“I didn’t know about you till I got here,” Dinah says, “Or I’d have brought you some. I can run back out and get some for you.”
I pick her up and sit on the couch with Jolene on my lap, and feed her a fry. “Nah, we can share.”
Jolene huffs a laugh. “I hope you weren’t hungry, Wes, because you’re not getting this back.” She takes my half-finished burger from the coffee table and attacks it.
I laugh and pick at the fries. “Yup, you’re feeling better.”
The sheet slips, revealing some of her chest, and I tug it back into place. Jolene doesn’t seem to notice. Dinah is watching us, openly curious. Jolene polishes off the burger in a few massive bites, eying the six-pack.
“I’m not twenty-one, and alcohol is generally a no-no for someone in my position,” she says, her voice hesitant. “But…I don’t think my risk factor can get any higher, right?
I frown, sighing. “I…shit, Jo, I don’t know.”
Jolene touches my nose. “I guess I could make it easier for you. I’m not asking as someone with terminal leukemia, but as your underage girlfriend—can I have a beer, please?”
I groan. “Jo, if I were to do anything to…to put you at risk, I’d never be able to live with myself.”
“You’re not, Wes. Like I said, there’s no greater risk than what I’m facing.”
I glance at Dinah for…I don’t know what. She just shrugs as if to say don’t look at me. I twist the cap off and hand it to her.
Adorably, comically, she holds it in two hands and takes an exaggeratedly ginger sip. Makes a face. “Wow. That’s…surprisingly terrible.”
I laugh. “Right? I honestly don’t know why we even drink it.”
“Because we like the buzz, bro-ski,” Dinah answers.
Jolene snorts around a second, less ginger sip. “Bro-ski?”
I sigh. “It’s been her nickname for me for years. It started out as a tongue-in-cheek joke and just sort of stuck.”
Jolene eyes me, now holding the bottle in one hand and keeping the sheet clutched closed with the other. “I’m still hungry.”
I slide her off my lap and stand up. “What do you want? I’ll make you something.”
“Um…grilled cheese?”
“Coming up.” I glance at Dinah. “You good?”
She rolls her eyes at me. “Have you met me?”
I laugh. “Grilled cheese sandwiches all around it is.”
Dinah glances at Jolene. “Have you had one of his grilled cheeses yet?”
Jolene shakes her head. “No. They’re just one of my favorite things to eat. My comfort food, you know?”
Dinah grins. “Well, you’re in luck. My brother can’t cook for shit, all right? He burns water. Meat is usually burnt on the outside and raw in the middle. But, he makes one hell of a mean grilled cheese sandwich.”
“Do you happen to have any tomato soup?” Jolene asks.
I frown thoughtfully. “I don’t know, I’ll check.”
Dinah snorts. “He doesn’t do his own shopping, you know that, right? Bro-ski, here, is too famous for that. Claims he’ll get mobbed if he tried, so he sends his poor overworked manager to do all his grocery shopping for him.”
Jolene shrugs. “I mean, we were in a Best Western or something on the super outskirts of freaking Cheyenne, Wyoming and he got mobbed just leaving our room for literally five minutes. So, I can guess that if he were to go Whole Foods or something, he’d probably cause a literal riot.”
Dinah rolls her eyes. “Well, you failed that test,” she says.
“Don’t mind her,” I say from the kitchen, where I’m slathering cream cheese on bread. “She thinks it’s her bound duty to keep me humble by constantly and mercilessly mocking me and trying to get everyone around me to do the same.”
“I’m your big sister,” Dinah says. “It is my duty to keep you from getting too big for your britches.”
Jolene watches the exchange between Dinah and me. “You guys are funny.”
“Only child, huh?” Dinah asks.
Jolene nods. “Yeah.” She glances at me. “Did you call my parents?”
I nod as I put the three sandwiches on the griddle of my range. “I have a neighbor three doors down who rents their house on Airbnb—your parents, your grandma, Macy, and Bethany are there now. They actually got in a couple hours ago, but you were still sleeping so they decided to wait until tomorrow.”
Jolene frowns. “But it was a false alarm.”
“I mean, was it? It was way worse than the last one. You had a fever, where you didn’t last time.”
She doesn’t answer immediately. “It can be a quick visit. Show them all that I’m doing okay, that you and I aren’t…I dunno…a fluke, or whatever, and they can go home.”
I’m unsure how to respond. On one hand, I understand what she’s saying and why, but on the other hand, part of me does want her parents and family close. For her support, and my own. This is all new to me, this aspect of Jolene’s situation. I brought her away from her family, and if something were to happen suddenly and her parents couldn’t be with her when she needs them, I’d never forgive myself. But she also deserves her autonomy. She has a right to make decisions for herself.
It’s a tricky line to walk.
She’s watching me, and I think she understands what I’m chewing on. “You want them here,” she says.
I flip the sandwiches. “I want you to have them close if you need them.”
She rests her chin on the back of the couch, watching me. “Just in case, right?”
“I also want us to have our privacy and time alone. And I know you need and deserve and have the right to make decisions for yourself. You told me to call them, so I did. How you handle them from here is your choice, Jo, and I’ll support it no matter what. If you want, I can have Jen pay the owners of the house to let them stay there indefinitely. Pay them enough, and they’ll agree. Or, I can have a jet standing by at all times, but it’d still be several hours from liftoff till them being at your side, in the event that you get sick and feel like you…” I swallow hard. “Like you need them with you. I don’t know what the right decision is, Jo, I really don’t. I just know I want you to be happy, I want to support you, help you, and care for you in every way I can.”
Dinah huffs. “Good lord.”
I frown at her. “What?”
“You’re so freaking sweet it’s saccharine, Wes. Gag.” Her eyes show love and approval, despite her words; quintessential Dinah. “Insta-love is fake—I’ll maintain this to my dying day. You two are just…special.”
Jolene says nothing. I can tell Dinah’s use of the L-word is freaking her out, though.
Dinah stays another hour or so, eating and talking with Jo and me, until she finally heads home.
When she’s gone, Jolene and I sit on the couch together. “So is that normal? Your sister showing up in the middle of the night like that?”
I nod, snorting a laugh. “Yeah, it is. She keeps weird hours, and so do I. But now that she knows you’re around, she’ll probably text before showing up, just to make sure she’s not…you know…interrupting.”