Joseph filled his cup from the coffee pot. He kissed his wife on the cheek and hugged his daughter. He never thought he would see them again. He thanked his lucky stars or whatever had kept him alive this long after so many brushes with death. This last time, the Grim Reaper almost succeeded in claiming him.
Meandering over to the window, he cast another glimpse at the two women he loved the most in this world. It was so good to be with them, to see Holly fully recovered as if nothing had happened.
For a long moment, he simply stood and watched them, reveling in the pleasant mundaneness of the morning activities as they chatted happily while preparing breakfast. A smile crept across his face, the deep wrinkles that seem to have gotten deeper, folding and lifting at the edges of his mouth and corners of his eyes.
Joseph swung his gaze to stare out of the window. Never before had he seen the sun shine brighter or the sky be bluer. Although it was cold outside, a fresh blanket of fluffy white snow on the ground, it was a beautiful day to be alive.
As his eyes scanned the property, they paused on the building containing Jotaro and Layla's bedrooms. He wondered how his third favorite girl was doing. He still did not understand why she had gotten so angry with him.
Suddenly, the door to Layla's room slid open. Rather than the pretty little nurse appearing, his grandson bent down to clear the door frame before unfolding to his full height outside her door. He was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants.
Joseph inhaled sharply in surprise. His shock did not stem from seeing the boy out of his uniform and without the damn hat that looked like a part of his head. He could not believe his eyes that Jotaro had emerged out of Layla's room. The boy had been there all night!
He spluttered, coughing out the coffee he inhaled across the window in front of him. As he continued to cough, beating on his chest with one fist to eject the rest of the fluid from his lungs, his wife ambled over to him.
"Jojo, are you okay?" Suzi asked, concern drawing her eyebrows together as she patted his back.
"Hey, Suzi, look at this," he wheezed, putting his arm around his wife's shoulders to pull her forward.
"Honey! Look at this window! What a mess!" she admonished him like he was a child upon seeing the droplets of coffee splattered all over the frames of glass.
"No, not that. That," Joseph said, grasping her chin and pointing her face in the direction of the kids' rooms.
Layla ran out of her room dressed in a pair of purple and magenta flannel pajamas. Her choice of nighttime attire had to be a disappointment for the boy. She touched Jotaro's shoulder while saying something to him which made him turn around to face her.
"Oh, he was in her room again last night," Suzi stated flatly, ducking from under her nosy husband's arm to return to the kitchen.
"Again!" Joseph exclaimed, grasping her shoulders and rotating her body around to look out the window again. "How long has this been going on?"
"Mmmm..." She rolled her big blue eyes toward the ceiling while thinking. "Almost every night since the two of you came home."
"Every night?" A lecherous grin spread across his face.
"Almost every night," she corrected him. "I'm glad they are getting along so well."
"Oh, my god. What do you think happened last night?" He looked down at his wife, waggling his eyebrows.
"I'm sure what you're thinking happened didn't. Judging by what she's wearing, I'd say they were doing the same they are doing now, talking. And sleeping," she added, attempting to walk away again but he put a strong arm around her shoulders to hold her still.
"Well, damn...that's a let down," he muttered grouchily. "What do you think they're talking about?"
"I haven't the foggiest, honey. We really shouldn't be watching them like this. It's like eavesdropping," she said, but continued to gaze out of the window at the two young people who appeared to be having a normal conversation while dressed in their pajamas. Or it would seem perfectly normal if the both of them had not come out of her bedroom.
No. Nothing happened last night, or any of the other nights. But it could happen eventually. The two of them were definitely getting closer while spending a lot of time together.
Suzi could not help but notice the way Layla pushed her long and loose blond waves behind her ear while lowering her eyes as she continued talking. She wondered what the girl could be saying to her grandson when she held up her hands, fingers spread, before bending down the fingers of one hand with the other, one by one to count off whatever she was telling him.
