to hold my composure and not start doing a happy dance because Jo was telling all his peers that he loved me.
“Journey received a scholarship to Georgetown for their Botany program. She was single handily courted by the head of the department. So, if anybody would know whether your wife speaks the truth, it would be her.” Jo surprised me by saying, I wasn’t even aware he knew that information.
Bill exhaled. “Okay, young lady. Give me the spill. Should I be as worried as my wife says I should be about the condition of our planet?”
“Mr. Bill, you should be more than worried. In fact, you should be terrified.”
Then I spent the next thirty minutes telling him about my studies and the studies of others in the field. When I was done he wore a look of astonishment on his face.
“You marry this woman and you’ll have my endorsement.” Bill told Jo as we were leaving.
“Okay now, I’m going to hold you to that.”
Bill chuckled as he patted Jo on the back. “I’ve always told you, I’d rather see you sitting in that seat.” He paused for a moment as his eyes grew sober.
“If you choose to run, young man, you don’t have to worry about finances. There are a lot of us waiting to back you.” He patted him on the back one more time. “We believe in you, kid.”
“Thank you, Bill, that means a lot.”
Bill took my hand and brought it to his lips before Jo could stop him. “It was an honor meeting you, Journey. You’re good for him. Out of all the years I’ve known him, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in love. You make him want to be a better man.” He nodded.
“With you by his side, he will succeed in whichever path he chooses.”
Tears burned the back of my eyes. “Thank you, Bill.” My words were barely over a whisper.
Like yesterday, my emotions were on overload. I couldn’t quite compute all that had happened in the last few hours, although God knows I was trying. I had been so lost in my thoughts when we left the restaurant that I didn’t even pay attention to the fact that Jo was driving till we were halfway home.
You see, there was something I needed to know before he and I went any further.
“Jo?”
He reached over and turned down the music. “Yeah, baby.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Chloe?”
He exhaled, shaking his head slightly. “I was stupid. I let my anger rule me. I told myself the only thing I wanted from the woman who had ran away from me without telling me she was pregnant with my child was sex. There would be nothing more. I got the house for Ayana, the money…it was all for her. I—” He paused, shaking his head again.
“I didn’t think I would fall in love. It’s never happened before. I didn’t know…” I turned to look at him, amazed he was telling me the truth, his anguish was real. It was like he was trying to figure it out as he answered my question.
“I don’t know when I started loving you, but I did. And at that point I didn’t know what to do. On one hand, I had my parents pressuring me to fulfill an arrangement that was made when I was in grade school and on the other hand, I have the
