What He Needs

Chapter 33

.:Author's Note:.

Please excuse any mistakes.

Jonathan at the top. ❤️

***

Jonathan's POV:

"And then Mom threatened to beat every kids' ass in that school if Franny ever came home crying again," Conrad chuckled as he recalled a memory of Constance. "This was all before she found Jesus, of course."

The room filled with fond laughter once Conrad's story came to an end.

It was considerably late in the Monroe household – pushing almost two in the morning – but no one seemed even remotely tired as those closest to Constance decided to relay their favorite memory of her. Already we had gone through over fifteen accounts which resulted in as many tears as they did laughs.

My boyfriend was holding up better than I had imagined throughout the whole ordeal. Every once in a while, I would catch Franny or Conrad sending concerned glances his way, but Winston only waved them off, silently letting them know that he was okay. Still, I didn't remove the comforting arm I had wrapped around his shoulder, knowing that even if he claimed nonchalance, he could still use the solace.

"Even after she found Jesus, she was still not the one to be played with," Winston chuckled as he joined in. "Did you forget the time she almost murdered Dad for peeing in her vegetable garden?"

"I've never been so scared of my wife until then," Andrew jokingly shuddered. "I walked into the kitchen the following morning since I had ruined her garden the night prior after a round of drinking, and you could feel the murderous intent from a mile away. The kids were just sitting at the island uncomfortably glancing between the two of us, and I go, 'Well good morning, family.' While Conrad, Franny, and Pooh just say good morning back, Constance puts on the creepiest smile behind her mug of coffee and says, 'It is a good morning, isn't it? It will be your last if you ever pee on my tomatoes again,' before walking out. Believe me, the message was received."

"Not to mention she silently muttered how she was going to cut your peterwhacker off, "Franny added, resulting in a few unexpected snorts.

"She did?! I must have missed that," Andrew laughed again, as did the rest of us. "She was such a character."

"Yeah," Conrad sighed. "She will be missed."

The room fell into a comfortable, almost serene silence as everyone took a moment to process their emotions. Beside me, Winston visibly tensed before he cleared his throat and excused himself to check on the children sleeping in the kids' room for the weekend. We all watched him go, knowing that he needed the bit of time to himself.

"So, Jonathan," Misty, Conrad's wife, called out to me in order to break the silence. I glanced at the hallway where Winston had disappeared to from where I sat before giving her my full attention. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but I've never seen Winston as happy as he was today when he was with you and your daughters. What's your secret?"

I chuckled as a slight bashful blush invaded my face. I really did believe people gave me more credit than I deserved for the simplest of things.

"Really, Misty, I wouldn't be able to tell you," I answered before giving it some serious thought. "I think my girls and I just allow Winston to be himself, which he apparently didn't have the luxury of doing in his past relationship."

"Ugh, I can attest to that," Franny said with a slight scowl. "That no good asshole, Diego, was the worst boyfriends in the history of boyfriends."

"Well I seem to recall a not so great girlfriend from your past, Franny," Winston said with a small smirk as he returned to the living room and cuddled into my side.