Suzi could not hazard a guess at the topic of their conversation. It looked serious, but not too serious, as if Layla was giving him instructions or a list. The pleasant smile on the nurse's face told her whatever they were discussing could not be anything bad.
Jotaro scratched the back of his head and lifted his chin to look above him as he began to speak. Layla raised her eyes and tilted back her head to look up at his face. He said something that made her laugh. She covered her mouth and looked around as if she might bring unwanted attention to them not knowing they already had that attention.
"What's going on? What are they saying?" Joseph asked as if his wife had telepathy or super hearing.
"Oh, Jojo, you silly goose," Suzi chuckled. "It's none of our business what they're talking about."
"Hmph," he snorted, slurping his coffee. "The boy should thank his lucky stars he found a woman to tolerate his grumpy ass. He should be more like me...charming, easygoing, funny...I a great sense of humor."
"Uh huh," she murmured, glimpsing up at his face and smiling. "Humble too."
"The boy is too damn serious. He doesn't smile enough. He's a grouchy, rude, pain in the ass."
Suzi Q. strategically ignored her husband. Sometimes she had to for her own sanity. She loved him with all of her heart but sometimes he had a tendency to speak his mind a little too much. He had a lifelong bad habit of allowing far too much of what ran around inside his head to come through his mouth unfiltered.
As much as Joseph wanted this little match to be made between his favorite nurse and his grandson, he needed to calm down and let things take their course as they would. If the kids are meant to be together. they would find each other. If not, well, he will have to find a way to deal with the disappointment. Such is life.
Suzi smiled. Even from a distance, she could see the lovely carnation pink blush that colored Layla's cheeks. The young woman appeared to be flirting, just a little, with Jotaro. And even more surprising, he appeared to like it. Although the blush could be wind burn because the winter wind whipped her waist length hair around her body.
"What are you two looking at?" Holly inquired as she sidled up on her father's other side to look out of the window.
"Jotaro came out of Layla's bedroom," Joseph replied never taking his off the couple.
"Oh, again?" she remarked in a questioning manner.
"Am I the only one that didn't know about this?" he inquired becoming a bit grouchy himself.
"Yes," mother and daughter replied in unison.
"She's been helping him study since he returned to school," Holly said, completely oblivious to other implications of her son staying all night in the woman's room.
"I wonder if they were studying human anatomy last night," Joseph remarked, receiving a playful slap on the chest from his wife.
"Joseph, stop it," Suzi admonished him in an exaggerated whisper.
"Jotaro said the teachers agreed if he stays after school, takes extra classes, and completes all of the make up work, he can still graduate with the rest of his class," Holly informed the grandparents.
"Oh, that's good!" Suzi exclaimed joyfully, clapping her hands.
The trio watched as Layla stepped closer to Jotaro, outstretching her arms and raising up on her tiptoes while he leaned down to permit her to put her arms around his neck. His arms briefly enclosed her shoulders to return the hug.
"I'm not the only one that saw that, right?" Joseph asked.
"We saw it," both women confirmed in chorus.
"You two need to stop that," he murmured, putting an arm around Holly and hugging both women to his sides. "Anyone think we'll be planning a wedding after his graduation?"
Suzi Q. rested her cheek on his chest. "Oh, Jojo, I think you are being a hopelessly romantic fool."
"Maybe so," he agreed, hugging her. "I know I'll always be a fool for you."
"If they are meant to be, it will be," she assured him, patting his chest over his heart. "Just like us."
"Yeah, well if something happens to screw it up, it will be that boy's fault," he muttered irritably.
"I think we should move," suggested Holly when she saw her son walking in the direction of the kitchen.
The three people scrambled away from the window. Joseph and Suzi sat down at the table while Holly returned to the stove. All of them jumped guiltily when Jotaro threw back the door and stepped into the room. They tried to recover and act casual.
"Good morning, Jotaro," his mother sang out as she placed thick Japanese pancakes on a platter.
"Mom, you should be sitting down and resting," he chided her lightly.
