25 Never Have I Ever
Never Have I Ever
I admit, I was nervous when Mike, Jack, and I went down to the car to go to his father’s house. Supposedly that was the day that the two of them were going to apologize to each other, but with them, nothing was ever that simple.
“So it’s happening,” Mike said, leaning forward from the back seat, “we’re actually going to get to know your family. I hope you’ve prepared them for us so they won’t think we’re total weirdos.”
I’d called my father that morning and gone over our plans with him. He went quickly from overjoyed to stressed at the impression he might make. He sure wanted to meet Jack, though—that much was obvious.
“I said nice things,” I assured him.
“About me,” Jack told his brother. “They don’t know you exist.”
“Well, they’re in for a surprise,” Mike announced. “They may well find themselves wanting me for their son-in-law instead of you.”
Jack rolled his eyes.
When we reached his house, he held the door for me like a gentleman, though Mike had to rush in ahead of me, telling his brother in a joking tone, Why, thank you, sweetie .
We found Mary and Mr. Ross in the kitchen.
They fell silent when we walked in. Mike immediately started snooping in the oven.
He asked what was for dinner. Mary said chicken salad, and he wrinkled his nose, unconvinced.
I remembered my diet attempt with Naya and couldn’t help but giggle.
I had wanted to say hello to Mary and give her a hug, but Jack was gripping my hand like a vise.
I soon saw why: His father was observing him inexpressively, and Jack seemed to want to show him where his sympathies lay.
I felt uncomfortable, and I think Mary noticed, because she soon hurried over to interrupt their silent battle, saving me by stretching her arms out and saying, “Oh, honey, I’m happy to see you as always. ”
Jack finally let me go so I could hug her. When we were done, I turned to his father and said, “Mr. Ross,” and he smiled and nodded, saying simply, “Jenna, Jack.”
I can’t say it was the best start, but that was nothing compared to what came afterward.
I ended up sitting between Jack and his father, and despite Mary’s attempts at conversation, everyone seemed to prefer not uttering a word.
I helped her as much as I could, but everything I said sounded idiotic.
For a moment, things eased up as Mike started talking about his band, but his father soon cut him off, telling him he couldn’t care less what he did with his fans.
As we were finishing our plates, Mr. Ross said, “Jenna came to speak with me yesterday.”
I looked at Jack and saw that he was staring at his father with complete indifference. Mary seemed nervous as I was. Mr. Ross continued. “I think she was right about everything she said.”
Jack asked suspiciously, “Are you serious?”
“Yes, Son,” his father replied. “It’s stupid for us to continue fighting about something that happened five years ago.”
So I still had no idea what was going on…
“I know what I did was wrong,” Mr. Ross said. “And I understand you being upset with me for so long. I do. And I’m sorry.”
Jack’s mouth opened, stupefied. Mary seemed surprised, too. Even Mike had stopped playing with his scraps and looked up.
“You are?” Jack asked, perplexed.
“I am. I don’t think it’s healthy for our relationship to be like this.
Not for me or you, or for your mother and brother, or even for your girlfriend.
We should be able to go to her home acting like a normal family, don’t you think?
I would like that, and I’m sure her parents would like that, too.
We should forget what happened. That’s best for all of us.
Or if we can’t forget, we should try to deal with it like adults and turn the page. What do you say? Can you forgive me?”
Jack was stunned, and I reached under the table without anyone noticing and touched his knee.
He blinked and came back to reality. He looked back and forth between his father and me as though his brain was short-circuiting.
Then he cleared his throat and nodded slowly.
His mother’s face, especially, showed surprise as he said, “I can try.”
“Good,” his father said, exhaling. “I’m happy to hear that, Jack. I feel as if a burden’s been lifted from my shoulders.”
Mary had tears in her eyes. When she acted that way, she reminded me of my mother and of Naya. She wiped them away and tried to pretend nothing was happening.
“Would any of you like dessert?” she asked.
For the little time we stayed there afterward, it was clear that the tension had declined. Jack even talked with everyone. His father seemed happier, too, and I was glad. I didn’t know what had happened between them in the past, but it had to be something they could get through, I thought.
Once it was time to go, Mary walked us out to the garage.
She hugged both her sons, and when it was my turn, I felt a more intense emotion from her than I had before.
“Thank you, honey,” she said. I didn’t know how to reply.
