Chapter 15: Joe

Bang, bang, bang.

The noise penetrated Joe's dream as he slept. He sat up in his bed as he heard the banging again and realized it wasn't a dream at all. Joe looked at his watch. It was just past seven on Saturday. He shook his head trying to understand why he had slept so long. He swung his feet over the side of the bed, finding the floor. Joe jumped up, pulling on his pants, and grabbed his shirt off the dresser. He flung it over his shoulder as he tried to fasten his pants and belt. He made his way down the stairs.

For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why his dad hadn't answered the door. When he reached the landing at the base of the steps, he yelled for his dad.

"Pop!"

Joe looked into the living room to his left and called again.

"Dad."

There was no answer. Joe reached for the doorknob on the front door, and as he opened the door, sunlight hit his eyes, causing him to squint. He looked through the screen, but there was no one there. Joe stepped out onto the porch. He looked to his right, and as he pulled his shirt over his head, he saw a young woman walking toward the end of the porch.

"Hello?" he said.

She stopped as she heard his voice, hesitating for a moment, and as she turned, Joe whispered under his breath. "Elizabeth."

She watched as Joe pulled his shirt down over his bare stomach. Elizabeth paused for a moment and then snapped out of her gaze. She pointed to the truck in the drive.

"Is that your truck?" she growled.

He stood there looking at her, dumbfounded. He didn't say a word.

"Is that your truck?" she asked again.

Joe swallowed hard. "Elizabeth?"

He pulled at the bottom of his shirt, straightening it, all the while grinning at her. She cracked a smile as she looked at the silly grin on his face and then she pointed her finger at him.

"You just about drove me off the road the other day, and now all you can do is stand there and look at me like... well, like that." She threw her hands up. "That's a fine how-do-you-do."

She turned, throwing her hands up again, and began to walk away, still muttering under her breath.

"First you almost drive me into a ditch, and now-" She raised her voice. "And now nothing, just silence."

Joe finally broke out of his trance as she left the porch.

"Elizabeth," he said again. He walked off the porch after her and, as he got close to her, he placed both hands on her arms as if he was trying to make sure he wasn't dreaming. She stopped, looking down at Joe's hands on her arms.

"I can't believe it's you."

He took a step back and then looked at her car in the drive. He walked over to it and then looked at back to Elizabeth.

"That was you yesterday?" He ran his hand through his hair. "I didn't realize it was you- I- I had a big fight with Dad, and, well-"

He walked closer to Elizabeth. "I'm sorry, I was-"

Her eyebrows rose as she looked into his eyes. Elizabeth shook her head and put her hands up. She could tell by the way Joe was stuttering that he was shaken up.

"Joe- it's ok- I was just a little riled up."

The sound of Elizabeth saying his name made him shudder with emotion. He could feel his cheeks getting warm. He tried to stage his retreat, but he couldn't think of any way out of the spot he was in. He crossed his arms and took a deep breath, calming himself.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I was just upset, and I shouldn't have almost hit you."

She put her hand up.

"It's ok, Joe, I'm not mad." She paused, "Well, not much."

Elizabeth smirked as she looked at him.

Joe stared at her, trying to convince himself he wasn't still dreaming. She nodded her head at him, waiting for him to say something, but he still just stared.

"Sooo- you're probably wondering what I'm doing back, right?" Elizabeth nodded again as if answering her own question.

Joe shifted his stance where he stood. "I was wondering what you might be doing here, other than, say, visiting your parents."

Elizabeth clasped her hands together. "Yeah, I guess that would be a good explanation." She crossed her arms. "You see, I came in yesterday to see my parents- I moved back a few weeks ago to take a new job in the city."

When Joe heard that she had moved back, his heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected to react as he did, but he was startled to hear the words come out of her mouth. Joe interrupted. "You moved back a few weeks ago?"

Elizabeth grinned. "Well, I'm not back in Harrison, but I'm close. I have a place in the city with a friend."

"A friend?" Joe asked.

