Dirty Laundry

[Josie Austin]

Josie was humming to herself as she worked on cleaning the dishes. Her family had finished eating dinner and the twins were in bed, leaving Josie and Tyler alone. Josie didn't mind though as she enjoyed the moments like this where the house was quiet and they were the only two awake.

"Does your sister know you're back in the city yet?" Josie asked Tyler as she worked on drying the dishes. She had known that her husband's sister lived in Chicago, and she was hoping Tyler would try to reach out to her soon. Josie know it couldn't be rushed, but she also knew the importance of family and was hoping Tyler and Sofia could reconcile.

"Maybe you could invite her around. She could meet your family and then the two of you could sit down and talk" Josie added as a suggestion. "I'm sure the twins would love to meet their aunt"

Aunt...that still sounded foreign to Josie. Josie herself was an only child so the twins had no aunts or uncles through her. They also hadn't told the twins about Sofia, something that had seemed like the right thing at the time. However, if Tyler was to talk to his sister and the two of them made up then Josie would love for her to be apart of the twins' lives. 

Tyler Austin

[Tyler Austin]

Tyler helped with things around the kitchen but today he would check out why the fridge was making things way too cold on every setting. He was doing just that when his wife mentioned something about Sofia. He had to admit, he didn’t want to face his sister. It wasn’t like they had left on that great of terms. “I’m not ready for that slap in the face yet.” He replied tossing his screwdriver down beside him as he fiddled with the back panel.

Talk. Right. He’d not seen his sister since he was seventeen. That was near a lifetime ago. Close to 2 decades but not quite. Tyler had made a life for himself with Josie and the twins. He only hoped his sister had done the same; but he knew how their father could be. He knew that most likely Tyler had left her to be the subject of Raymund’s aggression.

It wasn’t as simple as his wife made it out to be. Tyler was frustrated with it. Everything he could say at this pace he wouldn’t be surprised if Sofia threw it in his face. She’d been a scared kid when he’d left. That look on her face, he remembered it too well. His one regret in life was leaving his little sister behind. He had no idea what had happened to her. Hell if the roles were reversed he could understand the hate. Not something he was ready to face.

Tag: Josie Austin

[Josie Austin]

Josie nodded when Tyler mentioned how he wasn't ready yet. She understood how it could be difficult, but Josie also knew that he would have to face his sister eventually. "You'll have to talk to her eventually, no matter how hard it will be" Josie pointed out.

Josie didn't want to push Tyler and force him into a situation that he wasn't ready to be in yet, but at the same time she wanted him to know that he couldn't avoid his sister forever. Sooner or later, the two of them were going to have to talk. "I can't promise that she won't be mad when she sees you, but surely reaching out and trying to be in her life again is better then not trying"

Family was difficult, and Josie knew that Tyler had a hard time when it came to his. Josie had been lucky, she had loving parents who supported her and allowed her to chase her dreams. She grew up in an environment where family was important. Letting out a small sigh, Josie put down the plate she had been drying and turned to look at Tyler. "What if I was with you if or when you decided to talk to Sofia?" Josie asked.

She wanted Tyler to know that in the end, it was his choice and she was going to support him no matter what. It was why Josie offered to go with him, provided Tyler chose to talk to Sofia. "I know that there is nothing that would make that conversation easy. But I'm willing to go with you to talk to Sofia if that would help any. And if you choose not to reach out to her, I'll still be here for you. It's your choice"

Tyler Austin

[Tyler Austin]

Yeah, talk to her when he’d not seen her in how long? No, he didn’t have to do anything. She probably had already made a life for herself and who was he to disrupt any of that. “Whatever she’s done with her life Josie, I can’t just go and make waves in it.” What if he upset the happy? It wasn’t like he just forgot a dinner engagement. “If I were her, I’d kill me.” He pointed out as she finished up behind the fridge tossing his screwdriver in the tool box.

“You have a brother, He leaves when he’s 17. Leaves you with a dad who hits you, belittles you. He promises to write and suddenly there are no more letters arriving?” Well to be fair he was under the impression that his sister stopped writing. “Then just waltzes back into your life some two decades later, when you are probably making your own life for yourself.” He paused and looked at her again. “If she’s got a husband, I hope to gawd he’d slam the door on my face if he didn’t shoot me Josie.” Then she mentioned coming with him.

