23 Productive Mornings #2
I walked over to the window and pulled the curtains, letting in the sun. He frowned. “Jesus, Jen. You remind me of my mom.”
“Come on, you’re going to be late.”
“Yeah, but if I don’t go at all, I can’t be late. Look at it that way.”
I leaned down and nuzzled with him, then kissed his ear and bit his earlobe, tugging at it slightly.
“I’ll tell you one thing, Jen. That is not the way to get me to go to class. Now you’ve got me thinking of much more productive ways to spend my morning.”
“I will go get a jug of cold water and dump it on you,” I said.
He groaned and I got up once I felt him finally moving.
I tossed him a pair of pants when he sat up, and he put them on lazily, standing up as if it were the greatest challenge a human being had ever faced on his own.
I couldn’t help but laugh as I told him, “Jack, you’re twenty-one years old, not ninety. ”
“Leave me alone,” he grunted, walking toward the living room. Jack yawned and sat next to his brother, and I stood there between them, grabbing one of the chocolate doughnuts Will had brought us.
Mike complained that we’d startled him awake while his brother had gotten the soft treatment.
Jack told him to find a girlfriend of his own, and Sue seconded him, saying preferably one with an apartment so he could leave the rest of us in peace.
Everyone laughed and Mike frowned, but I rested a hand on his shoulder, telling him he didn’t bother me.
I felt he needed it, and this was the first day in a long time he had seemed like his normal self.
“Thanks, future sister-in-law,” he said.
“You’re the only person I actually like in this house.
You think about me, you save me stuff to eat, you ask me how I am, and you don’t stomp in the hall like an elephant when you get up to pee in the middle of the night.
The rest of these jerks act like I’m not even here. ”
He was partly joking, but there was truth in what he said as well, and I felt bad for him until he wrapped me in his arms and hugged me tight, burying his face in my cleavage.
I could hear Jack slamming his orange juice down as Mike said, “You’re too good for my brother.
But it’s all right. I’ll be here waiting patiently for you when you get tired of him. ”
“Do that again and you’ll be sleeping on the street,” Jack threatened him.
“It was just an innocent hug!” Mike protested.
“You were stuffing your face into her boobs,” Sue remarked.
“Yeah, but they’re just so… Ow!”
Mike blinked and rubbed his eyes as Jack threw a doughnut at his face.
That was a declaration of war, and soon a piece of buttered toast flew in the other direction, followed by a jar of jelly, a box of cereal, and who knew what else.
A half hour later, the two of them were grouching and cleaning up as Sue walked around telling them which spots they had missed.
When Jack finished, he flopped down next to me, looking exhausted.
“I guess you won,” I told him. “You didn’t go to class, and you did spend your morning doing something productive.”
He glared at me, clearly not amused.
When I finished class that day, a call came in from Shannon.
“Are you busy?” she asked.
“No, I just wrapped up. What’s going on?”
“I’ve got to talk to you about something. I know you said you were thinking about getting a job. Well, I guess the track coach at Owen’s school quit, and I remembered you were a good runner, and I was thinking maybe you could apply for that.”
“Shannon, I don’t think you just drop off a résumé that says I run in the morning and they hire you. I’m pretty sure there’s more to it. And also, in case you forgot, I’m going to school.”
“Well, Spencer’s on the hiring committee, if you change your mind. But I guess you’ve got more than one thing keeping you there. Speaking of, how is your Romeo?”
“He’s fine. He’s lovely.”
“Yes, I can only imagine you two must spend every night staring into the stars together. I’m asking for details, Jenna.”
At first I was offended, but then I decided I might as well play along, and said, “No, we do more than that. And FYI, not just at night.”
“Excuse me?” she shouted. “Is this the same Jenna I know? Have you been replaced by an evil twin?”
“Nope, it’s still me.”
“Amazing. I thought you’d actually die the last time I talked to you about something sexual. While we’re on the subject, I may as well tell you my part-time boyfriend is now a non-boyfriend. It’s no great loss, though, so don’t bother shedding tears for me.”
As I punched my ticket on the light rail, I remembered what Agnes had said and told her, “Since I’ve got you here, there’s actually something I need to talk to you about. Jack’s parents want both our families to get together for Christmas and…I don’t know, I’m nervous. It feels a little rushed.”
“I hear you,” she said. “But there’s something to keep in mind, Jenna.
How serious a relationship is doesn’t just depend on how much time you’ve spent together.
