Hi, so here it is THE FINAL CHAPTER!. I want to say a massive thank you to all of you for reading and reviewing and favouriting and following this story. Over the course of these seventeen chapters your kindness as I entered this fandom was really inspiring. I will take a break from this fandom for a bit but I do have ideas for more stories so please stay tuned!
And without further adu I bring you this chapter along with my usual disclaimers-nothing but the character of Isla is mine.
Please Read and Review.
And again, for the final time, please let me know what you think.
Glory Days
Chapter 17-Indoor Fireworks
THE FINAL CHAPTER-Isla and Joey have a talk about the past, present and future, Joey speaks to his grandfather and makes a decision, Martina and Joey have a moment, and life for the Boswell's returns to normal...well…as normal as if can be.
Isla came down for breakfast like nothing and paused.
"Just us?"
"Yeah" her Dad said stirring his coffee. "Just us."
She shifted. Her grandmother had thrown her into the bath as soon as she had awoke and she had been scrubbed until she was sure she had been clean for the entire month. Her grandmother had said she was scrubbing London out of her but after three dunks in the tub Isla was beginning to feel more like a fish than she was a person.
"Your lucky my girl" her Nan said shaking off a towel. "Walking the streets of London all on your own like that. Gave us all a scare you did"
"I thought—"
"No I know what you thought young lady. And believe me it's the only reason why you're not getting a thrashing—that woman though—if she ever darkens my doorstep—to get you back again I nearly had to promise God that I would be nice to Lil-Lo-Lil!"
Isla who was being towelled off at that point and none to gently either blinked.
"That was nice of you Nan"
"Nothing to do with nice my girl. I just…I just wanted you safe. And if being nice to that tart was the only way I could guarantee it then I would have done it without a question though it might have been the thing that put me in an early grave…but your back. And while you are not to blame for the majority of this you must understand that you took a great risk and worried us all unnecessarily. We are family Isla. You have questions about anything or anyone including your mother…and I use that term, very, very loosely…then you come and ask us. That's what were here for"
Isla had felt tears burn at the back of her eyes.
"Yes Nan"
"Good girl. Now go down and speak to your Dad. I imagine he wants to give you the same speech that just got from me but there's nothing wrong with letting you hear it more than once. Now into those clean clothes and shift it"
And shift it Isla did.
Until now. When she was here.
"I am sorry Dad"
"For what exactly?"
"Running away…going with her…trusting her…scaring you all to death…robbing her husband blind?"
"You…you robbed her husband blind?"
"Wasn't hard Dad. He did leave his wallet unattended"
Her Dad stared at her for a second and then rolled his eyes.
"Sit down Isla"
Isla plonked herself down on the chair next to him.
"Isla…why didn't you tell me Roxy was back?"
"Because…I didn't think you would want to talk about it. It's not like you ever did before and then she was telling me stuff that I didn't know about. That it was the family's fault that she left and that she was forced out and that if you knew you would let them use you so we couldn't see each other and…and then she kept making it sound like America was going to be a big surprise and that it was all going to be okay and we could be this perfect family and I guess…I just…believed her. I didn't know not to believe her. Not until it was too late anyway"
Her Dad nodded.
"Well that one's on me and not you. I should have…I should have…I should have told you what went down between but…Isla I'm not a mind reader. If you have a question just ask it…I never…ever…want you to feel like you cannot come to me. Because it's you and me against the bastards out there. Always"
Isla nodded.
"Can I ask then? Why she left?"
"Because…your…Roxy and I were very young when she got pregnant with you and we wanted things. Different things really, I wanted her and I wanted you and I wanted a house on this street and I wanted the family and she had this dream that we would be together just the way we were. And…one day I promise you, you will understand but the reality is…I just grew up and she didn't"
Isla nodded. She did not totally understand what he was saying but she thought that maybe he was right…perhaps one day…she would.
"So it wasn't me?"
"Nah love. It was her. All her. And you…you were the best thing that I have ever done in my life."
"Better than the JAG?"
Her Dad gave a rather maniacal laugh. "Oh sweetheart. I'd get rid of the JAG in a second trust me"
Wow.
"Will she come back?"
Her Dad got a strange expression on his face then and Isla watched him for a moment. It was and odd expression. She had never seen that expression on his face before and it was hard to understand just what it meant.
At least then, there in that moment.
Later on, much, much later on, like he had said she would, she would understand.
"No Isla. I don't think we will ever see her again"
Isla thought about it.
"Good" she said finally.
"Yeah. Isla…If you ever…pull that shit again…"
"I won't"
"Yeah well…that's cause I'm not gonna let you. Consider yourself walked too and from school from now on until you leave it"
"Oh. Ok"
She was about to turn back to the toast when suddenly she was pulled into a hug that was so tight she nearly forgot to breathe.
"You really did scare me you know…I just…you really scared me."
She breathed in and out and smelt expensive aftershave, leather and that immensely comforting smell that was her Dad. This was safe, this was love, this was home.
"Sorry Dad"
"Love you little girl"
"Love you too"
And just like that, they carried on into another normal morning.
"So you sort that girl out then?"
He was sat at Grandad's front door watching. Alexandra Yizzel had turned up and she and Isla were playing a game in the street. The story of Roxy's return had spread through the street like wildfire but for the first time the entire neighbourhood had come out on the Boswell's side united in their relief, their distain for Roxy's actions and their outright condemnation. In fact even if his threat didn't hold true Joey doubted that Roxy could ever get past the first house on this street. Mrs Cullen waving her broomstick as she had said she would keep an eye out had looked like she had meant business.
"What Isla? Or Roxy?"