Jack motioned for me to get in the car, and when I did, it was as if I could breathe easier than I had in days. I reached up and touched Jack’s cheek.
“Feeling better?” I asked him.
“I don’t know,” he confessed.
I leaned over and kissed him, our lips continuing to touch until Mike cleared his throat from the back seat. “Either we all get a kiss or none of us gets a kiss, all right?” he said.
Jack started the car, and when we got home, I was surprised to find not just Naya, Will, and Sue, but also Lana and Chris in the living room drinking beers, and something told me they’d been at it for a while, because they were having too much fun to be sober.
Obviously Sue was excluded from that description. She looked pissed to even be there, pissed that there were all these people ruining her peace and quiet.
“Jenna!” Naya jumped up and ran over to hug me. “Finally we have female reinforcements!”
“What about me?” Lana asked.
“Leave me out of it,” Sue butted in.
Naya told me they were celebrating passing their exams and encouraged us to drink with them.
Mike, certainly, needed no invitation: he plopped in the open armchair, while I sat down with Chris.
Jack went to the kitchen for beers as Chris remarked that he hadn’t seen me in ages.
“Not much has changed,” I told him, and he replied, “Yeah, except for you and Ross…”
“Did that girl ever kill her roommate with the corkscrew?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.
“I hope not, because no one told me, if so,” he said. “I miss seeing you in the dorm, by the way. It was nice to have someone there who actually talked to me instead of just ignoring me. Of course, if I had to deal with your current boyfriend, I’d probably just as soon skip.”
“You don’t miss me, Chrissy?” Jack shouted.
“Don’t call me Chrissy!” Chris replied.
Naya announced it was time to play Never Have I Ever, which Chris hadn’t heard of.
Instead of making fun of him like everyone else, who jeered that Chris had never done anything cool in his life, Will explained that someone begins with the phrase Never have I ever , and whoever has done the thing they say had to take a drink.
After some arguments and trash talk, Naya announced that it was time to begin, saying, “Never have I ever blamed another person when I’ve farted in public. ”
No one moved in the ensuing silence. Naya was angry.
“Are you guys serious?” Mike said he was up.
He asked if the person had to actually say something they’d never done, or if they could lie and then take a drink with everyone else after.
When it was agreed he could, he said, “Never have I ever slept with someone under eighteen when I was over eighteen.”
To my surprise, Will, Lana, Jack, and Mike took a drink. I stared over at Jack, my eyes bulging.
“We were seniors!” he said. “I was eighteen and she was seventeen. I’m twenty-one years old, not forty.”
“And Naya’s a couple of months younger than me,” Will added. As for Lana and Mike, they both seemed to think the less they said, the better. Which, honestly, was fine with me.
Sue leaned in with a sinister expression when her turn came and suggested we liven the game up a bit. I told her she was scaring me, and she continued, “I’ll take that for a yes. So: Never have I ever cheated on my boyfriend.”
Silence. Mike and Lana took a drink. No surprises there. I looked at Jack out of the corner of my eye, but I’m not even sure he heard the question. How I wanted to know what he was thinking sometimes…
“If it’s going to be like that,” Will said, thinking for a moment, “Never have I ever had a sex dream.”
Shit.
Damn you, Will.
Lana, Naya, Mike, and Chris drank, and I did, too, reluctantly. I felt everyone’s eyes on me. Especially Jack’s.
“About who?” Naya shouted.
“Why are you asking me?” I responded. “I’m not the only one who took a drink!
” I was dying of embarrassment. Especially given who was sitting next to me.
Of course, Naya was too smart or too stubborn to give up that easily, so she called out, “Never have I ever had a sex dream about someone I know.”
I sighed and drank, as did the same people as before, and once again, everyone was staring at me. It was supposed to be someone else’s turn now, but Naya spoke again, “Never have I ever had a sex dream with someone I’ve only known for…three months?”
“Hey! That’s against the rules!”
“Drink!” Sue shouted, shutting me up.
Goddammit. My face must have been the color of a plum. As I drank again, Mike cracked up laughing. “Now we’re getting somewhere,” Will said.
“I can’t believe you never told me, you bitch!” Naya screeched. “Now I’ll never tell you about my sex dreams.”
“About…?” Will asked.
“You, of course, dear,” she said.