Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything from Joan of Arcadia. Just me having fun and passing the time.
Summary: Two jobs, summer vacation and a new boyfriend… How can one girl cope?
Author's Note: Here's the next part. Just in case the time frame seems confusing – the first part with Adam is at the same time Joan has woken up and stretches out through her time at the Nursing Home. Joan's section is right after she gets home from the nursing home, and is after her mom got off the phone with Adam. Please Read and Review. You know I love it.
Admiral Lily: Hmm, I hope we don't have the same idea. Lol I'd hate to take someone else's idea, even unknowingly. I'm sure it will be different, because I plan on basing my story on my own experience as a certified nurse's aide at a nursing home.
He watched the sparks fly about him, loving the sound and brilliant hues that cascaded in front of his eyes as he welded two piece of metal together. It was early in the morning, and already he was possessed with making a new piece. After seeing Joan in the annual beauty pageant, he worked diligently on his new sculpture when he could spare the time in between finals and seeing Joan and exploring new territory. He was hoping to have it done before he was supposed to go over to the Girardi house; he couldn't wait to unveil the piece to Joan, after all it was her sculpture in a way.
Stepping back a moment to get a better view of the piece, he tilted his head trying to picture it the way his girlfriend always saw his piece, but failing. Where he saw flaws, she saw perfection. She had unbiased eyes that viewed art in a whole new perspective than that of someone who was trained the essence of expression. To him, he saw the wires that bent and swiveled, weaving in and out of each other… He saw the myriad, disjointed images pasted to bits and pieces of flat metal. This was his Jane, this piece that he called 'The Many Faces of Jane.' He had a moment's insecurity that she wouldn't like it, but he tamped it down knowing he had nothing to fear with her reaction. She loved his pieces, and he was learning to accept her compliments as genuine. He reached up to flip down his protective helmet when he heard a knock at the shed door. He turned off his torch, looking up as his dad walked inside.
Carl looked around the shed that used to store his tools and lawn care items and saw the countless pieces that Adam had or was creating. Although he never understood the nuances of art, he was proud of his son. If this was his way of coping with his mother's death at the same time showing his adoration to the dearly departed woman… Then he couldn't have been more proud. He turned to look at his son who was staring back at him in curiosity.
"Uh, Adam… there's a Mrs. Girardi on the phone that would like to speak with you. Do you want me to take a message, or…?"
"I'll uh… grab it. Give me a second to clean up and I'll be in."
Carl nodded his head and made to leave. He paused a moment to take one last look around. "You've done good, son." Not waiting for a reply, he walked towards the house, leaving a slack-jawed Adam in his wake. Adam shook his head dazedly before taking off his apron, rubber gloves and helmet, then he followed his father. When he walked inside, his father was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear his whistle down the hall in his bedroom. Adam decided he would talk to his father later on as he picked up the receiver.
"Hey, Mrs. G… You wanted to talk to me?"
"Hi, Adam. I hope I didn't wake you up."
"Uh, no. I was in my shed working on a piece."
"You and Joan are too much alike." Helen laughed over the phone. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I woke up to find her sitting in our backyard talking with a homeless man who was going through our trash."
"She was talking to a homeless man?"
"Yeah. It was the oddest thing, but then again, this is Joan we're talking about. She tends to do things that don't make sense… Anyways, the reason I'm calling is, I received a call from Gavin Price and the Board, and the summer program we were trying to implement is going through. I know we didn't discuss this in-depth, due to the fact that the whole program was a big 'if', but I'm calling to see if you are still interested in participating."
Adam stood there a moment, thinking back to the one art meeting that he and Iris attended before they had broken up. Helen Girardi came up with a great idea to further the education along by proposing a trip to New York City – museums, art exhibits, you name it you could find it in the city. She described her idea fully, but none of the students nor she believed that they would get the funding for the trip that would be a month long. He knew that if he accepted, he would be spending a month of his summer in NYC without Joan. Both of them were looking forward to spending some time together, but this was a prime opportunity. While they were in the city, they would have the chance to show off some of their pieces. It could give them the break they needed to merge into the art world.
Without a conscious thought, he heard himself agreeing to participate, closing his eyes to block out Helen's excited response.
"That's great, Adam. I've got to call a few more of the students to see if they would like to attend as well. Unfortunately, I'm only able to take five students with me. Anymore, and we'd need another chaperon and that would cost more money than what the Board is willing to spend. Alright… I'll give you a call when I've got all the details. Talk to you soon, Adam."