Elizabeth bit her lip. "Yes, one of my girlfriends. Anyway, I came down yesterday morning to see Mom and Dad, and as I was driving-" She glared at Joe. "Some idiot tried to run me off the road."

She turned and looked at his truck and back to him. "I saw that truck sitting in the drive and, well, here I am!"

Joe shoved both his hands in his pockets. All he could say back to her was,

"Here you are."

He then looked around and backed away from Elizabeth. He motioned toward the porch. "Do you want to come in and sit for a while?" he asked.

She paused for a moment and smiled.

"Sure."

As she walked by him, she lightly poked him in the chest. "But don't think this makes everything alright."

Joe walked up on the porch after her and opened the door. Elizabeth stepped inside and looked around at the old place. "Well, this place hasn't changed at all, Joe; it's just how I remember it."

Joe rested on the doorframe as he tried to act like he wasn't still in shock. "Yeah, Dad didn't do much with the place after Mom passed." Joe's voice trailed off as he mentioned his mother. He closed the door behind him. "It could use some updating," he said.

Elizabeth chuckled. "I think it looks great. I wouldn't change a thing."

Joe walked over to the table near the door and ran his finger across it, wiping some dust from the surface. "Well, we could at least clean it up a bit, I guess."

Elizabeth smiled and then milled around the living room for a moment, looking at some of the old pictures on the coffee table. Joe glanced into the kitchen, hoping to see his father, but there was still no sign of him. Elizabeth turned to see Joe looking into the kitchen.

"Is there something wrong, Joe?"

He smiled uneasily.

"No, not at all."

Even though Elizabeth and Joe hadn't seen each other in years, she still knew when he was lying. She walked toward Joe. "Now come on, Joe. I know this is a lot to take in. I mean, you and me being here together after all this time, but I don't think I should make you this uneasy."

Joe scoffed and then looked away from her. He reached up, rubbing his neck, and then mustered a smile. "It's not you at all. Well, I mean maybe a little, but-"

She studied his eyes, trying to understand what had him so concerned. He looked around again and then back to her. "Well, you haven't seen my dad, have you?"

Elizabeth now stood in front of Joe. She looked up to him, shaking her head.

"No, I haven't seen him."

Being that close to Elizabeth made Joe flush with emotion again. He looked back into the kitchen. "Do you mind helping me find him?"

Elizabeth stepped even closer to Joe. She patted him on the chest, and as she did, his heart began to race. The feeling of her hand there on his chest, if only for a second, made his heart flutter. Elizabeth grinned, knowing she was making him uncomfortable. She laughed a little and then let her hand run down his chest as she walked away from him. Joe took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying his best to act calm. Elizabeth continued into the kitchen and then turned back to him. She shrugged her shoulders and raised her hands.

"So, where do we start?"

He swallowed hard and looked into the kitchen past Elizabeth for any sign of Henry. He noticed a fresh pot of coffee percolating and his father's cup sitting next to it. It was unlike him to leave a fresh pot of coffee untouched. He couldn't figure out where he had gone. Elizabeth stood by the table, watching Joe as he contemplated where his father could be. Joe, realizing he hadn't answered Elizabeth, walked toward the table.

"Why don't we have a seat? He should turn up soon." He pulled her chair out for her. Joe motioned to the coffee pot. "Can I interest you in some coffee? There seems to be a fresh pot for us."

Elizabeth smiled "That would be wonderful, Joe."

He walked over to the cupboard and pulled out two cups and stood to look at Elizabeth sitting there at the table. He couldn't believe she was there. Joe walked over to the pot and poured the coffee, then carried it back over to her. He slid the cup over and motioned to the counter.

"Can I get you some sugar or milk?"

Elizabeth fidgeted with her cup on the table and then looked back up to him. "Oh, no, this is fine."

Joe now sat directly across from her. He nervously shifted in his seat. He wasn't sure what to say so he looked at her and teasingly said, "You were just in the neighborhood and thought you would stop by?" He mustered half a smile and looked back to his drink.

Elizabeth could see Joe's nervousness even though she really didn't understand why he was so nervous.

