She Always Was His Girl, chapter 47
The beginning of March had begun, and Billie Joe had spent the last few weeks of February searching for a divorce lawyer. It had been several, several, several weeks since he had seen his two children, Joseph and Jakob, and it was killing him inside, but he continued to respect Adrienne's orders.
Katie, since discovering about her pregnancy, had suffered from random bouts of morning sickness. She and Billie Joe had made one visit to the doctor in which she found out that she and the baby appeared to be healthy.
One evening, Billie Joe decided to call Adrienne and determine when a good day would be to come over and talk things out... Lawyers present.
Billie Joe dialed what used to be his old phone number and Adrienne picked up.
"Hello?"; she answered.
"Hi Adrienne. I, uhh, found a lawyer."; he said.
"Oh okay. Billie, I was thinking, I don't want us to be like this. I mean, we have two boys that need both of us in their lives. And they need us to be happy with each other. I still want a divorce, but I do want to talk about it like a mature adult, like you said."; she replied. Her tone seemed sweeter and happier.
"You don't know how much I've wanted to hear you say that."; he smirked.
"You can come over now if you want, and you don't need to bring a lawyer because I'm over my bitching mode...somewhat."; she joked.
"Okay Adie. I'll be over there in a few minutes. Bye.";
"I lov-...Bye Billie Joe."; She had almost said 'I love you'. That had been the first time in weeks that they had had a semi-civil conversation and didn't say 'I love you' at the end.
The two hung up, and Billie Joe looked over at Katie who had been listening ever so intently to the phone call.
"That sounded like it went pretty well."; Katie said.
"It actually did,"; he responded, "She wants me to come over so we can talk about it and everything.";
"Okay honey. I hope it all goes well."; she replied.
"Me too."; he said walking over to the couch she was sitting on. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and whispered, "See you later baby.";
"Bye.";
Billie Joe got in his car and drove the distance to his house in Oakland. He was delighted that Adrienne had came around and was now willing to sort things out with him even though she still wanted a divorce. When he arrived at his house, he exited the car, approached the front door, and rang the doorbell where Adrienne gladly let him in this time.
"Hey."; she said softly.
"Hey. Do you mind if spend some time with the boys first?"; he asked.
"Of course not. They're upstairs.";
Billie Joe walked upstairs and first found his eldest child, Joey in his own room. Joey was lying on his bed staring up at his poster of Eva Longoria on his ceiling above his bed. Billie Joe's presence startled the ten-year-old who looked up to see his father.
"Dad, you're back!"; he exclaimed getting up to hug his father, the famed punk rocker.
"Yep. So what have you been up to lately?"; he asked.
"Nothing really. I got detention the other day."; Joey said a bit nervous to see how his father would react.
"What did you do?"; Billie Joe inquired.
"I put soap in my teacher's coffee, I didn't have 409."; he admitted.
"Just because I did it doesn't make it the right thing to do. What did your mother say about it?"; he laughed.
"She said you were a bad influence on me."; Joey smiled.
At that time, Jakob came running into his older brother's room and jumped into his father's lap.
"Daddy!"; he greeted his father hugging him.
"Hey buddy! What's up?"; he asked his seven-year-old son.
"Nuffin."; he replied, mispronouncing 'nothing' due to his missing front tooth.
"That's cool. I missed you guys."; Billie Joe said ruffling Jakob's hair.
"So how was your trip to London?"; Joey asked.
"London?"; Billie Joe questioned.
"Yea. Mom said that's where you went.";
"Oh, London. It was...great.";
It made him fell horrible inside to lie to his children. The only thing he and Adrienne had ever lied to them about was the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus.
Billie Joe looked up and saw Adrienne standing in the doorway of their son's room.
"Hey guys, I need to talk to your mom, okay?"; he said to his two boys.
Billie Joe exited the room and followed Adrienne downstairs and into the living room to talk. Oh how they both dreaded this! The thing that most married couples hope they never have to talk about...
Divorce.
Adrienne plopped down on the couch, and Billie Joe followed afterwards. They both looked at each other for a long moment, and then Adrienne broke the silence.
"So, we're getting a divorce?"; she asked, but it was more like a statement.
Billie Joe took in a deep breath and said, "Adie, I never meant it to turn out this way. I really didn't.";
"Shh,"; she whispered, "I know you didn't. I mean I more or less did the same as you, so I shouldn't be on your case. It was just my first reaction to it, you know. I'm really sorry.";
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Adie."; he told her.
