Chapter 10 Surprise!
Surprise!
I woke in a good mood. Not just because it was my birthday, but also because I was well-rested.
I could hear the water running in the bathroom—that had to be Jack in the shower—so I sat up and went to the kitchen to make everyone coffee.
I decided to skip my run, even if it made me feel a little guilty.
I hadn’t exercised in forever. Spencer would kill me when he saw me next.
I was just taking my first sip when I heard the doorbell ring.
I wondered if Mike had gone out to smoke again without his keys, since the couch was empty and everyone else must have been asleep.
Despite everything, Mike made me laugh and was basically a good soul, so I was almost happy to see him when I opened the door.
But any positive emotions I might have felt vanished when I found his father standing there.
Mr. Ross looked me up and down for what felt like an eternity.
He was dressed impeccably, as usual. I was in a sweatshirt and boxers.
It wasn’t ideal, and still worse, I couldn’t think of anything to say to him.
Not that I had time to. He stormed past me, bumping my shoulder and nearly spilling my coffee.
“Good morning to you, too,” I murmured.
He stopped in the living room and looked around. There couldn’t have been a bigger contrast between the relaxed, informal look of the apartment and this stiff, bitter man grown old before his time. “Where’s my son?” he asked.
“Which one?”
“You know which one, Jennifer.”
“He’s in the shower. If you want, I can go get him…”
“Leave him be. You’re the one I want to talk to.”
That was a bad sign, and I didn’t like being bum-rushed like this, with no time to prepare. I pointed down the hallway and said, “Fine, let me go get dressed and—”
He cut me off. “No. Sit down.”
Something about him—his forceful tone, the way he loomed over me, or the fact that he thought he could tell me what to do—gave me déjà vu, and I thought of Monty.
He used to try to push me around like that, and the old Jenny had let him.
The new one, though, wasn’t about to, so I just stood there sipping my coffee as if he didn’t exist.
He wanted to snap at me, I think, but he controlled himself, muttering, “I must admit, I was surprised when I learned you were back.”
The sound of his voice was disagreeable, and I was torn between wanting to know what he was up to and wishing he would just leave.
“I didn’t know I had to give you advanced notice,” I replied.
“We had a deal, Jennifer.”
“What deal?”
“You told me you loved my son. You remember that, right? You said you’d do anything for him, for his future. And yet here you are.”
“I agreed to leave so Jack wouldn’t sacrifice his opportunity in France, Mr. Ross. But he’s back now.”
“And I wish he weren’t. He’s not been right since he came home, and now you’re living with him, and you have a terrible effect on him. You must know that. Unless you’re blind or stupid.”
He was losing patience, but I was, too. “I’m not blind or stupid, Mr. Ross, and I’m perfectly aware that Jack isn’t well.
But I’ve got to live somewhere while I finish my studies, they offered to let me stay here, and to be honest with you, I think your son needs me right now.
God knows you haven’t been here for him. ”
“Why can’t you live in the dorms?”
“I can go wherever I want. I’m choosing to be here.” I didn’t know where this rebellious streak of mine was coming from, but it was working. I wasn’t shaking, I wasn’t standing down, I wasn’t even ashamed or angry. I was just firm. I was finally standing up for myself, and it was satisfying.
“Of course,” Mr. Ross said. “I mean after all, here you’ve got everything paid for. Who would turn that down?”
I was starting to understand what he was doing.
Jack acted the same way when he was drunk or angry, picking fights that would lead to arguments he thought he could win.
I was willing to let Jack slide because of his condition, and because I loved him, but his father was no one to me, so I went on sipping my coffee, watching him turn redder and redder.
“Are you trying to make things worse for him, Jennifer?”
“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know perfectly!” he exploded. “And what do you think? That you’re going to come back into his life and solve his problems?
That you understand him better than his own family?
How long were you even together? A month?
Two? I’ve had work trips that lasted longer than that, for God’s sake.
You’re two children, you don’t even know a damn thing about yourselves, let alone each other. ”
“I’m doing exactly one thing, Mr. Ross, and that’s trying to take care of Jack.
And that’s what you should be doing, too, instead of trying to get rid of me.
I mean, it’s obvious to every single person who knows Jack that he needs serious help, and as far as I know, you haven’t come around trying to offer it to him. ”
That seemed to hit him where it hurt, and for a moment, I thought he’d turn around and leave. But instead, he pursed his lips, reached into his jacket, and took out a checkbook and pen.
“How much?” he asked.
“How much what?”
“Come on, Jennifer, don’t play dumb. How much to keep you away from him? Two thousand? Three thousand?”
I couldn’t believe this was happening. Was he really insinuating that I could ever value money over a person I loved? Did he really think I could put a price tag on Jack, that I could just lay him on one side of a scale and a measly check on the other?
“Get out!” I growled.
“Fine…” he sighed. “Ten thousand.”
“Are you out of your mind?” I asked.
“No. I’m worried about my son. I want the best for him, and you aren’t the best. Now, twenty thousand is my final offer. If you’re smart, you’ll take it. Because trust me, if the carrot doesn’t work, I can bring out the stick.”
“I repeat: get out.”
“Sorry to inform you of this, honey, but this is my son’s apartment, not yours.”
“Perfect. Then if you like, I’ll go tell your son what you’re up to in here.”
That worked. Mr. Ross tore a check out of his checkbook and threw it at me in disgust. I bent over to pick it up, ready to ball it up and throw it in his face, but then I accidentally spilled a bit of coffee and stayed crouched, trying awkwardly to wipe it up with my wounded hand.