"Well, I guess you could say that." Elizabeth shifted in her seat. "I'm not going to lie, Joe; I had hoped that I would get to see you." She tilted her head a bit and smiled. "It's good to see you after all this time."

Joe didn't say anything; he just stared at her eyes, almost mesmerized by the sight of them. She reached across the table, touching his hand, causing Joe to jump a little. Elizabeth patted him and pulled her hand back. She then took a sip of her coffee.

"Anyway, I'm down visiting my parents. I moved back several weeks ago to take a new job that a friend of mine helped me get." She sipped her coffee again and then looked up to Joe. "This is my first time back in a long while, and here I am."

Joe was silent for a moment. He looked down at his coffee and then back up to her. "You're back for good?" Joe asked.

She nodded. "Yes. My friend from college, Melanie, is working as a secretary in the governor's office and, well, she knew I wanted to move back this way."

Joe looked at his coffee again and then up to Elizabeth. Joe found it coincidental that Elizabeth would be working at the governor's office, but he didn't say anything other than, "The governor's office, huh?"

Elizabeth became very serious. "Oh, yes. I hear he is a great man to work for and, well, I was tired of working at the college in Wisconsin, so I came back home."

Joe put his elbows on the table and crossed his arms. He leaned in toward her.

Elizabeth casually threw her hands up. "I guess there isn't really much more to say."

She ran her finger over the rim of her cup. "I went to college after you left-"

She looked down, studying her cup.

"Of course, I guess you knew that."

Elizabeth ran her finger around the rim of her cup again. "That's where I met my husband, John."

Elizabeth stopped for a moment and looked up to Joe.

"So, you're married now?" He asked

She looked at Joe, raising her eyebrows. "Well, I was."

She looked down at the table, avoiding his gaze.

"We got married in college and John went away to the war, like, well, like you, and-" She sighed. "Well, he didn't come home."

Elizabeth reached up, covering her mouth with her hand.

"We thought we knew what we wanted out of life, but several years of college and then John left for the war-Well, it just wasn't meant to be."

She put both of her hands on her lap and fidgeted with the hem on her dress.

"After that, I went to work for the university, and I have been working there ever since."

She threw her hands up again. "I guess I missed home, and so here I am."

Joe nervously patted his leg. "Here you are."

She looked up, meeting his eyes. Elizabeth remained silent for a moment and then she bit her lip again. "Joe, I've talked long enough."

She put both her hands around her cup, warming her hands. "What have you been up to all this time? Why, the last time I saw you, it was in a newspaper clipping Daddy sent me. You had been part of some big battle in the Pacific. Why, I bet you were the talk of the town, a big war hero and all?"

Joe smiled, unsure of what to say. He fidgeted in his seat and then looked at his coffee, studying the ripples on its surface. "That was a long time ago," he said.

Joe got up from the table. He walked over to the counter and freshened his coffee, and then he turned back to Elizabeth, still holding the coffee pot. "More coffee?" he asked

Elizabeth looked down at her cup. She hadn't really touched hers yet. "No, Joe, I'm fine, but thank you-" Her voice began to trail off. "I'm fine," she said again.

Joe went back to the table and took his seat. "So, what's next?"

Elizabeth patted the table as she contemplated the question. "Oh, I'm not sure just yet. I will have to say I didn't expect to be sitting here with you, but I'm just taking things one day at a time."

She reached across the table and touched Joe's hand again. Joe looked down to see her hand on his, and then he looked back up to meet her eyes.

"But it really is good to see you, Joe. It's just like the old days, isn't it?"

Joe's pulse quickened at her touch. He had worked for so long to keep people from getting close that he almost panicked. He took a deep breath and then began to look around the room. He quickly changed the subject. "Old Henry hasn't shown up yet, has he?" He looked back to Elizabeth. "What do you say we see if we can find him?"

Elizabeth tilted her head and smiled at him. "Sure, Joe."

She stood up from her chair and glanced around the kitchen. "Where do you think we should look?"

Joe motioned to the front door. "Let's have a look outside. He can't be far."