"Yes, I do."; Adrienne could feel the tears dwelling on her lashes. A small tear fell, and Billie Joe gently brushed it away with the pad of his thumb. "I got pregnant with a man's child that I don't even know.";
"Honey, I didn't do any better. I've been sleeping with Katie for four or five years, and now she's pregnant. I mean that's the ultimate sin."; he said.
Adrienne burst into tears, not making the situation any better. "Babe don't cry,"; he comforted, "Please don't."; Billie Joe pulled her into a small hug and rubbed her back trying to calm her.
"I didn't ever wanted for us to end up like this. We don't even love each other anymore."; Adrienne sniffed.
"Adrienne, I'll always love you. You gave me two children, which I absolutely adore, and you spent eleven, going on twelve years of your life with me. I'll always love you for that, Adie."; he replied tilting her chin up so she could look into his deep, green eyes.
"You will always love me?"; she sniffed.
"Yes,"; he responded gently kissing her forehead, "I will.";
What the two adults didn't know was that their two children, Joey and Jakob, were listening to their conversation. Joey, being almost eleven years, knew about divorce, and what went along with it.
"Jake, go upstairs please."; Joey whispered to his younger brother, not wanting him to hear what he had to say to his parents.
"Come on, Joey. Let me hear what they're saying."; Jakob whined.
"Hush up and go upstairs, Jakob. I need to talk to mom and dad about...your birthday present."; he lied.
"Really?! Okay!"; Jakob then scurried upstairs.
Joey walked into the living room and approached his parents with a fuming expression upon his face.
"You're getting a divorce!?"; he interrogated.
"Joey, we need to talk abou-"; Adrienne interrupted by her infuriated son.
"I don't even want to hear it! You just want me to be another kid from a broken home! I hate you!"; he screamed.
The elder Armstrong boy ran out of the room and went back upstairs to his room where he slammed and locked the door. Billie Joe followed Joey and banged on the door.
"Joey, open this door right now!";
"No!"; his son called back.
"I swear if you don't open this damn door right now I'm breaking it down!"; Billie Joe yelled.
Adrienne came up behind her husband and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Billie, you're going to scare him."; she warned.
"I don't give a fuck. We don't deserve for him to tell us that he hates us no matter what."; Billie Joe continued rattling the door waiting for Joey to open it, and finally, he did.
"What do you want to talk about first,"; Joey started, "The fact that mom got herself pregnant, or the fact that you've been fucking some whore that you had the nerve to take me and Jake to her house while you were probably in the other room screwing her?";
"Joey! Don't you ever use that language ever again!"; Adrienne scolded.
"No, I'll handle this."; Billie Joe told her.
Billie Joe entered Joey's room and closed the door behind him, keeping his son and himself in a private, secluded area to discuss things.
"Okay, for one thing you don't have the right to tell us you hate us no matter how you feel. Another thing, yes your mother and I have cheated on each other. Also, we are getting a divorce. Fourth thing is, you never say those words around me or your mother. Do you understand me?";
Joey sat on his bed and didn't say a word.
"I said do you understand me?"; Billie Joe said in a furious tone.
"Yes, I understand you."; Joey responded.
"Okay, so do you wanna talk about it at all?"; Billie asked more calmly.
"Yea, I do,"; Joey replied folding his arms over his chest, "Why do you want to do this to me and Jakob? Did we do something wrong? I mean, I'm sorry if we did, but please don't split up.";
"Joey, you all didn't do anything. This is strictly between your mother and me. We just made some mistakes, and we don't think it will work out anymore. We didn't ever want to do this, but there's no other way.";
"But I don't want to be like the other kids who only visit their dads on the weekends. I want to be with you and mom all the time."; said Joey.
"I know buddy, and you have no idea how sorry me and your mother are about having to put you and Jake through this. We love you with all of our hearts, and we wouldn't put you through anything if we had our way.";
"But you can have your way. Don't get a divorce.";
"Joey, It just doesn't work that way. We still love each other, we just don't love each other in a romantic sense anymore."; Billie Joe replied.
"Dad, you're not making it any better. The whole thing is that you and mom aren't going to be together any longer, and there's no way you can make me feel better about it. I'll never forgive you for this. Ever. And when Jakob gets old enough to understand it, he won't either.";
Billie Joe got up off of the bed and exited the room, shutting the door behind him.
"How'd it go?"; Adrienne asked.
