Thursday 6th April 2000.

Sitting at one of the tables in her husbands bar, Eleanor watched as Joseph flirted with yet another customer. This one making it his third this evening, and he had only been there two hours. As she sipped her drink she studied the woman Joseph had his arm around, whispering in her ear as she bit her lip. Guessing she was late thirties early forties, she noted her shoulder length blonde hair, her lovely but not beautiful smile and that she was the same height as Joseph. She was nothing compared to Clarisse and she'd had enough of his behaviour over the last few weeks, she had to do something and fast before he lost himself.

Standing up she grabbed her drink and made her way over to the bar, just as Joseph returned with a tray. "Having fun chatting up the ladies are we?" She asked, looking at him.

"Oh yes," he nodded as Gino placed some more drinks on the tray for him "which table are these for?" He asked.

"Seven," Gino answered and looked at his wife as she began to speak.

"Let someone else take them, I would like a word with you in the office please Joseph?" Eleanor said as he laughed.

"What? You're going to tell me off now for having fun?" He asked and laughed once again while looking at Gino.

"Joseph?" Eleanor said in her stern voice.

"What, I'm just having fun while I work if I didn't it would be boring." He shrugged and picked up the tray "now if you'll excuse me."

"Joseph," Gino said and watched as his oldest friend turned back to look at him.

"Not you as well?"

"Perhaps you should go to the office with Eleanor and see what she has to say, I can get Stuart to take those drinks to the table." Gino said and watched as Joseph just started at him a long moment.

"Alright, fine," Joseph exclaimed and placed the tray back on the bar.

"Thank you," Eleanor smiled and began leading the way through the bar and out to the back.

Moments later they were walking through the office door "so what did you need to talk to me about?" Joseph asked, following her into the room.

"Please take a seat?" Eleanor said, extending her arm towards the chair in front of the desk as she closed the door behind them and made her way across the room to sit in her husbands chair behind the desk.

"Thank you," Joseph said and sat down.

"Now, what's got into you lately?" Eleanor asked, making herself comfortable.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You know what I mean, Joseph."

"I'm just having fun, I thought that was allowed in the workplace?"

"It is, you know it is but there's other things going on," Eleanor said, watching her friend closely "you are here working and drinking every night, I thought you stayed in Italy to spend time with your family? Not be here working."

"I did, but they don't want to know.. They don't want to spend time with me, and I gotta do something or I will go crazy." He answered.

"I'm sure that's not true Joseph."

"It is, it's true," he nodded "it's been four weeks since we buried my sister and in that time I have seen a lot more than I thought I would, I stayed here because I thought that they needed me around after losing their mom but I was wrong." He said sadly and slumped back in his chair "just like I was wrong about everything else."

"Oh Joseph, I'm sure they do need you around. You are all still grieving, give them time."

"No they don't, Jasmine has her own business and is on about moving to America to be with her soon to be husband. Marco Jr is due to be married in just two short months, he's going to be starting his own family soon enough and then there's Aida, shes married and already has her own little family. I've hardly seen any of them this last two weeks, actually I haven't seen Jasmine for three weeks."

"You know, even if you don't see them daily it doesn't mean that they don't need you."

"I don't know about that," he shrugged and looked across the room "been thinking that I might just go away somewhere, travel a bit or something."

"I bet if you did that they would miss you," Eleanor said softly, watching him.

"I doubt it, if they don't miss me when I'm here what makes you think they will if I went away." Joseph said and looked back at her "I just need to face it that they all have their own life's now, which doesn't include me."

"You're stubborn, you know that?" Eleanor said and watched as he laughed once again.

"Yes, I get that from my father," he said, nodding slightly.

"Joseph, I wasn't going to bring this up here but Gino and I are worried about you. I mean, we know that you have just lost your sister and you are still grieving but this last few weeks you haven't been yourself. You're coming in to work and flirting with loads of women every night,"

"It's not loads of women every night," he said, interrupting her.

"It is, you have been here just over two hours and I have counted three women so far tonight alone and what about last night, or the night before that and all those other nights? This isn't like you at all and it's very worrying."

