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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

GARRET

I really need to get some studying done. It’s Sunday afternoon and I spent all morning having sex with Jade. Well, not the whole morning. We took a break long enough for me to make the apple-cinnamon pancakes she wanted. And shit, they were a lot of work. I hadn’t made them before. You have to shred the apples on a grater, which almost shredded my fingers off. I don’t think I’m making those again. I’ll switch those out for some other kind of pancake.

It’s funny how much Jade loves this new tradition of ours. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to replace Al’s Pancake House. But she likes Garret’s Pancake House just as much, mainly because of the prices. I was totally kidding when I made up that menu. I didn’t think she’d go for it. But she did, and now she loves it. She keeps asking me when I’m going to have my ‘buyer’s choice’ promotion, in which she gets to make up a price.

“Garret, your phone’s ringing.” I hear Jade calling me from the bedroom. I’m in the living room, trying to study even though I don’t feel like doing it.

She brings me the phone.

I see Sean’s name on the screen and answer it. “Hey, Sean. I swear, I was planning to call you today. You just beat me to it.”

“Hey, Garret. Is Jade there?” Sean sounds serious. He never sounds serious. He’s always joking around.

“Yeah, she’s right here. Why?”

“Can you put me on speaker?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Just put me on speaker so I can tell you both.”

“Jade, Sean wants to talk to us.” I motion her to the couch. “I have him on speaker. Go ahead, Sean.”

“Harper’s in the hospital.”

“What?” Jade yells it. “What happened?”

“She’s okay. She’s in pain but she’s okay. She tore her rotator cuff. Like completely tore it. It’s pretty bad.”

“When did it happen?” Jade takes the phone from me.

“This morning. We were at the gym and she was using one of the weight machines and she heard a loud snap in her shoulder. Even I heard it, and I was two machines down from hers. After it happened she couldn’t lift her arm. I took her to the emergency room and they ran some tests on her shoulder and found she’d torn her rotator cuff.”

“But they’re not keeping her in the hospital, right?’

“No, they’re sending her home later today. The doctor is calling her parents right now. I’m in the waiting room.”

“Does she need surgery?”

“Yeah, that’s how they fix a full tear like that. It doesn’t heal on its own. They’re not sure when the surgery will be. For now, her arm’s in a sling so she doesn’t do more damage.”

Jade starts firing off questions at Sean, mostly medical questions he can’t answer. Questions about tendons and bones and ligaments.

Jade became an expert on shoulder anatomy when she found out I was having shoulder pain. My injury was caused by being shot in the upper chest, which damaged the surrounding tissue, so it’s nothing like Harper’s injury. But before I went to the doctor, Jade read everything she could about shoulder and chest anatomy so she could understand whatever the doctor was going to tell us. It wasn’t necessary, but she didn’t know any other way to help me and she was desperate to do something. I love how she takes care of me like that. I don’t need her to, but I love that she still does.

“The doctor just left the room,” Sean says. “I need to go back in there.”

“Hey, so does this mean she’s done with tennis?” I’m almost certain of the answer but I ask anyway.

“Yeah. She’s done. Even after the surgery, the doctor told her not to play tennis because the shoulder is more susceptible to being torn again.”

“When can I talk to her?” Jade asks.

“She told me to tell you she’ll call you later. She’s still in a lot of pain right now and the painkillers she’s taking make her really tired. She’ll probably fall asleep as soon as we get home.”

“Okay, well, tell her we’re thinking of her. She’s not going back to the dorm, is she?”

“No, I’m having her stay at my place so I can take care of her. I’m taking the next few days off from work. I’m sure I’ll get fired, but whatever. She needs me.”

“You’re a good boyfriend, Sean.”

“Garret would do the same thing for you.”

“I know he would.” Jade smiles at me. “Harper and I are very lucky.”

“I gotta go. I’ll talk to you guys later.” He hangs up.

Jade sets the phone down. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

“She’ll be fine. Rotator cuff injuries are common with athletes. But she’ll have a long recovery and a lot of physical therapy.”