"Oh, honey, I'm fine! I've never felt better. Don't you worry about me."
"Good morning, Jotaro," his grandmother greeted him, coming over to hug him.
"Hi, Grandma," he replied, accepting her hug and placing one arm around her.
"Mornin', my boy," his grandfather said, loud as usual, hiding his face behind a newspaper.
"Hey, old man! What's going on with you?" he demanded.
Joseph lowered the newspaper to peek over it. "What the hell do you mean? Nothing is going on. Nothing at all. Why the hell am I the only one being accused of something?"
"Because you're always up to something," his grandson retorted.
Jotaro stood at the door gazing at his mother and grandparents. With suspicion narrowing his eyes, he studied each person in turn. His mother hummed as she took the platter of food over to the table. His grandmother refilled her teacup from the pot on the table. His grandfather continued to hide behind his newspaper. It appeared Gramps had accomplices this time.
"What were you three up to?" Jotaro asked, glaring at them in turn as he walked over to the table to sit down.
"Hope you're hungry," chirped his mother, placing a plate in front of him. She had cooked an American breakfast for her father including fried eggs, toast, bacon, and sausage links but with Japanese flair from the super thick and fluffy pancakes.
"I'm starving," Jotaro said, stabbing the bright orange yolk to watch it run all over the plate.
"Where's Layla?" Joseph inquired, shaking the black and white pages to make them crinkle loudly.
"How should I know?" his grandson muttered around an entire sausage link he crammed into his mouth.
Joseph did not have to wait long to find out for himself. The door slid open and Layla entered. She had changed into light blue jeans and a pink oversized cowl neck sweater.
"Good morning," she greeted them. Everyone but Jotaro returned her greeting. She smiled and laughed. They sounded like they were singing the first line of the song "Good Morning to you."
"There's coffee, dear," Holly informed her as she walked into the kitchen.
"How are you feeling?" Layla questioned her, looking her over with the discerning eye of a medical professional.
"I feel wonderful," Holly replied, reaching for the bottle of syrup to take it to the table
Layla caught her wrist, pressing her fingers into the middle between the tendons to take her pulse. Extending her other arm with a jerk, the sleeve of her sweater moved up so she could see her watch so she could count the beats per second.
Holly snatched her wrist out of Layla's hand. She placed her hand on the girl's arm while meeting her puzzled gaze.
"I'm fine," she assured her. "Besides, you're not on duty yet. Sit down. Eat."
"I'm always on duty since I am now a full time live in nurse for the Joestar family," she remarked pointedly, glowering at the newspaper that slowly began to lower.
"You decided to take the job?" Joseph inquired, peering over the top of the paper.
"After careful consideration," she began, casting a glimpse at Jotaro who kept his eyes on his plate and shoveled food into his mouth, "I have decided that no one is better suited to take care of you and Miss Suzi. I'm acquainted with your family and medical history. I've been your nurse for every appointment, procedure, and home visit for the last four years. And I don't think anyone else would be able tolerate your special personality twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week."
"Hmph," Joseph snorted in true grumpy old man style. That last crack kept him from exhaling an audible sigh of relief. The stubborn girl had kept him in suspense for a week. "Took you long enough. It's about damn time you decided."
"Hey, old man," Jotaro spoke up.
"What, Jotaro?"
"How do you keep an idiot in suspense?"
"What?" Joseph's face twisted in bewilderment.
Jotaro looked up from his plate to see the absolute befuddlement in his grandfather's bright green eyes while his gray eyebrows met over the bridge of his nose.
"How do you keep an idiot in suspense?" Jotaro repeated, keeping his fork poised over his plate as he held his grandfather's gaze.
"How?"
Silence followed. No one moved or spoke. The two men stared at each other as if pitted in a staring contest neither one had declared.
Layla covered her mouth to hold back her laughter but could not stop the snort from escaping her.
"Well, how, Jotaro?!" his grandfather shouted impatiently.
