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Jolyne didn’t expect to leave jail after only a year, yet there she was, in the back of a car, while Jotaro drove them down the highway. Music played through the car’s speakers, a random ballad serenading the pair, though neither were happy as it graced their ears. Though she had a hoodie wrapped around her, baggy jeans hugging her legs, the harsh cold of the air conditioner blasted towards her, making her shiver. All the while, Jotaro sat comfortably in the same style of coat he’d worn for years, this time in a gaudy shade of purple. Her eyes shifted towards the outside, attempting to distract herself with sights of cars dashing by, though her discomfort continued.
Her gaze shifted towards her father. Before that day, they hadn’t spoken to each other in years, not even attempts coming to fruition on both ends, making it more mysterious that Jotaro paid bail for her. Though Jolyne tried to ask why he’d done so, all he did was shrug, then told her to get in the car. That’s why she hesitated on her words, finding it hard to even utter the smallest requests, but the cold was becoming too much to bear.
“Dad,” Jolyne said, the first words they’d exchanged since they started driving. She stayed unmoving from her seat, staring at her father’s intense focus on the road. It was either he didn’t hear her or chose to ignore her, but she persisted. “Dad, it’s cold.”
“Hm?” Jotaro glanced back for a moment. “What did you say?”
So he didn’t hear her. Right. “It’s cold,” she repeated. “Can you turn the thing down?”
With a quick nod, Jotaro reached aside to press a button, and it grew a little warmer within the car. In moments, silence filled the car again, but broken through with more music playing on the radio. Just as the conversation began, it had ended once again, and Jolyne crossed her arms, unable to hold back a sigh. Was there really no conversation to be had? Not a story to be exchanged?
Regardless of whether she wanted to admit it, she wanted to grow close to her father. It’s not that she didn’t want to talk to him; it’s just that she didn’t know how.
Jotaro was aloof, almost uncaring to Jolyne after all these years. But right in that car, even in the prison hallways they walked out of together, something about him felt different. For once, Jolyne didn’t view him as the distant father she had. For the first time in a decade, she felt the same efforts for the care she’d received in her childhood, though this one shrouded in what felt like a pang of looming guilt. But Jolyne wasn’t sure if her hunches were correct, if he felt any remorse for their time apart, and she didn’t know if she’d ever get to ask what motivated this unexpected act. It may have been her mother, but knowing the woman, Jolyne would’ve been picked up by her instead.
“Damn,” she murmured to herself, watching the passing cars as they drove along, wondering just what the hell she was getting herself into. Mentally, emotionally, and now literally as they exited the highway. Though these directions led to their old home, from before her parents’ divorce, Jotaro never stated where they’d arrive. Soon, they’d be met with buildings that Jolyne wouldn’t have seen in a while, and she leaned back against the seats to stare. Her first day back into the world and was with Jotaro of all people. Fun.
It was a relief for Jolyne to see nothing much had changed. Some buildings had different stores in them, and road renovations made the concrete appear cleaner, though it was still the same city she used to wander for hours. She couldn’t help but wonder if her old friends even knew where she was, if the ones she made in prison would come in contact…
But all wondering ceased when Jolyne realized they pulled up into a parking lot. She sat up straight, trying to get a better look at where they’d entered, only to pause when she realized they were now parked in front of a burger joint. She blinked, her gaze then meeting Jotaro’s in the mirror. “What’re we doing here?” She couldn’t help but ask the question.
“It’s already twelve,” Jotaro said, turning off the car’s engine. Silence quickly followed suit. He turned in his seat, turning himself towards Jolyne, practically expressionless as they stared at each other. “Aren’t you getting hungry?”
Hungry. As soon as the word slipped past Jotaro, a faint rumble sounded itself, and Jolyne realized it was coming from her own stomach. She chuckled, shaking her head. Even that minor concern of his had a small smile spreading onto her lips, mostly since he wasn’t a man of many words. After too long of eating random piles meant to be food, even the unhealthiest snacks were like a proper meal, making the thought of a greasy burger sound like a whole buffet. “Yeah, I guess I am.” Her mood lightened, not entirely, but at least enough to speak to Jotaro right then, right there. At this point, that was enough to overshadow the grudge sitting within her, one that had to stay back at her confusion from the day’s events.
The pair slipped out of the car, with Jotaro walking ahead towards the store and Jolyne trailing behind. She didn’t expect her first meal to be fast-food, but it was better than nothing, and that thought doubled down as they entered the building. The smell of food wafted in the air, surrounding the brightly colored furniture and the sparse amount of people inside, and Jolyne couldn’t have asked for anything else. If anything, it was miraculous Jotaro even brought her there; during times they had together in her youth, he always tried to keep her away from unhealthy establishments.
