Chapter 7 - Crashing the Party
"Even a drop of water is a blessing to a thirsty person." – Publilius Syrus
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One evening, we were busy studying, and Mom texted us that she had to work a double shift and would miss dinner. Soon after, Brooke texted us that she would hang out with some girls from the office that evening and would send some pizza.
Nathan needed the extra time to focus on finals, and I was nervous about the GED.
We didn’t realize how hungry we were until we heard a knock on the door.
We rushed to the door and were greeted by five boxes of pizza delivered by two young women dressed in business casual attire. At first, I thought this was some pizza delivery prank. My second thought was that they must have been in the wrong place, as they had five pizzas!
“Is this Brooke’s house?” The shorter one asked.
“Yes.”
“She sent us to bring the pizzas. She and the others went to get some drinks.”
I didn’t know how to respond, but I stood dumbfounded until Nathan invited them in and showed them to the kitchen.
The taller one greeted me and offered her hand. “Hi, Jake.”
I fumbled with my words. “Hello … uh?”
“Jane,” she said. As we shook hands, a charming smile accented her name.
The other one greeted me with a smile and a slight giggle. “And I’m Tina.”
Both were quite pretty and young-looking, but who was I to judge? I never asked ladies’ ages and had no way to compare. They acted in a friendly manner, but perhaps too friendly.
I searched around for Nathan. He’d grabbed some pizza, retreated to a corner of the living room, and texted Monika, his girlfriend. He left me alone to talk with two women in Brooke’s house. And where was Brooke?
“So, you’re Jake, Brooke’s Jake?” We have heard all about you.”
Brooke’s Jake? Do they think she is my girlfriend?
“We’re just friends. Good friends.”
Tina added with a smile. “Best friends, from the way Brooke describes you two.”
Help! Brooke, where are you?
Just then, Brooke came walking in the door. “Jake! How are you?”
She came straight over to me and gave me a big hug. I waited for her to make this more awkward with a big, sloppy kiss on the cheek, but she let me go and introduced me to everyone.
Two other women followed immediately behind her, carrying some bottles. Then, I realized what Brooke had meant. Instead of hanging out with those girls somewhere else, she brought them here.
The last office girl came in as they gathered in the kitchen, and my heart stopped. At the front door stood the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had shoulder-length black hair, dark skin, and a medium athletic build. She took my breath away.
Perhaps I stared at her too much because she walked over toward me. “Hello, Jake.”
Panic filled my mind as I tried to think of what to say. “Hi, I’m Jake.”
She gave me an approving smile and offered her hand. I trembled as I shook it, her grip firm but her skin soft as silk. I gulped, not knowing what to do or say next. Brooke stood right by my side.
“I see you’ve met Keisha.”
“Hi,” I said weakly.
“Keisha,” someone called from the kitchen, “come help me with this.”
“I’ll be right back,” she said.
I turned to Brooke. “What are you doing?” I hissed under my breath. “You can’t set me up with one of these.”
“Admit it—you like her. I saw the way you two were looking at each other.”
“Brooke!” I said. “I don’t know what to say to her.”
“Tell her that she is an ebony goddess.”
“What? I can’t use a line like that.”
She gave me a sly grin and pushed me to the couch with some pizza. “I’ll send her over soon.”
“Brooke!” I whispered.
“You can thank me later. Relax, your best friend is watching out for you.” She winked at me.
The office ladies chattered in the kitchen, laughing and gossiping about who knows what. Nathan sat in the far corner, texting his girlfriend instead of retreating to his room. I sat nervously on the couch, waiting for Keisha to come over. At least I had the pizza to distract me. A chill ran down my spine as someone sat down next to me.
“Brooke said you had wandered over here.”
With a large bite of pizza in my mouth, I turned and saw Keisha next to me. I almost choked, and some mumbled words fell out of my mouth. I checked, and no pizza came out with them.
“Take your time.” She mildly chuckled, then sipped something from a glass she held.
“Brooke told me that you will be finishing high school this month. I bet you're excited about graduating soon.”
I nodded as I finally got that bite down. “Yeah,” was all I could answer. I turned my head but was too nervous to meet her eyes.
“Wait until you graduate from college. I’ll be graduating this semester as well. I am excited about all the possibilities awaiting me.”
Her warm, inviting smile lit up her face as she sat next to me. I was too nervous to catch everything she said, but I remembered "exciting possibilities awaiting me."