"Not good,"; he responded, "He really does hate us.";
"No he doesn't, Billie. He could never hate us. We're his parents.";
"Well you better believe it because he does.";
Katie, since discovering about her pregnancy, had suffered from random bouts of morning sickness. She and Billie Joe had made one visit to the doctor in which she found out that she and the baby appeared to be healthy.
One evening, Billie Joe decided to call Adrienne and determine when a good day would be to come over and talk things out... Lawyers present.
Billie Joe dialed what used to be his old phone number and Adrienne picked up.
"Hello?"; she answered.
"Hi Adrienne. I, uhh, found a lawyer."; he said.
"Oh okay. Billie, I was thinking, I don't want us to be like this. I mean, we have two boys that need both of us in their lives. And they need us to be happy with each other. I still want a divorce, but I do want to talk about it like a mature adult, like you said."; she replied. Her tone seemed sweeter and happier.
"You don't know how much I've wanted to hear you say that."; he smirked.
"You can come over now if you want, and you don't need to bring a lawyer because I'm over my bitching mode...somewhat."; she joked.
"Okay Adie. I'll be over there in a few minutes. Bye.";
"I lov-...Bye Billie Joe."; She had almost said 'I love you'. That had been the first time in weeks that they had had a semi-civil conversation and didn't say 'I love you' at the end.
The two hung up, and Billie Joe looked over at Katie who had been listening ever so intently to the phone call.
"That sounded like it went pretty well."; Katie said.
"It actually did,"; he responded, "She wants me to come over so we can talk about it and everything.";
"Okay honey. I hope it all goes well."; she replied.
"Me too."; he said walking over to the couch she was sitting on. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and whispered, "See you later baby.";
"Bye.";
Billie Joe got in his car and drove the distance to his house in Oakland. He was delighted that Adrienne had came around and was now willing to sort things out with him even though she still wanted a divorce. When he arrived at his house, he exited the car, approached the front door, and rang the doorbell where Adrienne gladly let him in this time.
"Hey."; she said softly.
"Hey. Do you mind if spend some time with the boys first?"; he asked.
"Of course not. They're upstairs.";
Billie Joe walked upstairs and first found his eldest child, Joey in his own room. Joey was lying on his bed staring up at his poster of Eva Longoria on his ceiling above his bed. Billie Joe's presence startled the ten-year-old who looked up to see his father.
"Dad, you're back!"; he exclaimed getting up to hug his father, the famed punk rocker.
"Yep. So what have you been up to lately?"; he asked.
"Nothing really. I got detention the other day."; Joey said a bit nervous to see how his father would react.
"What did you do?"; Billie Joe inquired.
"I put soap in my teacher's coffee, I didn't have 409."; he admitted.
"Just because I did it doesn't make it the right thing to do. What did your mother say about it?"; he laughed.
"She said you were a bad influence on me."; Joey smiled.
At that time, Jakob came running into his older brother's room and jumped into his father's lap.
"Daddy!"; he greeted his father hugging him.
"Hey buddy! What's up?"; he asked his seven-year-old son.
"Nuffin."; he replied, mispronouncing 'nothing' due to his missing front tooth.
"That's cool. I missed you guys."; Billie Joe said ruffling Jakob's hair.
"So how was your trip to London?"; Joey asked.
"London?"; Billie Joe questioned.
"Yea. Mom said that's where you went.";
"Oh, London. It was...great.";
It made him fell horrible inside to lie to his children. The only thing he and Adrienne had ever lied to them about was the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus.
Billie Joe looked up and saw Adrienne standing in the doorway of their son's room.
"Hey guys, I need to talk to your mom, okay?"; he said to his two boys.
Billie Joe exited the room and followed Adrienne downstairs and into the living room to talk. Oh how they both dreaded this! The thing that most married couples hope they never have to talk about...
Divorce.
Adrienne plopped down on the couch, and Billie Joe followed afterwards. They both looked at each other for a long moment, and then Adrienne broke the silence.
"So, we're getting a divorce?"; she asked, but it was more like a statement.
Billie Joe took in a deep breath and said, "Adie, I never meant it to turn out this way. I really didn't.";
"Shh,"; she whispered, "I know you didn't. I mean I more or less did the same as you, so I shouldn't be on your case. It was just my first reaction to it, you know. I'm really sorry.";
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Adie."; he told her.