Soon enough, Jolyne stood behind Jotaro, glancing up at the menu. With no line in front or behind, they took their sweet time looking over their options. “Whatcha getting?” she asked, clicking her tongue as the choices overwhelmed her.
Jotaro shrugged, though it was expected as he seemed so out of his element. The man always carried an air of awkwardness, though it tripled as he looked through the food as well. “Whatever you’re getting.”
With what little Jolyne knew of Jotaro, she at least knew he wasn’t the type to eat heavy meals, and it was as if the lunch she would eat became predetermined. “Then I’ll just get a cheeseburger. Fries on the side but, uh, just for me, I guess.”
After taking everything to mind, Jotaro stepped forward to start ordering their food. Jolyne simply stood back, looking over her surroundings with disinterest, whistling a tune until Jotaro motioned aside, catching her off guard.
“Look for a seat,” Jotaro said. Not a word more, nor less, and Jolyne did as she was told. And she dropped herself in an empty booth seat, sighing as the seemingly soft cushions were harder than she thought. Placing her elbow on the table, she propped her head up with her hand, staring into the distance, out the large glass window across from her. She’d be alone with her thoughts for a minute or two, though even brief moments like those were enough for these thoughts to roam, find a topic of any caliber to settle on and distract herself with.
But she really couldn’t get her mind off of her father.
She had too many questions for him after so long apart. And they’d range from the most mundane to the most important. How had he been all this time? Was work going well? Did he ever keep in contact with her mom? Why did he let work get in the goddamn way all the time? Why’d he let her mom down so many times? Why—
The day was already starting off okay; she couldn’t go ruining it now. She knew well not to let the harder questions pop up first, let it build up since her emotions just weren’t in the right place. But a part of her wanted to throw all she had into Jotaro, let all the pent-up emotions burst out, and attack him in one swoop. Though even her stubbornness was aware it would only cause more problems, issues that could ruin what could’ve re-sparked a decent relationship with her father. And yet—
A voice interrupted her train of thought. “Jolyne.”
Jolyne’s head snapped to the side, her gaze rising to see Jotaro carrying a tray with their food. She motioned towards the seat across from her, then standing to take the tray from Jotaro. After the sudden call of her name, she didn’t exactly know how to respond, still thinking of the questions in her mind from only moments before. But some seemed too mundane, others too severe to be talked about in the open air. There had to be something better, and that’s what Jolyne thought as she took her fries. In her deep thinking, she absentmindedly shoved piece by piece into her mouth, barely paying attention to how Jotaro didn’t even touch the burger in front of him.
Jolyne wasn’t the type to think too long about these sorts of things, her instincts driving her more than anything, especially when a realization hit. And that kicked in after a minute of silence, and she raised her head to look Jotaro right in the eyes. It was abrupt, but so was the question that would slip past her, only making its way into her mind seconds before.
“Why’d you bail me out, anyway?”
Right when Jotaro began to unwrap his food, the question made him stop in his tracks, nodding slowly as he took it in. The question would’ve been easy to answer for others, though Jotaro took a while to collect what he needed to say. Even when he had his words bundled into a set idea, he would struggle before they turned into coherent sentences. But Jolyne expected that, especially with how their relationship fizzled into nonexistence in her teenage year. There probably wasn’t a reason in the world Jotaro would do anything for her out of his own volition. Then Jotaro coughed, further capturing Jolyne’s attention.
“Well,” he began. “Your mother called, told me that she’d finally saved enough to get you out, but I had no idea she even planned that.” His voice wavered ever so slightly, and he paused, either to hold back his emotions from spilling or to remember past events; Jolyne wasn’t too sure. “I told her that I could pay, but she said she didn’t want me to. She was supposed to get you out of there by next month…”
“Wait, next month... ” Jolyne furrowed her eyebrows, head tilting as confusion ran through her, having to process what she had just heard. “Wait, does that mean that—”
“Your mother doesn’t know you’re free, but I told the officials to tell her sometime later. I don’t want her bombarding my phone with calls. I just couldn’t stand thinking about you there any longer.”
So he hadn’t done it with anyone pushing him from behind, the motivation only his own. That alone made Jolyne’s eyes widen, unable to hide how shocked she was by the confession but still unsure of what motivations backed her circumstances now. “But why?”
Jotaro sighed, shrugging, seeming hesitant to reply. It was only the intensity on Jolyne’s expression that brought the answer past his lips. He took off his hat, running a hand through his hair before setting it back down. “To start making up for everything I’d ruined.”
Jolyne held her breath. “Everything?” she repeated.
“Everything.” Suddenly, Jotaro smiled, a subtle one that seemed minuscule to most but was more than what Jolyne had received in years. “And… it starts with you, Jolyne. I don’t want to keep making the same mistakes I used to.”
Their eyes locked, and Jolyne was at a loss for words.
“I want to be there for you, Jolyne. For once in my life, I want to make you happy.”