You and Monty were together for a while, and in my book he hardly counts as a boyfriend.
I’ve heard you talking about Jack Ross. I know he’s special to you.
So I don’t think it’s that crazy. How many times have you seen his parents? ”
“His dad, just twice, but his mom at least five or six, I think.”
“Are you worried about what they’ll think of our family? We can lock Sonny and Steve in the basement. I’m one hundred percent on board with that.”
“I mean, I guess it would be nice if everyone met,” I responded.
“Well, Mom and Dad would be over the moon. He’s already captured Mom’s heart and you know Dad.
He’s so traditional, I think he wants to pull your boyfriend aside and talk to him man-to-man.
And I don’t need to tell you I’m going to have to give him my approval before you guys can take it much further.
The only one who worries me is Spencer. You know how he can get.
He’s so protective… Anyway, look, I’ll mention it like it’s a distant possibility, just to see how everyone reacts. ”
“I owe you one,” I told her.
“By the way, I didn’t get the whole story about the fight. Did Monty do a number on Jack?”
“Not even close. Jack didn’t have a scratch on him. Speaking of Jack, he doesn’t even know about this Christmas plan yet. So take the temperature there, but don’t get everyone all excited, because it may come to nothing.”
“That’s fine, Jenna, but if I were you, I’d get a move on. The holidays are only two weeks away.”
“I’ll try and convince him. Thanks for calling, Shannon.”
I shook my head and hung up. When I got home, Jack wasn’t there, but everyone else was scattered around on the couches and armchairs, doing the usual.
“Where’s your brother?” I asked Mike.
“‘ Oh, hello, Mike. Nice to see you …’” he began sarcastically. Then he added, “You do know that I’m a person, too.”
“Here he goes again…” Naya said.
“Actually, it’s good that he’s out,” I told him. “I want to talk to you about something. Don’t get too excited, though.”
Mike jumped out of his chair, and Will warned me, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I’ll be OK. I think I can handle him. But yeah, it’s something personal. I’ll see you guys back in a minute.”
Will looked unconvinced as Mike and I walked out into the hallway and climbed up to the roof. Mike went first and was waiting for me with his hands in his pockets as I came up.
“Spit it out, Jenna,” he said. “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” He walked forward into my personal space as he asked.
“First,” I said, “stay in your place. Second: How are you getting along? I know things have been a little rough for you lately.”
Looking a little shy, he said, “Yeah, I’m better.” I couldn’t believe it. Mike, who could blurt out the most embarrassing things at the drop of a hat, Mike, who flirted with me every chance he got, and not very subtly, either… Mike was being timid with me!
“Good,” I told him. “Because I know this might be weird, but I need your help with something, and that means I need to talk to you about your father, and I know that can be very tough for both of you. But I need to know why he and Jack don’t get along.”
Mike opened his mouth as if to say something, but then stopped himself, shaking his head, and replied, “I don’t want to talk about that. It’s complicated. And anyway, why do you care?”
“Because your father wants to come to my house for Christmas dinner and I need to try and convince you and Jack to accept, but I can’t if I don’t even know why you all are mad at each other.”
He grimaced. He was so clearly uncomfortable that I was starting to feel uncomfortable too. Was it really so hard just to talk about it?
“It’s not just that they don’t get along. Not exactly. It’s that…something happened. But I shouldn’t tell you, Jenna.”
“Please, Mike. Jack won’t tell me, and I’ve tried…” I grabbed his hand.
Mike began to bite his thumbnail, looking as if he were really considering it. Then he began, “OK, there were always problems between them, right? And so when Dad caught him… Well, let me back up a minute. We were in school, OK, and Ross and Dad…”
Just then, Jack’s voice interrupted us. I let Mike’s hand go, and he turned around quickly. Jack hadn’t heard him; he was too focused on the physical contact between us. His lips were pursed, his eyes furious.
“We were just talking,” I told him, but Jack knew me too well to believe it was just a casual chat. His stare was terrifying, and Mike started walking backward.
“Talking about what?” he asked.
“Bro,” Mike interjected, “we were…”
“Don’t bro me. I didn’t ask you, Mike.”
I walked over to Jack and grabbed his hand, feeling him relax a bit, but Mike wisely kept his distance. I needed to do something. So I told him I’d brought Mike up there myself because I wanted to ask him something about them.
“Why didn’t you ask me?” Jack half shouted.