"Neither. Isla's fine, children tend to recover from things like this quicker than their parents do. And as for that bitch…well…I didn't give up three gold sovereigns for you to let her off with a slap on the wrist did I? No I meant the other one, the DHSS lady with the nice tits you stare at like you want to undress her"
Joey had unfortunately just too a sip of water and had ended up spitting most of it out into the street. Christ…his grandad had never had tact to begin with and now it was just getting plain rude old age or not.
"Jesus Grandad"
"Well…have you?"
"No. I haven't had time to go to the DHSS today"
His Grandad tutted.
"You don't need a reason to go to the DHSS stupid boy. You should go because you want to. whenever Edie Mattherson was around I was off like a shot. Didn't need an excuse to go anywhere"
Joey rolled his eyes. He didn't want to admit to anyone how close his grandfather had come to catching him on the raw.
"Well?"
"What am I supposed to say when I get there?"
"Well that you fancy her for a start"
"Grandad—"
"Oh give over boy, I have eyes don't I? Shit hits the wall and you spend all your time with her, don't come out, take her to identify that poor child's body and then look at her as if she's the only thing keeping you alive and then what? You go back to collecting social security as if nothing's happened?"
"It's not like I make great choices with woman—"
"Bullshit. You made one bad choice but you got Isla out of it so I'd say it paid off. Besides the bitch isn't coming back is she? So go out there…live your life…be happy."
Joey paused and when his grandad next spoke his voice was frighteningly gentle.
"You can't punish yourself forever Joey. And you do deserve happiness. Take it from an old man whose lived through two world wars, Tory governments, a nuclear bomb, a cold war, rising gas prices, floods, famine and Princess Di's wedding shutting down the entire city, to say nothing of that time your mother came home and told me she was pregnant with Freddie Boswell's kid but it was alright cause he was going to do the right thing! Huh. Right thing my…well…life is made for living. So go out and live it. Now. I'll keep an eye on the kids"
"Will you?"
His grandad shot him a look.
"Don't be sarcastic Joseph it doesn't suit you. Go be happy"
Joey took one look at Isla and dithered.
"You don't think it's odd?"
"Well It's going to make life more difficult to get money sure but that bloody woman in government is going to be doing that anyway so what else is new? And the fact that she's a proddy will send your Mam spiralling but then again she'll survive. She wants to see you all happy. And Isla…well…I think Isla likes her. She went to her first didn't she?"
Joey blinked. And then he stood up and he was in the car tearing off before he could change his mind.
His Grandad was right. He had earnt the right to be happy, free from the taint of his past and it was damn time that he started living his life.
With the woman that he loved.
"NEXT!"
"Greetings!"
"Oh God"
It was like nothing had happened but as Joey sat down there was a twinkle in his eye that Martina knew meant nothing good.
"Morning sunshine"
"Mr Boswell…"
He stared at her still with that big smile on his face and she felt herself grinning back despite herself.
"How's Isla?"
"Normal, you wouldn't think that anything would have happened. She's just…normal."
"That's good I suppose"
"Yes she…she gets that what she did was wrong but still I can't be too mad at her you know? Not when I can see whose grubby fingerprints ere all over this. To be honest I'm still mad at myself. I should have realised she was behind this. Looking back there was so many obvious signs right in front of me. So many things that had I just really, really looked…"
She didn't say anything. She couldn't really because it was the same for her. So many times she could have prodded Isla into trying to tell her what was wrong but she had not because she had been never sure if it had been her place.
"And Roxy?"
"Handled. I…I handled it. She's not coming back. She's never coming back"
She eyed him critically.
"Are you okay with that?"
"Yeah. It's…it's…it should have been done a long time ago. I should have said what I said a long time ago. And I should have moved on. Grandad—"
"Oh God not him again—"
Joey laughed.
"Say what you want to sweetheart but he made me realise that I've spent so much of my life in limbo waiting for something that doesn't exist. And that I deserve happiness. She left me you know, I don't deserve to be left alone in the cold wilderness for the rest of my life"
"Sounds like good advice" she said finally turning to her papers. She was ruffling through them when a hand came out and rested on top of hers.
"Joey"
"Go for dinner with me"
"It's…you know if you do that your family has to see another DHSS officer"
Joey Boswell laughed. "Sweetheart is that really what the issue is? Because you should know better than most that my family can charm most to do our noble work"
Filing that away for another time Martina nevertheless continued.
"No…I mean…there are other things"
"Like?"
"Like…" Christ how was she supposed to tell him.
"I've never been good at it…dating…other things…"
"Doesn't matter how good you are at it. If two people really like each other—"
"Get that off a greeting card did you?"
"No…look…just dinner…we can take if from there. Slowly promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep Boswell"
"Alright then dinner?"
She looked at him and a thought that was so reckless and dangerous popped into her head.
Why not?
"Alright then"
Joey Boswell looked at her and Martina was honestly pleased. It was like it had been when she had told him she knew his daughter and she felt like laughing. She caught her teeth in her bottom lip trying not to smile and then before she could do anything Joey had leaned over and kissed her.
"See you at eight" he said with a wink and Martina grinned uncaring of what people were seeing.
And then he was gone and the world was back and the future was bright and the sense that everything was changing was back but in a good way.
They deserved some goodness.
They all did.
She shook her head and tried not to grin too much. It would do no good for the cocky bastard to know just how much he had turned her insides into a pile of goo.
Though Martina suspected that Joey knew.
She shifted a little in her chair and turned back to the crowds of waiting people ready to try it on with her.
She was still smiling as she said it.
"NEXT!"
And there you are, I hope you enjoyed this story and again a MASSIVE THANK YOU to you all. I will see you soon x.
