Chapter 16: Joe

They walked out onto the porch. He yelled for his dad, but there was no answer. The two of them crossed the yard and went out to the barn, but still nothing. They walked around the farm for about ten minutes, finding no trace of Henry. It was at this point that Joe became very concerned. It was highly unusual for his father to disappear like that. Joe headed back into the house; he walked upstairs while Elizabeth looked around downstairs, but there was no sign of him. Elizabeth and Joe met back in the kitchen. Joe leaned against the sink, contemplating where his dad could be. He looked out the window; the truck was still in the drive. He turned back to Elizabeth, standing there near him.

"I just don't know where he could be. This is completely unlike him."

Elizabeth could see the concern on his face. As she studied his eyes, she saw Joe look to her, and then his eyes fell to the basement door. Joe could see the light on under it. He walked over to it and stood looking at the door as if hesitant to open it. He reached out, touching the doorknob, and pushed it open. When he opened it and looked down the stairs, he found his father sitting midway down the steps and leaning on the wall. Joe rushed down to him and dropped down to his knee, grabbing him.

"Dad!"

Henry startled and opened his eyes. He looked up to Joe and turned his gaze to Elizabeth, who was now standing in the doorway.

"Dad are you ok?" Joe grabbed his father, looking for signs that he might have hurt himself by falling down the stairs. "What the hell are you doing down here, Dad?"

Joe stood up, looking at his father, and then walked up the steps to the door. He turned to the doorknob, jiggling it to see if it was broken or had gotten stuck somehow, but there was nothing wrong with it. Henry stood up from the step and smiled at Elizabeth. He slowly walked up the steps and then over to the table, taking a seat. Joe was still confused by why his dad was asleep on the steps to the basement.

"Well, Dad, what were you doing in the basement all this time?"

Henry looked at Joe and then to Elizabeth; he reached his hand up, rubbing his brow, and paused for a moment, then cleared his throat.

"Well, you see...I saw the car come down the drive and then I saw Elizabeth get out."

He motioned toward the window and then looked at Joe.

"Joe, I heard you last night talking about-" Henry looked over to Elizabeth. "Well, talking about Elizabeth."

Joe interrupted his father. "So rather than let her in, you hid in the basement and scared me half to death?"

Henry threw his hands up. "Well, I don't know, it sounded like a promising idea at the time."

Elizabeth laughed; she walked over to the table and sat down in the chair next to Henry. "Soo-" Elizabeth said. She glanced up at Joe and then back to Henry. "Joe has been talking about me, has he?"

She bit her lip and looked back to Joe. Joe looked at the two of them and shook his head. "You two are hilarious. That's right, make a joke. Scare a guy half to death and have a good laugh."

Elizabeth smiled at Henry. "You just ignore him. He's just mad."

"You're right, I'm mad," Joe said.

Henry whispered to Elizabeth, "He's always mad, you'll see."

Joe walked back over to the counter. Elizabeth stood up from the table and looked at Joe as he passed. "I think it was sweet, Joe, and if anyone should be mad it should be me."

She glared at Joe. "You did almost hit me with your truck, you know."

Joe rubbed his neck and glared at her and then at his father, but he didn't say anything.

Henry, still sitting at the table looked at Joe and then picked up Elizabeth's cup, holding it up. "How about a cup of Joe-Joe?"

He scoffed. "You never cease to amaze me, Dad." Joe walked over to the counter and grabbed his father's cup; he poured him some coffee and walked back to the table.

"Now don't choke on it, Pop. I've had enough excitement for one day."

Henry smiled at his son. Elizabeth stood there watching the two of them; she couldn't help but be amused. She walked over to the table and grabbed her clutch.

"Joe, I really need to get going." She walked over toward him, grinning widely. "We must get together again," she said.

He nodded, "Oh Sure" He raised his voice and looked past her to his father. "Yeah and play hide-and-seek with Dad again."

Elizabeth stepped closer to Joe and patted him on the chest. "Don't be mad, Joe. He meant well."

She lingered there for a moment, studying his lips, and then looked to his eyes. She patted him again and then stepped away as she started for the door. Joe followed her, and as Elizabeth stepped out onto the porch, he began to talk. "Sorry about all this today. And yesterday, I didn't know it was you. You don't see a guy for years, and this is how it turns out."

Elizabeth chuckled. "Don't worry." She touched his arm. "It's ok, Joe. I was glad to see you too, just not glad enough to hit you with my car."

Joe grinned. "Well, the next time you're in town, we'll have to do this again."

Elizabeth smiled widely and stepped back from him.

"Well, I'm in town the rest of the weekend, so how about tonight?"

Joe's eyebrows rose. "Are you serious?" he asked

Elizabeth nodded. "Sure, it would be fun."

Joe put his hands in his pockets. "Well, ok, tonight could work. We could have dinner." He looked at her, waiting to see if she approved.

"Is six o'clock ok?" she asked

He paused as his mind tried to catch up with the morning's events. "Six... six would be great!" He pulled his hands from his pockets and rubbed them on his pants. "Six o'clock would be great!" he said again.

Elizabeth turned from him and walked off the porch. When she reached the bottom of the steps, she turned around and began walking backward.

"You know, Joe Martinson, you're going to have to work really hard to outdo today."

Joe laughed. He didn't say a word; he just shook his head, raised his hand and waved. Elizabeth got into her car and started it. She looked back to Joe and then waved from the driver's seat. Joe watched as she drove down the lane and turned onto the main road. He walked back into the kitchen and found his father still sitting at the table. He looked at his dad and began to laugh. He realized Henry's heart was in the right place. Joe walked over and patted him on the shoulder. He could see by his father's expression that this caught him off guard. Joe took a seat across from him.

"Thanks for the help today, Dad, but you know, you could have just answered the door."

They both began to laugh.