“Oh hell no!” Nope he was going to keep her as far away from what he expected to be a rather nasty reunion as he could. That’s if he even went. He didn’t need her getting caught up in his family drama. Nope, nope and more of the nope.

Tag: Josie Austin

[Josie Austin]

Josie frowned as she listened to what her husband was saying. She knew the whole situation wouldn't be easy, but surely Tyler was being a little over dramatic? Josie imagined his sister would be angry and upset, but what if a part of Sofia would also be relieved.

"Tyler, don't speak like that. You're her brother, and no amount of time will change that. If you don't want to talk to her in person, then why not try to reach out in another way? Like a letter, an email, or even just a phone call" Josie suggested. It would probably be better and easier that way too, much less screaming and shoving.

"And as for not being allowed to come along, why not?" Josie asked. It could work. Josie could be there as support, but she could also make sure nothing happened and kept anyone from getting hurt. "Tyler, I think we both know that I am fully capable of handling myself in any given situation. If you're worried about what could happen to me if I went with you, you don't have to be"

Tyler Austin

[Tyler Austin]

Nope letters weren’t a thing, not since… not since he’d never heard back from her. Letters were the exact reason he was in this mess. Mail had been returned, he still had the letters he had written in a drawer somewhere. He knew that his sister lived in Chicago that was it. “You do realize the ONLY thing I know about my sister is she lives in Chicago right?” There was no address, there was no email, there was phone number. All the normal things.

“The answer is still no.” He replied cleaning up his stuff and taking it out to the garage. He didn’t want to deal with any of this. Tyler had gone over any conversation he would eventually have with his sister one day in his head and none of them ended well. Why couldn’t his wife just be happy that his family was right here, under their roof? Why did she want him to go chase the demons of his past so damn bad?

[Josie Austin]

Josie shook her head, deciding to give her husband a few minutes to cool off. She finished doing the dishes and cleaning up before quickly checking on the kids. Deciding that enough time passed, Josie headed to the garage to check on Tyler.

Josie watched him for a little bit before walking over to Tyler and gently wrapping her arms around him. She didn't say anything for a few moments, using the time to gather her thoughts. "You know I love you, right?" Josie finally asked. She knew the answer though.

"I love you, and I love this life we have built. It's great. I'm happy, the kids are happy, you're happy" Josie said softly. "We have a family that's healthy and happy, it's everything we could ask for. But, it's also just us and the kids. There's nothing wrong with that, but they have another side of the family they don't really know much about"

There was a reason behind that, and Josie didn't mind. However, if they had a chance to meet more family members, and if Tyler had a chance to reconcile with his sister then surely they should try. "Why don't you want to reach out? Is it because you're scared?" she asked. "It's okay if you are. This isn't an easy situation. I'm here though. And no matter what happens, I'll stay here"

Tyler Austin

[Tyler Austin]

Tyler was one of those that needed his space, and knew exactly when he needed it to. Firing off on his wife wasn’t exactly on his to do list; but to say he wasn’t upset at her for being pushy would be a lie. He rested his chin on her head, letting her talk. Hell, could she stop going in circle? That would be a nice change of pace.

Cue his wife’s tenacity. “Reach out where Josie? It’s not like I kept in touch with her. Her last known address. Not a clue. Phone number. Nope. Email. No. Hell I don't even know her last name.” He gave her a look. “It’s not happening. Just stop pushing me. I didn’t come back to Chicago to dig my past out of some hole in the ground.” Sighing Tyler looked down at his wife. “Just drop it.” He made his last three words perfectly clear. If the conversation went any further, he was sure he was going to blow his top and land himself on the couch.

Tag: Josie Austin

[Josie Austin]

Josie gave a small nod at her husband's response. She knew when to push him and when to back off. This was one of those times where she needed to back off before they both said something they would regret. "I understand" Josie softly said. "I won't bring it up anymore"

Josie remained quiet for a few minutes, before looking up at Tyler. "We should do another family outing sometime" she said, trying to change the subject to something brighter. "Just us and the kids. It doesn't matter what it is. The movies, the park, shopping. I don't care, but we should definitely do it again"

She just hoped her husband would understand that she was trying to steer the conversation to something else, and take the bait. "It was a lot of fun last time"

Tyler Austin