Page 38

Jake

“ W hat are the odds I can convince you to drive me to Foxborough this Saturday?” Sienna gives her best puppy dog face as we FaceTime.

“What’s going on in Foxborough?”

“Mel and I have tickets to go see ITZY at Gillette Stadium.”

“What’s an ITZY?”

“Hello, only like one of my favorite K-POP groups.“

Shit, I had definitely gotten her a birthday present from the wrong group then…Maybe I still had time to return it. “What happened to BLACKPINK?”

“Oh I love them too, but I’ve already seen them live like twice.” Crisis averted. “This is my first time seeing ITZY, so I’m really excited. We tried to get tickets for the commuter line, but they sold out immediately, and I’d really like to not pay for a hundred-dollar Uber.”

“So naturally you want your big brother to play chauffeur?”

“We have a couple of spare tickets from some friends who bailed. We were going to sell them, but you can have one?” she offers, her puppy dog face intensifying enough to make me cave.

“It’s fine. I’ll drive you.”

I pull the phone further away as she starts screaming. “THANK YOU, thank you. You’re the best big brother ever.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let me know what time I should pick you up.”

“You wanna hit up Cornwall’s this Saturday?” Ollie asks, stretched out on the couch while I prepare dinner for the house.

“Can’t. I have to drive Sienna to Foxborough.” I throw the pasta into the sauce that’s been simmering on the stove for the past hour, adding extra salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

“Sienna? I can drive her if you want.”

“Then how would we both go to Cornwall’s?” I loved Oliver but sometimes I had no idea how his brain worked.

“...Right. My bad. How’s the food going?”

“It’s ready. Feel free to dig in. I’m going to take some over to Eliana.” I nod to the giant pot on the stove and the Tupperware filled with food.

I hadn’t heard from Eliana all day, and at the risk of sounding like an extra clingy boyfriend, I missed her.

A lot. Her Google calendar informed me that she was swamped this week and I had no intention of adding additional stress to her life.

But I was hoping that I could hang out in her room while she worked.

When Nicole opens the door, I assume Eliana’s out.

Likely at the library to increase her efficiency.

“The library holds a certain aura of anxiety that makes me go into hyper-productive mode” she’d once confessed to me.

I made her take an extra long break that day.

Nicole gives me a slightly concerned look before stepping aside and gesturing to the dining room.

A sense of joy fills my chest when I hear the sound of Eliana’s contagious laughter fill the apartment. She didn’t do that enough. Another thing I would have to change.

“Now I need to figure out how to make you laugh like that after one of my jokes.” I freeze when I notice a kid sitting next to Eliana.

Their similar features clue me in to who she might be. Josie. Eliana likely would have informed me about this, which probably meant this wasn’t a planned trip. I try to gauge how she’s feeling, but her eyes are locked on her sister.

“Hi. I’m Jake.” I smile at the child, who holds her chin up at me.

“So you’re the boyfriend.” She eyes me down like she’s not sure what to think of me yet. Evidently my first impressions with both Jasper women would be rough.

“That would be me. And you must be the incredibly smart and funny little sister?”

“Flattery will win you some points, but I have more questions for you.” She cracks her knuckles like a mob boss, then points to the seat across from her. “Sit down. We have a lot of things to discuss.”

“Josie! Stop harassing him.” Eliana exclaims, pressing her lips together to suppress a smile.

“No, it's fine. I imagined this day would come.” Eliana spoke about her little sister the way a proud mom would. She also emphasized how she admired Josie’s ability to speak her mind and stick up for herself. “Please continue.”

Josie stares me down. “State your name, age, and occupation.”

“Jake Keeley, 22, Westchester U Hockey Player and alternate captain. You watch a lot of crime shows, don’t you? Probably with your older sister, right?”

“I’ll be asking the questions today,” Josie states. “Your intentions with my sister?”

“To make her happy.” Josie gives me a look that screams, “Well duh.” My palms started to feel clammy. Damn, she was really sweating me out. “And to support her. In any way that I can.”

Josie’s expression softens for a moment. That seemed to win her over. “I want to make it clear that Eliana and I already have plans to live together when I turn 18. You can take the guest room if you want.” A compromise.

“That works for me.”

“You do have to promise to be clean. I refuse to live in a boy-house.” She locks eyes with me to say she means business.

“Noted. No messes and no boy-house vibes.” I nod.

“So, what brings you here, Jake?” Eliana smiles, entwining our hands together.

“I made dinner for Hockey House and wanted to bring over some leftovers.” I take the large Tupperware out of my bag and place it on the table.

Josie turns to Eliana. “I like him. He can stay.”

“You heard her. She said I could stay.” I beam like I just won the lottery.

“Let me grab some plates. Nicole, will you be joining us?” Eliana calls.

“That depends. Did Jake make his homemade tomato sauce?” Nicole asks from her room.

“And fresh pasta,” I confirm.

“I’ll be there in a second.” Nicole’s enthusiasm draws a small chuckle from my lips. One way or another I knew I’d win over every resident of this apartment.

I head to the kitchen to help Eliana set up .

“Josie really busted my balls back there.” I could handle someone harassing me just fine; I was a hockey player, after all. But I was starting to notice a pattern. “So did Nicole when we first met.”

Eliana takes a second to process then gives me a regretful smile.

“That’s on me. I definitely had some preconceived notions about hockey players, and paired with how our first tutoring session went…

Let’s just say when I vented to them, I didn’t paint you in the best light.

