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The tension was awkward. Whatever Jo was mad about, it sat heavily on the group. Gabi bit her lip, anxiously introducing me to the newcomers.
“Elizabeth, this is my husband, Dmitriy, and the man next to Jo is her husband, Liam. They were too busy to come yesterday.” Dmitriy looked relaxed, his arm around Gabi’s waist but I noticed he kept scanning the area and would follow passersby with his eyes. Liam though, Liam looked downright terrifying. He had a scowl on his face which was only emphasized by his dark beard. His eyes were hard and when he leaned his elbows on the table, I noticed the knuckles on his hands looked rough, like he got into a fight recently. I jerked my gaze away from him quickly, shifting closer to James. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, holding me against him.
“What’s wrong?”
His focus was on Jo and Liam, who both seemed to radiate fury. When Liam leaned forward to answer James, Jo shot him a dirty look. They glared daggers at each other before she stood.
“Gabi, Elizabeth, let’s go sit over there.”
She didn’t wait for us to reply, she jumped out of her seat and stormed away. At my questioning look, Gabi shrugged, kissing Dmitriy on the cheek before following her friend. I glanced up at James but he was frowning at Jo’s back. Well, there’s always some kind of drama at conventions. This one just seemed to be jam packed with it.
Jo had chosen a bench that faced away from the table. Gabi sat at her side, waiting patiently for Jo to be ready to speak. I, on the other hand, knew better than to let it fester. Whenever I left Nikki to sort things out, she only got more pissed off. It was better to get it out in the open.
“So, what did your husband do?”
She scowled, crossing her arms. I glanced at Gabi before starting to list off different things that would annoy me.
“Did he leave the toilet seat up?” She shook her head. “Leave his clothes on the floor?” She shook her head again, though I could see some of the tension leave her face. It was working. “Clip his toenails at the table?”
“Ew, gross!” Gabi made a face and Jo burst out laughing. I grinned.
“My dad did that once. My mom made him sleep on the couch for a week. Now he only clips them outside, even in the winter. He’s too afraid of what she might do if he did it again.”
Jo and Gabi snickered before Jo let out a big sigh. “He’s been asking me to stop taking my birth control. I told him no and we got into a big argument about it.”
Gabi rested her hand on Jo’s shoulder and Jo leaned against her. Gabi hugged her close. “I’m sorry. That sounds really rough.”
I cocked my head. “Is it because he’s dangerous? You don’t think he’ll make a good father?”
She snorted. “No. He’s great with kids. He spoils his nieces and nephews rotten.”
I pursed my lips. “Do you not want kids?”
Her gaze dropped to her hands, her hair falling into her face. “No, I do but…”
For this, I decided to follow Gabi’s lead and wait it out. She wasn’t angry anymore, something was upsetting her and she’d let us know when she was ready.
Jo hugged herself, leaning more heavily against Gabi. “I don’t think I’ll make a good mom. Liam is great and I know he’ll do awesome but I was raised by shit parents. I have no idea what I’m doing and I’m afraid I’m going to ruin this kid’s life or treat them just like my parents treated me.”
She choked back a sob and Gabi squeezed her tighter, rubbing her arm. “You’ll be a great mom, Jo. I’ve seen you with Tilly and the babies. They love you!”
She sniffled and I patted her knee. “We aren’t guaranteed to become our parents. Lots of my friends have kids now and honestly, the ones who were raised by awful parents do really well because they work so hard to make sure their kid never knows a day of that kind of treatment in their lives.”
She looked up at me, her eyes tear filled and hopeful. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yeah, one of my friends was raised by drug addicts. Her little girl is two now and I swear I’ve never seen that kid frown.”
Jo gave me a sad smile.
“Have you talked to Liam about this?” Gabi questioned, leaning back to look at her friend. Jo shook her head.
“I didn’t want to upset him. I thought after a few years of being married, the fear would go away but it hasn’t and I feel guilty.”
I nudged her. “I think you should tell him. At least he’ll get where you’re coming from and maybe be more comfortable giving you more time. He obviously loves you or he wouldn’t be staring at us right now.”
She glanced over her shoulder and locked eyes with Liam, who hadn’t looked away from her since she walked away. When he saw her tear stained face, he was on his feet instantly and headed our way. Gabi and I stood.
“Talk to him. Give him a shot. If he loves you, he’ll get it,” I reasoned with her. She looked slightly panicked as Liam walked up, sitting next to her. We walked away just as she buried her face against him, sobbing.