Before I could even begin to overcome my nervousness and have an actual conversation with her, the door swung open, and Mom stepped in. Brooke saw her, too, and froze; her mouth hung open, and her eyes darted around the room, looking for a hiding place.
As Mom stepped inside, only Brooke and I turned our attention to her. Everyone else continued chatting away. Sitting next to me, even Keisha hadn’t paid attention and asked something else I hadn’t heard. I focused on Mom and what she would say to me in a house filled with pretty ladies, with the most beautiful one sitting right next to me.
Mom scanned the room with a mother’s stare. I sat nervously, waiting for her to catch me in the act. She looked right past me as if I weren’t there. I glanced at Brooke, who was still frozen and waiting for Mom to find her. Though she was in plain sight, she ignored her as well.
Then her eyes rested on Nathan, and he looked at her briefly. Mom turned back to Brooke. Mom’s solemn and stern eyes softened into a joyful expression. She moved quickly toward Brooke, her arms open, as she exclaimed, “Brooke!”
She then wrapped Brooke in a warm, happy, and tender embrace. “Oh, thank you for inviting me,” she said.
Shock and surprise reflected on her face, but gratitude and warmth soon replaced it.
“Come, introduce me to your friends.” Mom said. Mom and Brooke turned to the group, who had witnessed the scene and completely ignored me. Mom greeted them and handed one of them a jug of sweet tea.
Before I could see any more, Nathan grabbed me quickly by the arm and carried a pizza box in the other hand. “C’mon. Let’s go play on my Xbox.”
* * *
After wolfing down some more pizza and blasting enemies on the Xbox, the pressures of the party began to subside. That was something about video games; at certain times, they could bring some focus and clarity. I realized how silly and nervous I had been acting.
Nathan had given up playing a while ago. He was quietly texting his girlfriend, Monika. I wasn’t sure what they saw in each other, but I didn’t want to question him. The way he and his sister ignored each other most of the time had been eating away at me.
“Hey, Nathan.” Should I ask?
He didn’t bother looking up. “Yeah?”
“About you and Brooke, I was wondering…”
His eyes were fixated on his phone, and his fingers were tapping away. “What?”
“What’s going on between you and Brooke? You barely speak.”
That caught his attention. “We don’t hate each other. Okay?” He resumed texting.
“Why?” I stammered. “I mean…”
Monika was put on hold for a while. “Why don’t I always run around and act goofy with her? Why don’t I go pout in my room sometimes?” His eyes narrowed, and something in his voice sounded like hate, but not quite.
He continued his rant. “Maybe I’m not the one who was given a job out of pity. Maybe someone here actually cares enough to run this house. We’re lucky our parents’ insurance paid off the mortgage.”
Sheepishly, I said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Nathan’s eyes drifted to the floor, and his voice sounded more tender. “Our parents’ deaths were hard for us. We each dealt with it in our own way. It wasn’t her fault, but I never knew how to talk with her about it.”
“Her fault? Why would it be her fault?”
“She never told you?” he asked. My stunned face answered him. “Of course not. But I never blamed her, never.”
“What happened?”
“Vinny. Our parents warned her about him, but she wouldn’t listen. One night, she snuck out and went to one of Vinny’s parties. At some point, she felt uncomfortable with what was happening and called our dad. He and our mom went to pick her up. When they turned onto Vinny’s street, they were hit head-on by a drunk driver. Killed instantly.”
“Oh hell.”
“Yes, a living hell? And the demon from Vinny’s party flew straight out of it. He left the car a twisted scrap of metal, left our parents in an early grave, and left Brooke as a sobbing mess. She graduated from high school a few months earlier. They questioned if she could be my guardian. She fought hard to keep us together.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been horrible.” That was utterly inadequate to explain how I felt at that moment.
“Well, Vinny’s gone,” Nathan said, looking for a bright side. “But our parents are still missing.”
“That’s a heavy cost.” Even as aloof as Brooke was sometimes, I trust that she hadn’t told Nathan that my mobster father was hunting Mom and me. I wasn’t about to compare troubles.
He stared at me intently. “Which brings me to you.”
Does he know?
“I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for my sister.”
“What? We’re just friends. Best friends, the way she describes.”
“Don’t underestimate yourself; you’re much more than you think. You’re the best thing that has ever happened in her life.”
Words escaped me on how to respond.
He saw my hesitation to speak. “Promise me you’ll watch out for her and keep her out of trouble.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“I mean it. Please, promise me.”
“I promise.”
Satisfied, Nathan picked up his phone and resumed texting Monika, as if that startling conversation had never happened, leaving me speechless.