[ Back home, people walk away from Joe all the time, and that might have a lot to do with why Joe makes a point of not walking away from people when things are rocky or uncertain or questionable. It's gotten him into some pretty serious shit, admittedly - like, for instance, his divorce, though that had more to do with Cameron and the way she sabotaged Westgroup while making it look like it was him who was guilty, and less to do with the fact that he should have cut off all communication ages before that -, but that's his own issue to deal with.

So no. He's not like 'anyone' from where Dennis comes from, and he's not going to walk away from him for being upset. ]

You're not an idiot. You haven't made a fool of yourself.

[ Joe sighs, lifting his other hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and drag his fingers down a little. ]

... A long time ago, there was this man - Simon Church. We were seeing each other, and one night when we were in Europe he - told me he loved me.

[ This... is actually a little bit difficult to talk about. Simon Church has always messed him up, but it's even harder now that he knows Simon doesn't have a lot of time left. Hell, it's possible he's already passed away, and Joe would have no way of knowing about it. ]

And then the next morning, when I woke up, he was gone. I didn't see him again until a few years ago.

[ What's the point of this, Joe? ]

It was [ A rush of breath escapes him, a little bit loud into the phone. ] it was kind of like a punch in the gut. [ In the heart... ] I don't want to be like that, I don't want to just walk away. I don't want to be like Simon.