Chapter 350: Joey XVIII—Okay Let Me Get This Straight
Joe lifted one eyebrow and frowned then took off the damn sweater and put his own shirt back on. He stuck his head out and saw Debbie bickering with a sales lady over the price of another sweater. The poor lady looked at her wit’s end, one eye closed.
“Debbie!” Joe called.
Debbie stopped talking abruptly and turned away from the saleslady and as soon as she did, the woman turned and fled. “Yeah hon?” A smile brightened her pretty face.
“The sweater looks terrible on me I am NOT getting it.”
A crestfallen slope marked Debbie’s eyebrows. “Aw come on hon its great.”
“No you
didn’t see it hon.” He held the wadded sweater up, “I don’t wear pink.”
“No not pink!” Debbie
exclaimed and she sped to the fitting room cubicle, she leaned in the doorway
and grinned coyly. “Salmon, it’s a nice color.” Joe glanced at the jut of her
skinny hips, her hand on it, the slope of her waist, he wanted to drag her into
the cubicle, lift up that skirt and….
He swallowed. “Its pink honey, however you want to call it. I’m not wearing it.”
“Well can’t I at least see it on you?” She asked and she slipped into the dressing room. “Please? I know you already tried it on hon, but at least let me get some closure aye?”
Joe laughed. “Closure?”
Debbie closed the door behind her, “Sure.”
Joe sighed and pulled off his shirt, only for his wife would he try on for a second time such a piece of ugly shi….. Joe fell back against the wall at the force of Debbie’s arms around his waist and her lips on his chest. “Hey honey… we’re…” His eyes widened when Debbie’s hand went into his pants, and then teasingly pulled away. His blood raced, aroused, excited and still wondering about the possibility of being caught. Should they? Could they?
“Okay you don’t have to wear the sweater,” she whispered. “I got my eyeful, aye?” She winked and then left the cubicle, no strutted out of the cubicle and Joe blinked, shook his head and sighed. Damn that woman was amazing!
When he left the fitting room, he noticed Debbie back in battle with the sales lady, and Cecile had just come into the store with the twins squirming in stroller and Mitchell hanging onto his Squiggling Buddy and a kiddie cup of something to drink, leaning into the nanny’s side. “Hey Cecile,” he said.
Cecile smiled in reply.
“Can you watch the rug rats, Debbie seems to be in mortal battle with that poor woman over there and I need to pick up something at the diamond store, I’ll get back as soon as possible okay?”
“Sure,” Cecile said brightly. “No problem, ahem am I not supposed to say anything about this trip to Mrs. Sakic?”
“That would be cool,” Joe grinned and he patted Cecile’s shoulder.
“Momma!” Chase giggled and he was obviously looking at Cecile. “Hehehe Momma!”
Joe’s eyes widened and he looked at Cecile. She scowled. “They’ve been calling me ‘mama’ all morning I think to annoy both Mrs. Sakic and me; I’m trying to ignore it.”
“Oh that’s nice,” Joe said and darted out of the store, away from pink sweaters and nonsense. He felt uncomfortable, however, a little sweaty, and aggravated and desperately wanting to corner his wife and pin her to a wall. He shook his head. How much of a pig was he to think of her as a sex object?
Shoving his hands into his pockets he sauntered through the crowded halls to the jewelry store. Not that he didn’t appreciate the fact that he had fans, but well, he made sure not to make eye contact with anyone, just in case they got the idea to approach him or pester him. Really, he didn’t understand the need that people had to chase him down or anyone else down for a scrawled signature or something else, to him it seemed like something of a brain illness, an obsession, something unhealthy and childish that needed to be cured not encouraged. He understood why children would do that, because children needed that security of meeting and touching an idol to feel real, but why would an adult need to?
They were polite to the point of fawning at the jewelry store, and that annoyed Joe some as well. He didn’t like being fawned on like that, he felt artificial that way. But he smiled and thanked them as they wrapped the box and slipped it into a shiny, silvery bag that he rolled up and put in his pocket. They thanked him for his business, wished him well and he thanked them for their help and wished them well back. He imagined Debbie’s happy smile as he left the store and his steps felt lighter as he made the return to the clothing store where he left his family.
All of his good feeling however, erased as he arrived near the store. He heard a scream, a woman, loud and desperate, “Give me back my baby!” Joe’s heart raced knowing what that meant and his blood boiled with anger at what could be transpiring. He turned around in a full circle trying to locate the source of the disruption and what he saw surprised, confused, and in a small way, amused him at its absurdity.
Barreling
towards him at top speed was Mike Modano, holding no other than his own son,
Mitchell who was squealing and screaming Joe suspected because Mitchell had no
Squiggling Buddy. Closely following him was, Michele Roy, her face a pale mask
of fear and anger. Now what could have happened, where was Debbie, where was
Cecile and how the heck did
Modano seemed to notice Joe at the last second and he skid to a stop. “Uh. Joe!” He said quickly. “I can explain….”
