Joey can be seen sitting on the tailgate of his dark green F-150, looking out over an idyllic country lake. The only sounds are autos from a distance as if the lake is not too far from a highway.

Chapter 4

Joey can be seen sitting on the tailgate of his dark green F-150, looking out over an idyllic country lake. The only sounds are autos from a distance as if the lake is not too far from a highway.

'I shouldn’t have run out of there like that, but I couldn’t just stay there and take all that from Joy. Bet I looked like quite the jerk though. She’s always had a different sense of humor about things and I probably got all upset over nothing.'

A shrill beeping startles Joey from his musings. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his cell phone, taking notice of the caller id.

"Hi mom…No, everything’s fine…It’s just a little misunderstanding, mom, don’t worry about it, ok?"

Joey drops down off the tailgate and starts pacing as he continues his conversation.

"No, you don’t need to talk to Abby for me, this is something that I don’t think you need to concern yourself with…Yes, I’m positive…Promise me, mom? Promise me that you aren’t going to discuss this matter any further with Abby…Ok, I love you too…See you soon, mom…Bye."

As Joey shuts the phone disconnecting the call, a car can be seen driving up and parking next to the truck. It’s Abby’s midnight blue Saturn and she looks worried as she gets out, shutting the door behind her.

"Joey, we need to talk."

He can sense her uncertainty and, despite his own misgivings, agrees with his wife.

"You’re right. Why don’t you sit up here next to me on the tailgate."

Joey lifts himself onto the tailgate and offers his hand to Abby, who accepts and settles herself alongside him. They sit in silence for several minutes before Abby tries to get the conversation started.

"You know that I love you, right?"

"Of course, Abby, I love you too."

"Ok, then please don’t shut me out. I could see that things were bothering you, but I thought you were just uncomfortable with Joy’s teasing. Please know that I love you and hate to think that I had anything to do with the way you ran out."

"It had nothing to do with you, Abby. Joy’s always known how to push my buttons and it’s just been a while is all. I probably overreacted. Hell, I know I did, but what can I do about it now? She probably doesn’t want to talk to me, now. Not that I could blame her."

"Shhh, honey, that’s not true. She feels terrible about making you feel uncomfortable and so do I, baby. In fact, she gave me her card with her hotel info and room number so you could call her. I know she’d love to speak with you and probably apologize to you."

"She would? I don’t know that I can talk to her about this, not right now anyway."

"Well, if you can’t talk to her, would you at least talk to me about it?"

"No, I wouldn’t like to talk to you about it. Not right now, at least. Oh, by the way, before you pulled up I was talking with my mother. Why would she have been calling me about an argument with you?"

Abby looks away for a moment, slightly embarrassed at the mention of his mother.

"I was worried, Joey. I checked your usual places that you go when you are stressed and you weren’t there. I thought maybe your mom might know another place you liked to go when you needed to be alone. Guess she was right, huh?"

“Mom’s always seem to know, don’t they?”

"Yeah, they do. What do you say we go home? It’s getting late."