Chapter 15 Brothers versus Friends #3
I looked up when I heard a scream. It sounded blood-curdling, but there was no danger, it was just some girl flipping out over the lead actor in Jack’s movie.
All heads were turned toward him, and people stepped aside to let him through.
Just behind him, at the center of the entourage, was Vivian, looking much less formal than the last time I’d seen her.
I guess she hadn’t been lying at the premiere when she said she hated her gown: she was now wearing jeans and a plain black sweater.
She looked hot, of course. She was carrying a fancy water bottle, I could see the glistening white enamel on her nails from where I stood, and she had a look of vague curiosity on her face.
I thought about saying hi to her, but I wasn’t sure that was smart after what had happened the last time we were together. So I walked back to the kitchen and dumped out my beer in the sink, taking a drink of water instead. I heard her behind me:
“Hello again.”
I nearly cursed. Things were just getting better by the second here.
Vivian was beside me looking through the liquors on offer with disgust. Finally, she chose a cognac—how European of her, I thought—which she poured into her bottle before taking a sip.
“I know it must look strange,” she said, “but you never know how clean people are or aren’t, and I really don’t feel like swallowing somebody else’s germs.”
I had two choices: I could leave, and let her know on my way out what a snob I thought she was, or I could play nice and see if there was any chance we might get along.
“Sure,” I murmured. “Nice bottle.”
I remembered how at home, Sue would always scream at people for double-dipping, and how whenever she drank beer, she wouldn’t touch her lips to the edge of the can. I guess Vivian had taken that to the next level. “I’ve got a friend I think you’d get along with,” I said.
Vivian leaned against the counter and took another drink.
“Isn’t that nice, you have a friend. Congratulations.”
Was there something about my face that called out to people: Hey, come over here and be an asshole to me!? Was there something in my personality that brought out that side of people? I didn’t get it. “Thanks,” I grumbled.
“Is she your only one, or do you have others?”
“No, I’ve got quite a few. You might remember Jack.”
“Ah, yes. I hope you treat the others better than you treated him.”
Just as I was about to respond, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Lana, looking sweet and innocent, announcing, “I’ve been trying to find you! And you…you’re Vivian, right?”
As Vivian nodded uncomfortably, Lana said, “Wow, Jenna, I see you’re hanging out with high society these days.”
Was that a joke? It was hard to tell, but there was a strange note in her voice, and one of her blond brows was rising in a high arch.
“Yes,” I responded sarcastically. “It’s only the finest people for me now. Preferably Europeans, I find they understand me better. I’ve even begun drinking cog-nac…” I deliberately mispronounced this last word.
“I’m sorry,” Vivian interrupted us, “is this supposed to be funny?”
Lana turned to her with her hand to her heart. “Funny? What do you mean? I’m simply saying it’s unusual for a woman of your status to bless us with her presence.”
Vivian rolled her eyes and walked off. The crowd watched her. She pretended they didn’t exist. Lana was proud of herself, and said to me, “See how easy it is? You can’t let a person like that insult you to your face.”
“Thanks for the lesson in evil, professor.”
“No worries, you can pay me later.” Lana winked. “What are you doing here by yourself? Where is everyone?”
“I kind of lost them on the way. Will and Naya are fighting, Curtis and Chris are, too, but they’re in a spat of some kind. Sue and Jack did the smart thing and stayed home.”
“Did you say Chris? Like, Naya’s brother Chris? Because I think I just saw him, and I’m pretty sure he was crying. I would have said something, but I figured there was no way it could be him, I’ve never seen him at a party before.”
“Where is he?” I asked, feeling worried.
“He was on his way into the bathroom.”
The poor thing. We worked our way through the crowd, which was more complicated than I might have guessed and took the better part of five minutes. When we reached the door, Will was already there pounding on it, and Naya was standing next to him, looking nervous and biting her nails.
“Open up!” she ordered her brother.