All three women broke out in gales of laughter, and Jotaro went back to eating without even cracking a smile.
"Oh, ha ha. Very funny. Smart ass," Joseph muttered, retreating behind the newspaper.
"Dad, put that away and eat before it gets cold. I made this breakfast just for you," Holly said, taking a seat at the head of the bigger dining room table that had been delivered yesterday.
"Of course, sweetheart," he agreed sweetly, folding the paper and setting it aside.
"Why don't we all go shopping today?" Suzi suggested.
"I can't. I've got make up classes at the school," Jotaro said, wiping his mouth after finishing the last bite. "Thanks, mom, that was great."
He stood up and kissed his mother on the top of her head.
"Have a good day! Study hard!" she called after him.
"I will," he promised, closing the door behind himself.
"We can still go," Suzi said, placing her hand over Holly's and Layla's.
"Girls day! Sounds like fun," Layla said enthusiastically, smiling at her.
"Well, almost," Suzi responded, turning her eyes to Joseph.
"Huh? What? You know I hate shopping. Don't make me go, " he whined shamelessly.
"We need someone to hold our purses while we try on clothes and carry all of our bags," said his wife, leaving him no way to refuse.
Joseph groaned and rolled his eyes. "Oh, good grief."
All three women laughed heartily at Joseph stealing his grandson's line.
~\'/~
Layla emerged from the dressing room with the three pieces of clothing she picked after trying about a dozen things on. The helpful and patient store clerk personally attending the three ladies took them from her.
"Would you like to try on anything else?" the woman about her age asked, hanging the clothes on the rack with the items Suzi and Holly had chosen. They were still in their dressing rooms trying on more clothes.
"Oh, no thank you," she sighed. "I think I'm actually going to go sit down."
"Would you like a bottle of water?" the clerk inquired, bending down and reaching under the desk to get it before she answered.
"Yes, please," Layla enthusiastically confirmed, taking the frosty bottle. There must be a small refrigerator under there. What an amazing store.
The two women were running her ragged. Although one was three times her age and the other had been on her death bed a week ago, they had worn Layla out.
Cracking open the bottle and drinking as she walked, she went to the sitting area just outside of the block of dressing rooms where their reluctant porter waited for them. The hexagonal shaped room was surrounded by mirrors on five sides with a platform in the middle.
Joseph sat hunkered down on the white couch positioned against the one wall that was not a reflective surface. A dozen or more shopping bags full of their previous purchases were lined up beside the couch. His longs legs were outstretched in front of him, his arms folded over his belly. His head was down with his chin on his chest. Light snores emanated from under the hat pulled down to cover his face.
A nap sounded like a wonderful idea. Although Layla was pretty sure Joseph was sleeping out of boredom rather than being tired. He was an incredibly fit man for his age and much more active than the typical sixty-nine year old. She called him a human doing instead of a human being because he always had to be doing something, keeping busy - typically getting into trouble of one kind or another whether be an elaborate practical joke or some crazy new adventure.
Layla gingerly sat down on the couch beside him being careful not to jostle him and wake him up. Coming back from the dead, receiving his blood mixed with Dio's, seemed to have had no negative side effects on him. Maybe he was just tired after all. All of that had to have taken some kind of toll on his body. What about his mind? He seemed the same, so far nothing had changed at all. Right after awakening Joseph was quick to play a prank on his grandson, and even though Jotaro would never admit it, successfully scare the hell out of him. Poor taste does not begin to describe that joke, and it was definitely not funny.
But was it really Dio's blood? The vampire stole the body of his nemesis Jonathan Joestar to make it his own. Insulting and ironic. At least some of it had to be Dio's blood because how could the body have survived for a century without decaying if not by being sustained with at least a small infusion of the blood of the vampire?
Layla rubbed her temples. Thinking about it made her head hurt.
"Are you okay?" Joseph asked her, lifting his hat slightly to gaze at her from his peripheral vision.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" she rejoined, poking him in the arm.