"Yes, I do."; Adrienne could feel the tears dwelling on her lashes. A small tear fell, and Billie Joe gently brushed it away with the pad of his thumb. "I got pregnant with a man's child that I don't even know.";
"Honey, I didn't do any better. I've been sleeping with Katie for four or five years, and now she's pregnant. I mean that's the ultimate sin."; he said.
Adrienne burst into tears, not making the situation any better. "Babe don't cry,"; he comforted, "Please don't."; Billie Joe pulled her into a small hug and rubbed her back trying to calm her.
"I didn't ever wanted for us to end up like this. We don't even love each other anymore."; Adrienne sniffed.
"Adrienne, I'll always love you. You gave me two children, which I absolutely adore, and you spent eleven, going on twelve years of your life with me. I'll always love you for that, Adie."; he replied tilting her chin up so she could look into his deep, green eyes.
"You will always love me?"; she sniffed.
"Yes,"; he responded gently kissing her forehead, "I will.";
What the two adults didn't know was that their two children, Joey and Jakob, were listening to their conversation. Joey, being almost eleven years, knew about divorce, and what went along with it.
"Jake, go upstairs please."; Joey whispered to his younger brother, not wanting him to hear what he had to say to his parents.
"Come on, Joey. Let me hear what they're saying."; Jakob whined.
"Hush up and go upstairs, Jakob. I need to talk to mom and dad about...your birthday present."; he lied.
"Really?! Okay!"; Jakob then scurried upstairs.
Joey walked into the living room and approached his parents with a fuming expression upon his face.
"You're getting a divorce!?"; he interrogated.
"Joey, we need to talk abou-"; Adrienne interrupted by her infuriated son.
"I don't even want to hear it! You just want me to be another kid from a broken home! I hate you!"; he screamed.
The elder Armstrong boy ran out of the room and went back upstairs to his room where he slammed and locked the door. Billie Joe followed Joey and banged on the door.
"Joey, open this door right now!";
"No!"; his son called back.
"I swear if you don't open this damn door right now I'm breaking it down!"; Billie Joe yelled.
Adrienne came up behind her husband and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Billie, you're going to scare him."; she warned.
"I don't give a fuck. We don't deserve for him to tell us that he hates us no matter what."; Billie Joe continued rattling the door waiting for Joey to open it, and finally, he did.
"What do you want to talk about first,"; Joey started, "The fact that mom got herself pregnant, or the fact that you've been fucking some whore that you had the nerve to take me and Jake to her house while you were probably in the other room screwing her?";
"Joey! Don't you ever use that language ever again!"; Adrienne scolded.
"No, I'll handle this."; Billie Joe told her.
Billie Joe entered Joey's room and closed the door behind him, keeping his son and himself in a private, secluded area to discuss things.
"Okay, for one thing you don't have the right to tell us you hate us no matter how you feel. Another thing, yes your mother and I have cheated on each other. Also, we are getting a divorce. Fourth thing is, you never say those words around me or your mother. Do you understand me?";
Joey sat on his bed and didn't say a word.
"I said do you understand me?"; Billie Joe said in a furious tone.
"Yes, I understand you."; Joey responded.
"Okay, so do you wanna talk about it at all?"; Billie asked more calmly.
"Yea, I do,"; Joey replied folding his arms over his chest, "Why do you want to do this to me and Jakob? Did we do something wrong? I mean, I'm sorry if we did, but please don't split up.";
"Joey, you all didn't do anything. This is strictly between your mother and me. We just made some mistakes, and we don't think it will work out anymore. We didn't ever want to do this, but there's no other way.";
"But I don't want to be like the other kids who only visit their dads on the weekends. I want to be with you and mom all the time."; said Joey.
"I know buddy, and you have no idea how sorry me and your mother are about having to put you and Jake through this. We love you with all of our hearts, and we wouldn't put you through anything if we had our way.";
"But you can have your way. Don't get a divorce.";
"Joey, It just doesn't work that way. We still love each other, we just don't love each other in a romantic sense anymore."; Billie Joe replied.
"Dad, you're not making it any better. The whole thing is that you and mom aren't going to be together any longer, and there's no way you can make me feel better about it. I'll never forgive you for this. Ever. And when Jakob gets old enough to understand it, he won't either.";
Billie Joe got up off of the bed and exited the room, shutting the door behind him.
"How'd it go?"; Adrienne asked.
"Not good,"; he responded, "He really does hate us.";
"No he doesn't, Billie. He could never hate us. We're his parents.";
"Well you better believe it because he does.";
