A Stamford Christmas Carol pt 8
"See, this is what is supposed to happen on Christmas. Joy, love, family, suprises." Andre gushed.
"Yeah, I see it. Yay for them. Next?"
"You are a very sad man, Pauly. You're no fun."
"Neither are you." He grumbled. "Are we gonna see something else, or are we going home?"
Andre' waved his hand and the pair arrived back in Massachusetts to the lobby of a children's hospital in Boston.
"Thanks for coming today Joanie. We didn't think you would have the time." A tall, handsome doctor smiled at her. He looked like a character off of a soap opera.
"It's no problem. I didn't have any plans and I always make time for the kids. Is Alice here?"
"She still talks to Alice? My sister?" He wondered out loud.
"Yes, not everyone severs all ties on a yearly basis."
"Hey, it's good to see you. You look great." Joanie smiled and hugged her.
"I'm surprised you came. I missed you. The kids are in there. They are dying to see you."
"Okay. Have you talked to Paul?" She whispered pulling on a hospital jacket. "I saw him last week on T.V. He won again. Big surprise."
"No, I called him to wish him a merry Christmas and tell him the good news, but he never called back. I miss him sometimes. Wait…no…that's just indigestion."
Joanie chuckled and walked into the children's hospital ward with her. "Too bad Paul is such a jerk. I've been talking to some old friends from the company and they say he's turned into a tyrant. If he doesn't like something about someone, he cans them without a second thought."
"That's just like him. Everything his way." Alice scoffed.
"I remember back in the day when Shane had the run of things. He was a sweetie. He would at least give you a months notice before giving the boot, so you could tell your family or get other work. Speaking of family, how's married life treating you these days?"
Trips was shocked at the way the girls spoke about him and his business strategies. The words from Joanie's mouth stung him hard, but he tried to hide it. "She's married? When did this happen? Nobody tells me these things."
"That handsome doctor you glared at when Joanie walked in. That's the dad. They got married in October."
"She didn't invite me." Paul pouted.
"She did. You're a jerk. You told her you were too busy to talk to her that day, so she let it go and agreed to have a small wedding. 10 people all together came to see them. Mostly his family."
He thought a minute. "He's only marrying her cause she's pregnant. I'll kick his ass." He growled and tried to punch the doctor.
Andre' laughed. "No touching, Pauly. Remember? Your hands go right through them. And who are you to be angry over a sham of a marriage, Mr. McMahon.? You still don't get it. They actually love each other."
"Good. I'd have to track his ass down and hurt him, otherwise. And that would take a lot of time." He nodded. "Are we gonna see anything else?"
They walked into the children's room where Joanie and Alice played with the sick children.
"See, isn't this fun? Don't you want one too, Joanie?" Alice smiled as she tickled a small girl with a tube up her nose.
"I do, but you need a man to have a baby. I don't want to be a single mom. Men are in short supply these days. Decent ones, anyway. I'll just be an aunt to little Pauly and spoil him for you. How much longer? 4 months?"
"Yeah, 4 and a half months. If you change your mind, I have a friend at the fertility clinic who can help you out. He's cute."
"Sure." Joanie laughed and sat down to read a book to the kids.
"She's not with Sean anymore?"
"She never was. Like I said, you're a jerk."
"I'm not a jerk. Things happen. It's better this way." He tried to convince himself.
"You just keep telling yourself that, Pauly. Would you like to go home now?"
Trips watched Joanie with the kids and felt something inside himself. "Yeah, let's go. I want to go home."