Later Joey was about to head upstairs to check on Lauren when she came into the room. He could see that she had been crying again
'Aw babe' he said as she walked into this open arms, he rocked her gently as she pressed her face into his chest. The kids looked at their parents with concern.
'Mum are you okay?' Connor asked her as they gathered round her
'Yes I'm fine, don't worry' she told him with a smile 'I'm just feeling a little under the weather is all, In a few days I'll be right as rain' she told him, Joey let her go and she stroked Connor's cheek 'your dad is taking care of me'
'Good' he told her with a smile
'How was school?' she asked him
'Still standing' he replied and Lauren smiled at him
'Yeah I know how you feel, but it will all be worth it in the end I promise' she told him.
'We're going to go upstairs' Connor told him 'leave you and dad alone'
'Okay thank you' she smiled 'Night' she kissed him on the cheek.
One by one her children gave her a kiss on the cheek, Sophie gave her a tight hug 'Hope you feel better soon mum' she told her 'there's nothing to worry about it' she whispered in her ear. Lauren exchanged glances with her husband.
Hope was last and she looked at Lauren 'Dad said I had to give you the car keys back' she told her 'I put them in the dish on the bar. Can I do anything?' she asked her
Lauren shook her head 'No honey but thank you' she said
'Okay. Night mum, dad' Hope said and he kissed her mother on the cheek 'Love you mum' she whispered softly
'Love you too Hope' Lauren replied.
When they gone Lauren looked at Joey 'What did you tell the kids?' she asked him 'They all look terrified that I'm going to die any second'
'I just told them that you weren't feeling well that's all' he said to her 'And their concern should show you how much they need you hey?' he asked her 'they all wanted to come up and see you but I told them to wait until you came downstairs'
'Even Hope?'
'Especially Hope' he smiled at her 'She's so much like you, you know and she's so worried about you'
'Yeah she even gave me my car keys back! Usually I have to nag her'
'I grounded her' Joey told him 'Told her she lost her car and phone privileges and she had to do all the washing up for a month'
'You grounded her?'
'She broke her curfew' Joey told her
'And I suppose she just took her punishment from you with no mouthing off?'
'She whined a little but yeah' he nodded
'Typical' Lauren rolled her eyes 'She always was a daddy's girl. Maybe you should dish out her punishments all the time' she said to him as he led her into the lounge. He sat down on the sofa, pulling her onto his lap.
'If you want me too' he nodded, he saw the surprise on Lauren's face 'I thought about what you said, that I wanted to be the good guy and you were right, I did' he told her 'It's about time that I helped you discipline the kids and do a bit more around here' he said softly 'I'll cut back on the hours at the clubs, Jamie's done really well he deserves more responsibility' he told her
'Are you sure?' Lauren asked him 'You don't have to'
'Yes' he nodded 'this is where I need to be' Joey told her as he kissed her softly. Lauren smiled, laying her head on his shoulder. 'So are you hungry?' he asked her
'Starved' she nodded
'Good' he said and he stood up with Lauren in his arms and he carried her into the kitchen and sat her down at the dining table. She looked at the table and a memory hit her, the table was draped with a white table cloth, two places had been set, with napkins, glasses, and in the centre of the table sat two candles, their flames dancing happily, it was exactly as she remembered the table being set the first time he had cooked dinner for her.
'Joey!' she exclaimed
'Did I forget anything?' he asked her, she shook her head
'No it's perfect…just like I remembered'
'Do you remember what we had to eat?' he asked her
'Prawn cocktail, Spaghetti Bolognese and chocolate mousse'
'Very good' Joey smiled as he poured her a glass of wine 'I'll just get the starters' he told her
They were half way through their man course when Lauren frowned 'Did you talk to Sophie?' she asked Joey
'Yes I did' he told her 'Apparently Shaun is no longer in the picture'
'What why?'
'Because Sophie refused to have sex with him again' Joey told her
'So she is having sex?
'Yes, well no' he told her 'She had sex once, didn't like it and decided not to do it again'
'Is she pregnant?'
'No, she's on her period' he told her, Lauren looked at him, her form halfway between her mouth and plate
'She told you that?'
'Yep' Joey nodded 'She squirmed around for a little, went bright red but she eventually told me that she was on her period, started 3 days ago. She took another test too and that when came back negative' Joey tod her proudly.
'She doesn't like sex?'