“You better,” Joe replied and he reached out his arms and grabbed his sniffling son who hugged him tightly. “What happened?”
Michele stumbled a bit as she stopped, pressing her hand to her breast and panting. “Joe, oh thank God!”
“What happened?” Joe asked rocking Mitchell in his arms.
“I don’t exactly know,” Michele replied with a grimace.
“Mike wouldn’t let me go with Mimi!” Mitchell moaned. “And I dropped my Squiggling Buddy.”
“What? Where’s Debbie? What happened?”
Just then a police officer puffed to a stop at the trio. “Okay, where’s the kid, what happened?”
Oh heck, Joe thought. Now what? This wasn’t a security guard that could easily be brushed off this was a real policeman. There could be a situation here. He held up Mitchell, “This is my son, sir, he’s safe now, and it was just a misunderstanding.” Please let that be it!
“Oh?” The policeman said, and Joe was disappointed that the man didn’t seem to recognize him. That would make things much easier. The one time someone didn’t recognize him! “It looked pretty serious to me, are you the boy’s mother ma’am?”
Before Michele could answer, and Joe certainly didn’t want her having anymore trouble with the police than she seemed to have, he spoke up. “Yes, this is our son, officer. Like I said this is a misunderstanding so if it’s all the same to you….”
Michele gulped and nodded. Good girl, Joe thought, she could take a cue!
“So who are you?” The policeman asked looking at Modano.
“Uh…”
“A family friend,” Joe said quickly. “Well, he’s my friend, I don’t think Michele has ever met him before, so now that that’s all cleared up I…”
“Joe honey! Honey I can’t find Mitchell, I can’t find… Oh…”
Joe closed his eyes; Debbie had perfect timing didn’t she? He grabbed her around the waist, clutching Mitchell with one arm and pulled her to him. He wished he could whisper something sly to inform her of the situation but he could only hope that she could take a cue as well as Michele.
“Who is this?” The policeman asked.
“His wife,” Debbie snapped. “What’s going on?”
Damn!
The policeman raised his eyebrows and Joe pinched Debbie lightly. She flinched and he hoped it was enough to signal to her. “She’s your wife? But I thought…”
“You know how these things work,” Joe said quickly. “Anyway this is my wife. But Michele is my son’s mother.”
Debbie didn’t blurt out “what” and neither did Mitchell so he blessed the quick wits of his family. “Oh,” the policeman said with narrowed eyes. “I think I get it….”
“Have you found Mitchell yet, I’m so sorry….”
And it gets better folks! Joe looked up to the heavens as Cecile joined the group pushing the stroller with Kamryn with one hand and holding onto Chase with the other arm. Chase had a giddy smile on his face and rested his cheek against Cecile’s throat.
“And are these your kids too Mr. Sakic?” The policeman asked.
“Yes these are his children,” Cecile piped up in her prompt clear voice. Joe cringed inwardly. “Is there a problem?”
“Mama!” Chase sighed happily and snuggled closer to Cecile. “Mama!”
The policeman’s eyes widened. “How old are you?” He asked Cecile.
“Nineteen,” Cecile replied with a slight frown.
An awkward silence ensued. The policeman looked around at all of them and Joe shuffled on his feet. “Okay let me get this straight,” the policeman said. “This woman,” he pointed to Michele, “is that kid’s mom,” he pointed at Mitchell, “And this woman,” he pointed to Debbie, “is your wife, and this girl,” he pointed to Cecile, “is the mother of those kids,” he pointed to the stroller, “which are also yours, and she’s just nineteen, and he,” he pointed to Modano, “is a harmless family friend?”
Please don’t say anything Cecile! Joe thought and he kept his voice clear and his gaze unwavering, “Yup.”
The policeman blinked. He then turned to Coco Lacroix who stood at his side surrounded by a million shopping bags and holding a Squiggling Buddy. “And who are you?”
The policeman’s mouth fell open and Joe lifted his chin as the man walked to him and patted him on the shoulder. “I salute you man, I really do. Take care.”
With that
he walked away, running his hands through his hair and disappearing into the
crowd. Joe sighed and looked back at the group not knowing who to interrogate
first, Debbie, Michele, Modano,
“Erm what was that all about?” Cecile asked.
“I’m trying to figure it out myself.” Joe said. And he looked straight at Michele.
“Don’t look at me!” Michele exclaimed. “Modano is the one who lured him away with a toy or something!”
Joe looked at Modano and unfortunately the man’s smile looked guilty as sin. “Out with it Mikey, cause I don’t have all day I really don’t!”
Modano grinned. “Eh it was just a misunderstanding?”
Joe looked at Mitchell. “How ya doing buddy?”
Mitchell
squealed and took his Squiggling Buddy from
Joe nodded. “Know what? That’s good enough for me folks, let’s go get something to eat and call it a day?”
Everyone seemed agreeable to that.