“If I find you here again, this will get ugly,” Mr. Ross said on his way out.
I have to admit, that scared me. But it was also hard to take him too seriously. He wasn’t Monty—I couldn’t see him trying to hurt me—and bribery wasn’t going to work.
When I’d finished cleaning up, I put my cup on the bar and looked at the check. Twenty thousand dollars. Wasn’t that what Jack said a clinic would cost? Realizing this could be his salvation, I folded it up and put it in my pocket.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!”
I had just gotten back from class, and I found myself in the middle of a surprise party. Not that I was really surprised. Even before I left that morning, I’d seen Naya getting things ready.
She and Will were holding a giant card everyone had signed, Mike was double-fisting some beers, Lana and Curtis were blowing noisemakers, Chris was clapping, and Sue was in her armchair trying to pretend none of this was happening.
They’d gone all out: the coffee table was covered in my favorite foods, there were buckets of beer all around, chill music was playing, and balloons were floating up near the ceiling. I hugged Naya and Will, since it was obvious they were the ones who had done most of the work.
“Well, you’ve done the impossible,” I said. “You’ve actually gotten me to agree to celebrate my birthday.”
“That’s the attitude!” Naya shouted.
But Jack was gone, and it took me an hour to start getting into the swing of things without him.
I kept telling myself he’d be there soon.
Supposedly he was at a party at Vivian’s place.
I got it: he must have wanted to talk to her about the phone call.
I just hoped he’d still have some time left to come to my party afterward.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t feel very special.
I had fun, despite everything. I stuffed my face, then drank a beer with Curtis, who at some point forced me to dance with him.
Chris stumbled over and tried to join us.
He wasn’t what you’d call suave, and when we cracked up at him, he crossed his arms and sat frustrated on the sofa.
When Curtis winked and went over to console him, Mike tried to jump in his place.
“Aw, did he leave you all alone, sister-in-law?”
He was moving his hips suggestively. It was gross, but also hilarious, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “You want to tell me what exactly you’re supposed to be doing?” I asked.
“I’m seducing the birthday girl!”
“Failing to seduce the birthday girl, you mean,” Sue said, taking a sip of her beer. “It looks like the mating ritual of a turkey.”
“Whatever,” Mike said, grabbing her hand.
“It’s time for the Drug Squad to bust a move!
” Sue tried to get away, but Mike had her trapped, and once she was on her feet, we surrounded her.
She pretended to be angry but gave it up after a moment and grinned, not exactly dancing, but bouncing slightly on her feet between us.
Naya got bored and tried to get us to play a game.
First it was spin the bottle, but once she got Curtis and Chris to kiss, she didn’t care about it anymore and changed to truth or dare.
And since everyone kept picking truth (the best part was when Mike got offended after finding out Sue had been with more girls than he had), she finally just changed the game to dare and let her imagination run wild.
She forced me to rewatch a clip from the movie about the psycho nun, Will had to do a sexy dance with Curtis, Chris had to do the same with Sue…
The poor guy was lucky to make it through the experience alive.
It was fun, but something was still missing, and that something was Jack.
I was thinking about my family, too. I knew some of them were mad at me, and I didn’t expect them to call, but what about Shannon?
What about my grandmother? Didn’t anyone remember me?
I mean, I forgot their birthdays all the time, but I was the youngest, I had a right…
Chris, who’d gotten a few drinks in him, was trying to dance with Sue again, and it was amusing enough that I knew no one would notice when I walked away and took out my phone, scrolling back and forth looking for Jack’s number.
I was too nervous to call, so I opted for a voice message, feeling a little pathetic: “Hey there…” I said, “I’m not trying to be needy on my birthday, but…
you think there’s any chance you could show up here before midnight?
Pretty please? They threw a pretty cool party for me here at the apartment.
I’m sure you’d have fun if you’d show up.
I guess you’ll see clips of it, I’m sure Sue’s recording everything and putting it on her TikTok… ”
I saw a call coming in, but my brain needed a few moments to grasp the significance of the letters on my screen.
Mom. Now I was nervous. Was she just going to wish me a happy birthday like nothing had happened?
Would she chew me out about something? I didn’t know, and I didn’t know which was worse, but I decided to stop thinking about it and just pick up.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hey,” she murmured, sounding cautious.
I swallowed, trying to get rid of the knot in my throat.
“Sorry about the noise,” I said. “My friends threw me a birthday party and it’s starting to get a little rowdy. If I’d known you were going to call, I’d have gone up to the roof where I could hear you better. But if I start breaking up, tell me and I’ll…”
“Jennifer!” she interrupted me. “Listen to me, OK? I’m sorry. You can’t imagine how hard it is for me to tell you this, especially on a day like today, but…it’s Grandma, honey. She died.”
Those words seemed to float before me in the air as I stared at the wall in front of me. I’d have thought the joy would have drained out of me and sadness would have taken its place. But no, I didn’t feel anything. I heard my heartbeat slowing down until my pulse seemed to fade away entirely.
“It was quick,” she added. Her voice sounded as if it were coming from another galaxy.
“It happened just a couple of hours ago. She said she wasn’t feeling well, and Shannon and Spencer took her to the hospital.
But there was nothing they could do. She didn’t suffer.
And she wasn’t alone. They both were with her until the end.
We’ll buy you a ticket so you can come and say goodbye.
Your dad can pick you up from the airport.
We’ll all be together, as a family. Does that sound good? ”
Finally, after being frozen for several minutes, I managed to nod and say OK.