Lost & Found Ch. 06 Pt. 01

"Not funny, uncle Jonah, not funny at all!" she hissed, Joey meanwhile trying desperately to catch his breath as the full effect of the moonshine hit his stomach; for one dreadful moment he thought he was going to throw it up again, but after a rebellious few seconds his stomach settled down again.

"Baby, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let him give you that, it's 180 proof, somethin' went wrong with the still and it came out like that; he keeps it to give to Jerry and Jethro when they get out of line, and it's disgustin'!" apologized Luna, while Jonah nodded admiringly; even his two brothers wouldn't knowingly touch that stuff, and they were marines, notorious for being able to drink anything that poured.

Jonah grinned placatingly at Luna, who couldn't help but smile back.

"Welcome to the family, Joey! You'll make Lu-Lu a fine husband, I know it; I've knowed you all your life, even if you-all don't remember me much, but your mama's fine folk, and so was your daddy, all your people are, and I'm pleased you love my niece. You do love her?" he asked, his voice suddenly menacing.

Joey nodded.

"Yes sir, yes I do. I've got a good job, a nice home, a little boy who's gonna to love her like I do, and a family, well, you know mom as well as I do, better, even, so you know she's gonna flip over her, what can I say?"

Jonah stood up, giving his hand to Luna as she stood up, looking apprehensively at him.

"What about Jethro and Jerry, uncle Jonah? Won't they have something to say?"

Jonah snorted derisively.

"They didn't do squat about bringin' you up, 'cause they thought being a marine was more important; shit, I thought it was important too, but so's family, and we ain't got so much we can afford to let it go, so you go, live in California, be married, and be happy, and you let me worry about them two! Best you get movin' now, you got packin' to do!"

Luna hugged her uncle, who looked surprised, then hugged her back fiercely, before letting her go.

"Go on now, time's short if you wanna catch that six o'clock flight!"

Luna gaped at him, then smiled her beautiful smile, even as two tears trickled down her cheeks.

"I'll come back and see you real soon, Uncle Jonah, I promise!" she whispered, hugging him again, then darting from the room. Joey and Jonah listened as she clattered up the stairs to her room.

"I'll look after her, I swear!" murmured Joey, and winced as Jonah squeezed his shoulder.

"I know you will, son; your mama brought you up right, I know you'll do the right thing by her. Just promise me you'll marry her proper-like, none of this hippy, five-minute, standing-in-a-stream, California, new-age poetry stuff; she wants a proper white wedding, she told me that when she was a little girl, just do that for her, and Joey, don't you ever let her cry; she ain't never had much, and she deserves better than we ever done for her, so you just make sure you make her happy. I got your word on that, right?"

Joey nodded.

"I promise you, I will never give her reason to cry; I swear I will make every day a good day for her; if she wants it, I'll find a way to give it to her, don't you worry!"

Jonah grinned.

"I know you will, and I can't ask better than that; your mama told me a lot about you, I can see she warn't just blowin' smoke, so while you're waitin', call your mama and tell her 'bout you and Lu-Lu, she's gonna want to know, for sure!"

Joey dialled Sarah's number, remembering too late it was only 7 a.m. in California, but Sarah picked up after only two rings.

"Ma, it's me, I'm coming home, I'll be there tonight!" he said, homesickness suddenly leaping large in him at the thought of seeing his son again.

He could hear the excitement in her voice as she called Steve to the phone.

"Joey, are you ready for this, are you sure?" she asked, unable to keep an edge of concern out of her voice.

"Never more sure, Ma...and I've got something to tell you; that girl I told you about, Luna, well she's coming back with me. Ma, she and I...we...both of us...she's the one, Ma, I'm sure of it. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes!"

He could hear the wonder in his mom's voice.

"Baby, are you sure, really sure about this? This is a big step, and you've got a lot of baggage; does she know what she's taking on?"

Joey paused.

"She knows about...about Karen, about Joe, she even knows about Robbie...well, some of it anyway."

Sarah sounded even more concerned now.

"So you haven't told her everything yet...about you, Robbie, and Casey, Frank, Caitlin, the whole story? These are things you have to tell her, baby; if she's really the one, then she needs to know what this family's been though, and who we are; it's not fair on her to leave that stuff out!"

Joey lowered his voice.

"Ma, I will, but I want her to meet everyone first, then she'll see for herself none of that stuff matters. It'll be fine, Ma, don't worry, she's a great girl, she'll handle it, I promise!"

In Novato, Sarah stared blankly at the 'phone, then mechanically hung up, and turned to her husband. Steve held her while she patted his back absently, gathering her thoughts.

"Penny for your thoughts..." murmured Steve, and Sarah rested her head on his shoulder.

"He's fallen in love with Jonah Hollister's niece; he's bringing her back with him, tonight!"

Steve stroked her hair.

"That's a good thing, yes? You know this Jonah well, you've told me about him, you think they're good folks, obviously so does Joey. So what's the problem? What's really going-on?"

Sarah sighed as she toyed with his shirt button.

"He hasn't told her, about Robbie and Casey, about Frank and Caitlin. He's storing up so much trouble and he thinks he can handle it, but this is no way to start out; he should have told her, he should have been completely honest! Supposing she finds out and freaks out? We've only just got him back, what would that do to him? I'm worried, baby, I'm really worried, and I'm scared; I'm scared we'll lose him for good if this all goes bad..."