"Uh, thanks, Mrs. G." He said his goodbyes and then hung up, still in a bit of a shock. He agreed to it without even discussing it with his girlfriend. Isn't that what you were supposed to do, especially when it affected not just him but her as well. He put the receiver on its base, then turned to go find his father. He needed some advice and maybe he would understand.
Joan shut off the car engine and got out. She stopped by the mailbox to peer in. Realizing that it was empty, she walked into the house and headed towards the kitchen to grab a bit to eat. She paused when she heard her mom on the phone talking with someone. Whoever it was, Helen sure sounded excited. She arched a brow in curiosity, but continued on her way into the kitchen over to the fridge. She leaned over to stick her head inside, browsing for something appetizing. She settled on making a sandwich, and began taking out the necessary ingredients. She laid it out on the island behind her and grabbed a butter knife. She spread her mayonnaise on the bread and then piled on the works – meat, tomato, cheese, lettuce, onions and a pickle. She stepped back to look at her masterpiece, then picked the plate up and proceeded to the next room to sit at the dining table. She dug right into her meal, pausing in mid-bite when she heard the name that made her cringe in her chair – Iris. Unwillingly, her ears tuned into the one-sided conversation that she could hear from her mom.
"I'm glad you're able to attend, Iris. This is a great victory for us to get the Board to agree to my plan. Yes… Only five students rather than the 10 I was hoping for… But it's better than no one. So far I've got you, Valerie, Anthony, and Adam. I'm going to be giving Courtney a call. I'm not sure. I'll give you a call when I know the dates for sure. I'm pushing for sometime mid-week this week. Yes. Okay, I'll talk to you then. Bye."
Joan set her sandwich back on her plate and pushed it away from her, her appetite disappearing at the mention of Adam and Iris together on some weird scheme from her mom. She had no idea what it was about, but she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it. She looked up as she saw her mom walk in, a big smile upon her face. The sight of it made Joan scowl even more. How could her mom be so happy when it looked like Joan's summer was about to be flushed down the toilet.
"You seem awfully chipper." Joan couldn't quite mask the sarcasm in her voice, but her mother seemed oblivious.
"I've got great news. Gavin and the Board has settled on funding our NYC trip. Apparently they got some businesses in the community to sponsor us. It'll be a wonderful experience for the selected students to showcase their own artwork, and stir up some business to get into after they graduate from here."
"NYC trip? Is it like a weekend trip or something?"
"Oooh, no. That wouldn't even give us barely enough time to get all that I have planned done. No, we're going to be going for a month's time. It would be better if we could have the whole summer, but that is costly. I'll take what I can, and hopefully I can make this a permanent program. We'll see when we get to that problem."
"So, you and a bunch of students are going to spend 4 weeks in NYC? Day and night?"
"Of course. You don't think we're going to drive back and forth everyday, do you? Why?"
"Why? You have to ask that when you invited Miss Squeaky along… when you knew that Adam was going, too."
"Now, Joan… I seriously doubt that anything will happen between the two of them while we are away. We're going to study art, not dabble in romance."
"As if that would stop her from trying."
"Honey, what's wrong? You actually believe that Adam would give you up for her? From what I've gathered, you're the one he likes and wants to be with. He has always wanted you."
"But what if he finds out that they have a lot in common? What if he starts hanging out with her and realizing how much fun they had together, and that maybe she's the one that he should be dating-"
"Joan, stop! Right now! Listen to yourself. This isn't the Joan I know. I think deep down you know that Adam would never do something like that to you, but for some reason, you're letting your insecurity influence the facts."
"Yeah… maybe you're right. I'm just having a bad day. I think I'll go lie down."
"Alright, honey. I'll call you when it's dinner time."
Joan nodded to her mom and pushed back her seat to stand up. She cleared off her plate into the trash and then deposited the plate into the sink. She paused a moment to look out the window above the sink to stare at the backyard and the swing – the very spot that she had been sitting just that morning before her whole vacation got turned upside down. Not only did she have to pick up another job and cutting down on her free time, she found out that Adam was leaving anyways for some art thing with her mom and Iris. Although she knew what her mom said was true, she couldn't shake the thought that if he could leave Iris for her…. Couldn't he leave her for Iris?