Which is unfair to you. I’m really sorry. ”

“Ah I see.” I can’t say I was surprised she had bad mouthed me to her little sister and best friend. I managed to win Nicole over so hopefully I could do the same with Josie.

“I promise I’ve told Josie nothing but good things about you since we started getting closer. She’s just a little protective of me. Or really, we’re protective of each other.”

“I’m the same with my sisters. So, any big plans for the rest of the week, now that Josie’s here?”

“That’s what we were going to figure out tonight. I feel like there’s not much going on in the city.” Eliana gives me a soft smile.

“Yeah, I suppose you can’t exactly take her bar hopping,” I tease.

“Definitely not. And she goes ice skating with her friends all the time, so taking her to the Frog Pond probably won’t be exciting.” She sighs as we walk back to the table where Nicole has joined us. “Did you end up finding anything fun for us to do?”

“Still looking into it but you know how the city starts to go into hibernation around November. Which is funny given how all the New Englanders will still have their iced coffee even when it’s cold enough to cause hypothermia if you’re outside long enough. ”

“What about the little market at Seaport? There’s hot chocolate and fun games,” I offer.

“Doesn’t open until next week after Josie leaves.”

Damn. I hated the disappointed look on Eliana’s face, especially knowing how much she cared about Josie and no doubt wanted to make her week.

“It’s fine Ellie. You know I don’t care. I’m just glad I get to hang out with you.” Josie stands up to give Eliana a small hug before we all dive into dinner.

The rest of the night is spent in high spirits, and I can’t think of a time when I’d seen Eliana crack so many jokes.

On the surface, she could easily convince you that she wasn’t stressed or overthinking a million things in her head.

But I knew better. Something I’ve realized about Eliana the closer we’ve become is how she's a master in hiding her true emotions. Her tells were subtle, a slight tension to her jaw, an eye twitch here and there, the way she would worry her lip between her teeth for minutes before realizing. I wasn’t sure what was causing her so much anxiety, but I had a feeling it was related to her sister’s surprise visit.

Once Josie and Nicole left to get ready for bed, I decided to broach the topic. “I didn’t realize Josie was coming to visit this week.”

Eliana’s shoulders tense. I come behind her, slowly massaging her shoulders while placing a soft kiss on her temple. We stand in silence while I wait for her to speak. Eventually she turns around to bury her head into my chest, and I take that as an opening. “What happened?”

“My mom dropped by this morning.” She lets out a deep breath.

“My grandma is sick. She had to fly back to Iran to say goodbye. They don’t have the best relationship, but I think this is still really going to hurt my mom.

Goodbyes are hard for most people, but especially for her, ever since my dad left. ”

I tighten my arms around her. “Jesus, Ellie. I’m so sorry. So, Josie’s going to be staying with you until she comes back?”

“It’s fine. Or at least it will be. “

Knowing there’s not much I can say, or do, I simply squeeze her tighter into my chest and tell her all the things I love about her.

Her caring heart, her strength, her willingness to always help people, her ability to have a snarky response to anything stupid I ever say, and most of all, her.

“I love you, Eliana. I love you so much, and I want you to know how much I see you and everything that you do.”

She places a kiss on my chest and finally looks up at me, eyes still shiny. “I love you too, Jake. Thanks for being here today. It really means a lot.”

“Always. Whenever you need me, I’ll be here.”

We stay in each other’s embrace until we hear the sound of footsteps.

“Don’t let me break up your love fest.” Josie announces with slight disgust in her voice. Glad to know preteens still spoke in sarcasm.

I open my mouth for a snarky older brother response when I notice Josie’s sleep shirt. “Do you listen to ITZY?”

“ You listen to IZTY?” Josie asks in a state of disbelief and horror. Like a teenager who found out they have something in common with their parents.

“I don’t, but my sister does. She has tickets to their concert this Saturday.”

“Wait what? Those sold out immediately!” Josie’s jaw falls open.

“My sister had some friends who bailed last minute so maybe?—”

“OH MY GOD. THIS IS FATE. MEANT TO BE. WE HAVE TO GO,” Josie screams, jumping up and down before she contains herself. “Ellie can we go, pleaaaase. ”

“Maybe…How much are the tickets?” Eliana looks at me, concerned.

“Don’t worry about it. Sienna was just going to give them away anyway. Also I’m driving, so you don’t have to worry about getting there.”

“Can we Eliana? Please, please, please, please, pleeeease?” Josie begs, throwing her arms around Eliana.

“You’re sure Sienna won’t mind?”.

“Nope. In fact, I’m sure she’s dying to talk to someone who’s as big of a fan as she is.”

“Alright, then let’s do it.”

Josie lets out a scream that rivals the one prior and will probably get a few noise complaints from the neighbors.

“This is so exciting. I can’t wait to tell all my friends. Thank you, Ellie!” Josie runs back to Eliana’s room before stopping and turning around for a second. “And thanks Jake. You made my day.”

“You hear that? I made her day.” I beam at Eliana.

“From interrogation subject to best friends in a couple of hours. That’s impressive Keeley.”

“What can I say? I’m just irresistible.”

“I think you mean incorrigible,” Eliana teases.

“Same difference.”

“Thank you, Jake. For the tickets. For everything.”

“You’re welcome, but you don’t need to thank me. I meant what I said to you earlier. I’ll always be here for you, whenever you need me.”