“Leave me alone!” he said.
“Chris, I’m serious!” Naya shouted.
Lana asked them what was going on.
“Nobody knows,” Will said. “He was walking around crying and when I tried to come after him, I found Naya here knocking. He says he wants to be alone.”
“I think it’s because of Curtis,” I explained. “He just saw him with another guy.”
“I thought that was old news,” Naya replied.
I shrugged as Lana finished the drink in her hand, looking bored by all the drama.
Naya struck the door again, commanding Chris to answer her, and that made Will flip out.
He asked how she expected anyone to talk to her when she was screaming like a banshee, and she accused him of being insensitive when her brother was clearly so upset.
He told her to calm down, and she told him to calm down; he told her she was overreacting, and she told him there was no such thing as overreacting when a person you loved needed you.
It was obvious that they were really arguing about themselves and their situation, and I worried it would get really ugly, but then Chris appeared, cheeks streaked with tears, a big ball of toilet paper in his hand.
He was panting as he looked around at us.
Sounding strangely calm, he said, “Nobody tell Curtis about this.”
I don’t think anybody was planning to. He went on: “It’s not him anyway.
I don’t even really like him that much. If we really gave it a chance, I’m sure we wouldn’t last five minutes.
It’s just…” He sniffled. “Look at you, Will, you found the person you wanted to be with when you were basically a kid. And Jenna found Ross. Lana doesn’t even need to worry about it, because she could get anyone she wanted, and Curtis is the same…
I’m the only one who’s always left behind. I’ll never find anyone to be with…”
“Chris, don’t say that,” Naya told him, hugging him. “Of course you’ll find someone.”
“And plus, buddy,” Will added, “it’s not like you just meet a person and all of a sudden you’re happy. Nobody’s perfect, and relationships are a lot of work.”
“It’s not that, though,” Chris said, “it’s me. There’s nothing special about me. I’m not funny, I don’t have an interesting job, I’m not good at sports, I don’t know how to talk to people, I don’t have a good body, I’m not handsome. I’m nothing.”
“That’s not true,” Will interrupted him. “You’re…uh…you’re really organized.”
“What Will means is, you’ve got your life in order. You’re solid, a guy people know they can count on. And that’s one of the rarest traits there is,” Naya corrected him.
Will nodded and said, “Yeah, and you’re sharp as a tack. Even when we were little, Naya always said there was no puzzle you couldn’t solve, no riddle you didn’t get.”
It was clear none of this was helping. Chris’s head was hanging as he told his sister, “I sure never impressed Mom and Dad.”
“Whatever!” Naya said. “Screw Mom and Dad! They’ve always just thought about themselves.
Who needs them? You and I have got each other.
We always have, and we always will. And since you apparently haven’t noticed how great you are, let me tell you something else: I can’t think of one other person who puts other people ahead of themselves the way you do.
I know I don’t, I never could. Do you have any idea how rare that is, how amazing?
Just look right now: we’re all standing here around you worried sick, because you mean that much to us.
We wouldn’t be doing that if you weren’t the person you are. ”
Chris dried his eyes and asked Will to join him and his sister for a group hug. After a few seconds, he finally smiled and said, “Thank you guys. You’re going to be amazing parents.”
Lana choked on her drink and said, “P-parents…? What the…?”
“Shhh!” I said, covering her mouth. “Don’t ruin the moment.”
“I think Chris already did,” Will said. “But it’s fine.”
Naya asked Chris if he wanted a ride home, and he nodded.
I was glad, because that meant we were leaving.
Thankfully, I didn’t run into Vivian on the way out, and Chris didn’t run into Curtis, either.
Lana walked us to the door and waved goodbye as we were getting into the car.
I treasured the silence once I shut the door, and almost instantly, Chris fell asleep next to me.
I couldn’t help but notice how Will and Naya smiled whenever they looked at each other on the drive home.
I guess they’d finally made it through the crisis.