"Speaking of asking questions," he began, placing his hat on the top of his head and sitting up straight.
Layla's belly quivered. She had the feeling she was not going to like this question.
"What's the deal with you and Jotaro?"
"There is no deal." She rolled her eyes. "We're friends, you dirty old fart, nothing more," she muttered, finishing off her bottle of water.
"Well, friends often become lo -"
She pointed at him. "Stop. Stop right there."
"Little girl you are far too serious ad no fun at all," he grumbled, folding his arms again.
"Jotaro and I are going to Kakyoin's grave tomorrow," she said to change the subject. She picked at her freshly manicured nails nervously.
"Did you buy a little black dress for the occasion?" he inquired, sliding a side eye glimpse at her.
"I did," she replied in a monotone, overlooking his implication. "It's in one of those bags over there."
"I'm glad the boy decided to go. Years from now I know he would have regretted not saying a proper good-bye to his friend."
Layla had the feeling that was the voice of experience speaking those words.
"Me too."
The conversation lagged. She said the first thing that came to mind to break the silence.
"Jotaro has decided to enroll in Tokyo University in the fall," she informed his grandfather.
"You two do talk a lot," he murmured smiling at her. Thankfully it was a sweet grandfatherly smile, not one of his lecherous grins partnered with an elbow nudged in her side to hint at something else besides talking. "Has he decided on a field on study?"
"Not yet."
Another long pause in conversation. Layla did not know how to talk to him anymore knowing what she knew. She wanted to ask him a hundred questions but would not because she had a confidence to keep. Jotaro's trust did not come easy and sating her curiosity was not worth losing it.
"When we go back to New York, do you think you'll return to the lecture circuit? I could start researching colleges and universities who are looking for a speaker about ancient civilizations, Nazis, or..."
Turning to her left toward him, she sat sideways on the seat so she could face him. It was weird sitting beside him and talking to him but staring at his reflection in the mirror across the room.
"...or perhaps modern Egypt," Layla suggested, raising a quizzical eyebrow.
For a change, she was alluding to something, opening a door and allowing for a line of conversation of what occurred on their travels if Joseph chose to walk through it.
"I don't think so. I'm done with traveling all over the world. I'm tired, Layla," he sighed almost despondently, looking straight ahead rather than at her. "I'm considering other pursuits that will keep me busy but at home," he said, leaning his head back and switching his gaze upward as if he would find the answer on the ceiling. "Private investigating maybe. Consulting? I considered real estate."
"Real estate? Seriously?" Her nose crinkled, skeptical of his thought of process of coming to real estate as a possible new career at the age of sixty-nine.
"Sure. Why not?" He turned his large verdant green eyes on her.
Layla tried to picture him giving a couple, excited to buy their first home, the grand tour of a prospective property. Perhaps a young executive who just got a promotion and wanted to move to an upscale apartment. Or assisting a single mom with a young son find an affordable and safe place to live.
Yeah, she could see it. He liked helping people, and he loved to talk so it would be a good fit. What she could not see was the man retiring to sit at home and build ships in a bottle. Or play golf. Or whatever retired people do.
Joseph would go crazy. Apprehension made every muscle in her body tighten. The most likely outcome of this man becoming a homebody would be driving her and Suzi absolutely insane.
"Maybe so, Grandpa Joe, maybe so," she said, giving him an encouraging smile. Suzi would support him and cheer for him no matter what her husband chose to do.
Suzi and Holly entered the room with three saleswomen behind them, their arms loaded down with apparel.
"I heard there's a wonderful little accessories store that just opened. Jewelry, purses, belts, scarves, and the like. Should we go there next?" Suzi inquired, a hopeful lilt in her voice.
"Oh, my god," Joseph mumbled, covering his face.
"Come on, Grandpa Joe," Layla said, patting his shoulder sympathetically as she stood up to follow the mother and daughter discussing the next store on their list. "It's time to pack it up and move it out."