“But she can’t play tennis anymore. She loves tennis. Being on the tennis team is the main reason she went to Moorhurst.”

“Yeah, it’s going to take a while for her to accept the fact that she can’t play anymore. When you’re an athlete and you can no longer do your sport, it’s almost like a death. You mourn the loss of that part of your life. That’s why I was freaking out when I didn’t think I’d be able to compete on a swim team again. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to swimming.”

“But you’re getting better, right? You never talk about your shoulder anymore.”

“Because I barely notice the pain. The physical therapy, and all the time I spend at the gym and the pool, is paying off. By next year I know I’ll be competing again.”

“I can’t wait. I’m going to all your meets.”

“Well, yeah, I would hope so.” I lean over and kiss her. “You’re my only fan. I need someone cheering me on.”

“I’m also going to the pool with you while you train.”

I’m smiling at her. “You want more pool sex, don’t you?”

“No!” She playfully punches me. “I just like to go there and hang out with you. I find it relaxing.”

I talk by her ear. “You’d be even more relaxed if we had sex.”

“I don’t think I can do that again. I’m too worried someone will walk in.”

“That’s why we need to hurry up and get a house so we can get our own pool.”

“I don’t want a house here. I don’t really like this town.”

“We wouldn’t have to live here forever. Just until we’re done with school.”

“I’d rather keep renting. I don’t want to buy a house, then have to sell it in a couple years. Besides, I thought we were going to build a house so we could make it the way we want it.”

“We are. So when do you want to do that?”

“I don’t know. When we talked about it last summer, I thought it’d be in maybe 10 years, after I finished med school and a residency and found a job. But now that I’m not doing that, maybe it could be sooner.”

“How about after we graduate?”

“I don’t know what we’ll be doing for work so it’s hard to say. We’ll have to be close to wherever our jobs are.”

“Jade, we’re not going to have regular jobs where we have to show up at an office and sit in a cubicle from nine to five. We have money. We don’t need to do that. Which means we can live wherever we want.”

“Then what are we going to do for jobs?”

“We’re going to be self-employed. Have our own business. Be our own boss.”

“You’re just deciding this for me?”

“Would you rather spend hours in traffic commuting to and from work, then sit at a desk all day? Be ordered around by a shitty boss and have to deal with office politics? Have only two weeks off a year and be told when you’re allowed to take it?”

“All jobs can’t be that bad.”

“Most of them are exactly like that. Ask anyone. That’s why most people hate their jobs.”

“I don’t know how to run my own business.”

“That’s why you have me. I can help you.”

“But then I’ll have to hire employees and I don’t think I want to do that.”

“You don’t have to. Your business can just be you. A sole proprietorship. Lots of people have those.”

“Wow. You really know a lot about this stuff. You must be smart.” She smiles.

“Bringing out the insults again?”

“I just told you you’re smart.”

“Yeah, sarcastically.”

“I know you’re smart. I was just kidding. You’re able to figure out that stock market stuff. That makes you practically a genius.”

“Not really. But I’m pretty smart when it comes to business stuff.”

“So what are you going to do after graduation? I know you want to start a company but what’s it going to be? Have you decided?”

“Not yet, but I’ve been thinking that maybe I’ll start with a nonprofit while I’m figuring out what the for-profit business will be.”

“You mean like a charity or something?”

“Yeah, but it has to be something I feel strongly about. Like yesterday when we were at the pool I was thinking, why don’t they have free classes like that all over the country? A lot of kids drown because they don’t know how to swim. But a lot of them don’t have access to a pool and don’t have money for swim lessons. So maybe I’ll start an organization that gives kids free swimming lessons.”

“You should definitely do that. You could partner with colleges, like the program here does. Colleges usually have pools and most have a swim team.”

“I need to think about it some more, but yeah, I’d like to do something like that. Something related to swimming. I’d actually like to have several businesses. Start one, and then when it’s established, start another.”