"Alright fine, what can I say?" He said and stood to his feet, moving around the office to stand by the window "I really don't see what the problem is here, it's all just a bit of harmless fun."

"We don't mind you having fun Joseph, me and Gino are all for fun in the workplace, but must you flirt with these women?" She said and watched as he looked over at her.

"I can't help it if the ladies love me," he answered "crave my attention."

"I'm sure they do, and I'm sure that it is just harmless fun but the question is, do you love any of them?" She asked and watched as he looked away, thinking about it for a moment.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

"Would you sleep with any of them, given the chance?" She asked and watched as he laughed in surprise.

"That's a bit personal isn't it?" He exclaimed.

"Answer the question,"

"I know what you are trying to do Elly, and it's not going to work," he said, staring into her eyes.

"Joseph," Eleanor said sternly.

"Alright, fine," he said and leant back against the window sill "maybe, but what's to say I haven't already?"

"Oh come on, we both know that there is only one woman for you." Eleanor exclaimed, knowing he was lying "you wouldn't dare sleep with any of these women in fear of ruining what you have with Clarisse."

"What I have with Clarisse?" He exclaimed and laughed while holding his arms out as she sat staring at him from behind the desk "she doesn't want to be with me, does she?"

"That's not true,"

"Sure it is, it's time to move forward now, find myself someone else and pray that I can live out my last years happy."

"Have you even thought about her this last month, whilst you have been flirting with all these women?"

"Once or twice maybe," he said and shrugged.

"Well shes thought about you a lot, everyday in fact."

"Ha, sure and how would you know?" He asked, staring at her.

"Because she's phoned me everyday since she left just to make sure you were okay, she still loves you Joseph, if she didn't she wouldn't do that." She said and watched as he looked away.

"I know deep down that she still loves me, but she doesn't want to be with me," he said and moved to sit back down opposite her. Leaning forward he placed his elbows on his knees as he clasped his hands together in front of him and stared down at the floor for several moments.

"Joseph?"

"She wanted me once, actually she couldn't get enough of me but not now she doesn't want me at all now," he said sadly and looked up at her "you know we nearly slept together the night of Vicks funeral but she stopped me, told me she couldn't do it because it wasn't the right time after just burying my sister. Said I wasn't in the right frame of mind."

"I know that's something that you probably wanted to happen Joseph," she began as she stood to her feet and moved around the desk to sit in the seat beside him "but I'm glad she stopped you before anything happened between you both. She was right, you weren't in the right frame of mind not after losing your sister and neither was she after losing her best friend. You would have only regretted it the next morning."

"Great, thanks for making me feel better," he said and looked up at her.

"I'm sorry, but you need to know something," she said and watched as he looked back up at her.

"What's that?" He asked and looked back down.

"She does want to be with you, she's just, um.." She hesitated, she wasn't sure if she should be telling him or not.

"Tell me Eleanor, what is it?" He asked, searching her eyes for an answer.

"She's scared to be with you, she's scared to continue living a happy life when her son was so cruelly robbed of his on what should have been your wedding day." She said sadly.

"Oh," he said and closed his eyes "I never thought about it that way before."

"She still cares a lot about you Joseph, if she didn't she wouldn't call me everyday like she has just to make sure you were alright, and I know for a fact that she hopes to one day be with you again but at the moment you need to understand why it's just not possible for her." She said and watched as he looked up at her "do you understand?"

"I do," he nodded and looked back up at her "she never really explained it to me, just said that she wasn't ready."

"Well now you know why," she said and watched as he stood up, moving to stand by the window once again "please don't be angry at her for being the way she has been."

"I'm not angry, how can I be angry with her when she's the woman my heart belongs too?" He said and turned back to Eleanor still sitting in the chair "I'm angry with myself for being so damn stupid."

"Don't feel stupid, it's a learning curve that we all go through in our life," she said and finally stood to her feet, moving around to him standing by the window.

"I have to go," he said and walked over to the door.

"Joseph?"

"I just need to be on my own for a bit, I need to think over everything."

"Are you going to her?' She asked and watched as he shook his head.

"No," he said and walked out as Eleanor let out a sigh.