Page 55 of See Her

“Ian…” I say, cautiously.

“Oh, this is too good,” he says, standing from the couch and taking a couple of steps towards us. I can see the rusty wheels squeaking and turning in his head, and it’sbad. “You know, I think you’re right, sis. I will go stay with Mom and Dad. After they hear about this shit, they’re going to be a little too preoccupied to worry about me hanging around.They won’t even notice me…”

“Ian, don’t be a dick!”

“Whoa, Ian, come on,” Jack says, stepping up beside me and putting a hand on my back. Ian ignores us, slinging his duffle onto his shoulder.

“Thanks for doing me this solid, Maze.They’re not going to give a shit what I’m up to for a while now. Oh, and Jack, welcome to the family, brother-in-law. You’re in for a real treat.”

“Ian, don’t you dare say anything to them! This is not your news to tell!”

“Catch ya lat-ah!” he sings on his way out the door.

Fuuuuuck!

“UGGGGGHHH!!!” I growl out, balling my hands into fists while Jack stands beside me, silently rubbing my back and letting me have myself a moment.I’ve never wanted to punch my brother in the face as badly as I do right now. After I growl out some phrases colorful enough to make a sailor blush, Jack finally speaks up.

“What do you want to do? We could hop in the truck and I could try to beat him there,” he offers.

“No, we’re only half dressed, and besides, he’ll see us and he’ll just speed up and race us there. He’ll either beat us or get there right after us and do whatever he can to be heard first. It’ll be chaos,” I shake my head.“I think… I have to call them,” I say, walking over to the counter where my phone sits, waiting like a harbinger of doom.“What do you think? Are you ready?” I ask, scrunching my face into a worried expression.

“They need to know at some point, and I doubt they’d appreciate it being kept from them for too long,” he says with a wave of his hand towards my phone. “Besides, they should hear it from us. And we might as well call my dad after this; get it all out of the way.”

My parents have heard a moderate amount about Jack in the weeks we’ve been together. When we get together for the occasional breakfast, he’s always come up at some point. My mom has always asked the obvious questions while my dad grunts into his coffee. By this point, they know Jack and I have gotten “serious”, but I haven’t actually told them anything further than we’re in love. They haven’t met him yet, and I’m doing my best to put myself in their shoes as I gear up for their impending freak-outs, and probably a few aftershocks thereafter.

“Okay,” I say, nodding at him, agreeing. I take a deep breath, dial my parents’ number, and put it on speakerphone before I lay it down on the counter. I lean on my elbows and rake both hands into my hair as it rings.

“Hi, sweetie,” I hear my mother’s voice say as she picks up.

“Hi, Mom,” I pause, trying to figure out what to say next.

“Everything okay?” she prods, after a few seconds of my nervous silence.

“Yeah, yeah. Listen, I’m with Jack and we have something to tell you. Is Dad there?”

“Yeah, hang on. Jeff?” I hear her call for him. “Come in here, Mayzie’s on the phone…. I don’t know, she has something to tell us.” I hear the phone click over to speakerphone.

“Hey, kid,” my dad greets as he comes on the line. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Okay, well… I have some news.Jack and Ihave news actually, and we wanted to tell you in person, but Ian’s found out and he’s being a total douche-canoe and headed your way so he can tell you before I can, so I wanted to call so you at least heard it from us…”

“Uh, Mayzie, is this news good? Because you’re making me a little nervous,” my mother chuckles. Jack and I look at each other, smiling nervously but reassuringly at each other.

“It’s good,” I say, nodding, even though they can’t see me.They might not end up agreeing with me, but I insist on being positive. Besides, it is good news for Jack and me.

“So… this is very sudden. It’s going to come as a shock, but just try to bear in mind that I’m happy.”

“Spit it out for fuck’s sake.” Patience was never one of my dad’s virtues.

“Okay!” I say taking a breath.“I got married yesterday.”

“What?!” both parents say.

“Jack and I are married… surprise!” I say, trying to get them to jump on the enthusiasm train.

“Are you shitting me?” my father asks.

“No… I’m not shitting you… I’m… serious.” My nerves are in hyper-drive and I’m having to seriously focus on stringing words together now.

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