“You’re going to be busy. Are you going to have any time left for me?”

“I’ll always make time for you.” I pull her onto my lap. “Now going back to the house, when are we going to build this thing?”

“Well, I guess if we’re working for ourselves, we can build it after we graduate. We just need to figure out where in California we want to live.”

“Maybe we should start taking trips on the weekends. Check out some areas.”

“You’re really in a hurry to do this, aren’t you?”

“I don’t want to finish college and then be stuck living in an apartment. We don’t need to build the house right away but we should find some land to buy.”

“Then Iet’s start looking. We’re still going to live on the beach, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s hard to find land for sale along the ocean, which is why we need to start looking now.”

“This is so exciting! I can’t wait to build our house.” She hugs me while still on my lap, pressing herself into my crotch.

“Hey, don’t get me going again. I really need to study.”

“It’s just a hug.”

I laugh. “Yeah, it’s always just a hug.”

“It’s your fault. You’re the one who taught me how to hug.”

“I didn’t teach you how to hug like that .”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She smiles at me as she gets off my lap. “I’ll let you study. I need to study, too.”

We study all afternoon and order takeout for dinner. Afterward, Jade says she’s calling Harper so I go out on the deck to give her some privacy. I check the messages on my phone and as I’m doing that, a call comes in. It’s Kyle, the football player. He keeps texting and calling me, trying to get me to do stuff with him. I know he’s only doing it because of my dad. Kyle’s a business major, like me, and he thinks if we become friends, I’ll introduce him to my dad. The guy acts like my dad’s a celebrity or something.

I usually ignore his calls but I decide to answer because otherwise he’ll keep calling. “Hi, Kyle.”

“Kensington, how’s it going? You’re a hard man to get a hold of. I’ve been trying this number for days.”

Get a clue, idiot. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t say that, but I want to.

“I’ve been really busy. Did you need something?”

“I just wanted to invite you to a party I’m having on Sunday.”

“Is this a Halloween party?”

“Yeah, but costumes are optional. Stop by anytime after eight.”

He always just assumes I’m coming to his parties. It’s another reason I don’t like him.

“And tell your wife she’s invited, too.”

The fact that he has to make that clear just shows how clueless he is. I’m married. I’m not going to show up without my wife at a party full of drunk girls wearing sexy costumes. Those parties are for single people looking to hook up. Everyone knows that.

“I don’t think we can make it,” I tell him. “But thanks for the invite.”

“Come on, Garret. You never show up at my parties. Or any parties. This is college. Live a little.”

Kyle reminds me of Blake, always pushing me to go to parties. I’m glad that asshole’s out of my life. He probably flunked out of college by now. I still talk to Decker now and then but he doesn’t mention Blake. And I don’t ask.

“Garret, are you there?”

“I can’t go to the party. I forgot that Jade and I are going to Santa Barbara this weekend to visit a friend of the family.”

“On Halloween? That sucks. But hey, the party will go all night. Just stop by whenever you get back.”

The guy doesn’t take no for an answer. He just keeps talking. This is why I avoid answering his calls.

“I’ll think about it. I have to go. I’ll see you later.”

I hang up before he can say any more.

Since he’s the most popular guy on campus, Kyle’s party will be huge. Jade would hate it. She loves Halloween, but going to a party like that is not how she’d want to celebrate it.

I’m not sure how we’ll celebrate it. We’ll probably get back from Santa Barbara late afternoon. Maybe we’ll do like we did last year and I’ll get some scary movies and load up on candy. Jade loved it when I had that party in my dorm room. I tried to decorate the place with some cobwebs and orange lights. I knew she’d never celebrated Halloween so I wanted to make sure she had the basics; cobwebs, candy corn, and every kind of candy bar I could find. I had so much candy. Jade was still eating it months later.

Most other girls would say that party was stupid or boring, but not Jade. She thought it was amazing.

That was such a great night. Just her and me. And then she stayed with me. Wrapped in my arms. All night.

Best Halloween I ever had.