'No' Joey shook his head as he took a swig of wine 'She said that it was painful and uncomfortable and she had no desire to have sex ever again'
'Did you tell her that it wasn't always like that?' she asked him
'Joey blinked and he looked at her 'No' he said with a frown
'Joey!' Lauren exclaimed 'You should have told her that with the right person it can feel amazing'
'Wouldn't that just mean that she'd want to have sex again?' he asked her 'She is only 15'
'Joey!' Lauren frowned rolling her eyes at him
'I did tell her that when she was thinking about having se again to come and talk to me or you about it, I even suggested that we take her to the doctors to go on the pill, but she said she wants to concentrate on her friends and school' Joey said, Lauren smiled, impressed
'So she doesn't want to go on the pill?'
'Nope' Joey shook his head 'She did ask me if I enjoyed sex' he told her
'What did you say?' Lauren asked him
'I said that I did but did she really want to have a conversation with me about my sex life with you and she said no. Seemed a little shocked that we may have had sex more than four times' he told her with a grin, Laure smiled
'It's weird how children think like that isn't it?' she asked him
'It is yeah, obviously my mother only had sex twice and your parents 3 times' he grinned at her and then he sighed 'but we may have another problem'
'I don't like the sound of that' Lauren said and she put her fork down and picked up her wine and took a sip 'Okay tell me'
'Sophie told me that Hope was the one who told her that she should have sex, because apparently Hope does it a lot and loves it!'
'Does she now?'
'That's exactly what I said' Joey nodded
'And what did Hope say when you spoke to her about it?'
'I didn't' Joey said to her 'It kind of threw me. I thought I'd talk to you about it first'
'Okay' Lauren said 'I think we should talk to Hope, maybe I can stop into the chemist and bring home some leaflets on STD's?' she asked him 'And tell her that she needs to remember that the other kids look up to her and tell her about Sophie's scare and remind her that she needs to be responsible. She is the oldest'
'Good plan' Joey nodded 'I can pick up the leaflets on the way from dropping the kids off tomorrow' he told her
'Okay thanks' she told him.
They finished their dinner, Joey refused to let Lauren clean up and settled her in to the lounge on the sofa with the wine. She heard his phone ring when he was in the kitchen and a hushed conversation took place, she couldn't hear what was being said, but Joey seemed to be upset.
When he came into the lounge he carried a tray with coffee on it, he set it down on the table and he sank down next to her on the sofa.
'Who was on the phone?' she asked him
'Just a sales call' he shrugged
'You sounded pretty upset'
'They keep calling even though I have asked then several times to take my number off their lists' Joey frowned at her 'It's beginning to annoy me getting numerous calls throughout the day' he told her and he licked his lips 'So how do you feel now?' he changed the subject.
'Okay I guess' he shrugged
'Can I do anything else?' he asked her
'No but thank you' she said with a smile
Joey put his arm around her shoulders and she leant against him with a sigh 'We could fool around a little if you wanted?' Joey suggested
'I'm not really in the mood' Lauren replied
'We haven't made love for a while'
'I know and I'm sorry. I've just lost interest in that side of things' she admitted to him 'It's one of the symptoms of the menopause, loss of libido'
'Well that's because you're hormones are all out of whack babe' he told her 'If you went to the doctors, he could give you the HST thingies and you'd feel like your old self again' he told her
Lauren frowned and blinked at him 'You saw the side effects your mother had when she was on those' Lauren reminded him
'Yeah well all side effects aren't the same for each person' he replied
'Wait so you don't care about the possible side effects that I could get if I take these pills, you just want me to take them so that you can have sex?' Lauren moved away from him and looked at him with a frown
'No I'm not saying that…exactly' he told her 'We've always had a very healthy sex life Lauren' he told her 'and I miss that with you' he told her 'I've tried to touch you but you won't let me'
Lauren blinked at him 'Oh well I'm sorry that I am not the same person that you married!'
'No Lauren I'm not saying that!' Joey frowned at her 'You are still the same girl' he told her
'That's just it Joey, I'm not a girl anymore. I'm a 39 year old woman who is going through the menopause, who is trying to come to terms with the fact that I can never have any more children. That I don't feel like a woman anymore and you're just interested in getting some?' she stood up 'I'm going to bed'
'Lauren!' he frowned at her
'You can sleep in the spare room' she told him angrily 'That way you won't have to lie in bed next to me and feel rejected' she frowned and she walked out.
'Nice one Joey!' he frowned rubbing his hands over his face. He thought about going after Lauren, he sighed and he pulled his phone out of his pocket and he dialled a number. He waited for the phone to be answered
'Hi it's me' he said
AN: So just when Joey had got things back on track he puts his feet in it again!
Who is on the phone to? Lauren's mum? His mum? Whitney? Abs?
Thanks for all your reviews
R&R as always