Homefront

By: David H
(© 2011 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 7

Matt woke on the morning of the 19th to find himself, as usual, in the bed that he'd occupied at his parents' home for some time. It was a beautiful September morning, he quickly realized after taking the time to shower, shave, and dress. Being that it was just after seven in the morning, though, he left his bedroom on the third floor of his parents' house to find that he was there, in the huge house, alone. He was tempted, for a moment, to stay there and just skip that Friday. The previous day had, after all, been rather long, ending with a night on the Square with Seth, Jenny, and Nick, who seemed to be acclimating to life in Eudora quite well. After a steaming cup of coffee, though, he was ready to go, to fight the traffic that he'd have to endure to get to campus, and get his day going. He was just thankful that it was an away game that weekend, and he would have a chance to sleep in before heading to Seth's to watch it on the HD that he had.

As he was arriving on campus, Nick was leaving his apartment. As always, he was dressed nicely, in a pair of jeans that fit him well and a polo that was tucked into the waist. His backpack was on his back, and a cap and pair of sunglasses shielded his eyes from the bright sun blazing in the eastern sky. Earlier in the week, he'd started working out again, something he'd not done, really, since June. He woke up at four and ran to a small gym that was just a couple of blocks away, on Jackson. He'd work out for a while before returning home to go about his day. Even though he'd gotten home early the evening before, though, he didn't sleep well. Hanging out with Matt, Jenny, and Seth, had been fun, but the fact that it was an important day on his calendar was weighing heavily on his mind, resulting in his lack of restorative sleep. As he walked, there was but one thing on his mind, the importance of that day.

Meanwhile, Seth and Jenny were getting ready for their workdays. Jenny was using his bathroom to put the final touches on her attire for the day, while Seth was just climbing out of the shower in what everyone still called "Matt's Bathroom". Things for them, in the previous days, had been weird. At the beginning of the week, things were OK. They were themselves, making love each morning before work and then rushing home to see each other. On Tuesday, though, Jenny wasn't feeling well. By the time their workday ended, she made it back to Seth's but went to bed at around six, sleeping through the night. On Wednesday, she stayed there from work, as she'd woken up throwing up everything she'd eaten the night before. Thursday was the same, but, on Friday, she felt OK enough to go to work. Seth tried to convince her to stay home, but she vetoed his request. She did, however, take him up on his offer to drive her to work rather than the walking the two normally did. By 7:30, they were leaving the apartment, Seth driving her to the front door of her work and kissing her before driving back to the apartment to park the car and then walk himself to his office.

*********

For Matt, the morning dragged on. He was tired, more tired than usual, and he found himself fighting to focus on the piece that the choir was practicing. He wasn't alone, though, as the tired feeling he was experiencing seemed to be contagious. With all of them virtually unresponsive, the director of the choir chastised them for not taking things seriously and warned them against returning to practice on Monday in the same doldrums in which they found themselves. With that, at 9:15, thirty minutes before they were normally dismissed, the members of the Parsons University Concert Singers found themselves sluggishly walking from the choral practice room.

The bag that Matt was carrying seemed heavier than normal, even though there was just a notebook and a single photocopied play inside that he was to read for his Latin American Theatre class. As he walked out of the front of the Nutt Music Building, headed to what Nick jokingly called 'Downtown Campus', his only thought was that that day was the reason why professors gave them a certain number of days that they could miss before getting into academic trouble. He could easily just walk behind the building and climb into his car and drive home, but something in him wouldn't allow that to happen.

He made it to the Circle and walked through, taking a route behind the Lyceum that would take him past the library and to the Higginbotham Language Center. Begrudgingly, he walked into the building and took a seat on the floor just outside the classroom where his Spanish class would be conducted that morning. From the bag he pull a copy of Los Soles Truncos, by Puerto Rican playwright René Marqués. Despite images of The Golden Girls that were creeping into his mind, he couldn't really concentrate on the work itself.

About ten minutes before class started, he got an email from his dad, saying that he'd gotten a call from the real estate agent about Dan's house and that he wanted to talk to Matt about it before he accepted the offer the agent had. Matt responded that he would call as soon as he got out of Spanish class that started at eleven. With that, though, he stood and walked into the classroom with the professor as soon as the other class had walked out. Of the ten people enrolled in the class, that day, Matt was the only one who showed. It was actually relaxing as the two men, Matt and his professor, Dr. John McCaw, talked, in Spanish about the importance of literature to the study of language itself. Dr. McCaw's belief was that the study of literature led to a deeper appreciation for the culture and language of the people of Spain and Latin America, as much so as living among them, as Matt had done.

At 11:30, Matt left his class and proceeded outside to the fountain that was just behind the HLC, as the language building was more commonly known, to wait for Nick to finish up with his English class. The two had, since school started several weeks earlier, met for lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On all those days, they would walk to the Student Union and sit at a booth or table and enjoy a meal together, as friends. It was during those meetings, though, that Matt realized that this already deep man had other levels to him that few were ever fortunate enough to experience.

He was so incredibly smart, and he seemed to soak up information like a sponge soaks liquid. Matt could talk about something related to music, and Nick would actually be able to dissect the information in his mind and then convert it into information that he could understand. Matt only wished he could do that, for math, alongside natural and physical sciences, were beyond his comprehension, but the sciences of music and languages came like second nature to him. While he didn't agree with Nick's political affiliations and beliefs, he couldn't help but admire him for having feelings toward that strong point of the American cultural landscape. He made no secret of the fact that while Matt would be casting his vote in November for Senator Michael Jansen, the Democratic Party's nominee for President, he would be cancelling it out with a vote for Howard Reynolds, the moderate who'd somehow managed to earn the support of the right and land the Republican Party's top spot.

He was strong of body and mind, but his soul was still bruised and hurting from the losses that he'd suffered since his youth. He embraced what he referred to as his 'emotional war wounds' though, and admitted that he tried to live his life for the future while remembering, and respecting, the past. He was thankful for where he was, and where he would be, but he knew that he'd have been none of the things he was without the past from which he'd suffered. Nick had almost convinced him to get up even earlier in the morning and join him at the gym, but while Nick assured him that he could do anything he wanted to do, Matt still wasn't sure if he'd be able to get up two hours earlier every morning and put himself through hell before class.

As he sat outside waiting for Nick, though, he called his dad's cell phone. "Hey Kid," his father answered immediately.

"Hey Dad. What's going on?"

"Not much. Just trying to make this damn computer work," Ron said, having never been a fan of the information age with all its gadgets and such. "Thank you for calling, though, cause I was just about to throw it out the window."

"Sounds like I unknowingly saved myself some money!" Matt smiled as his father picked up on the joke. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"The agent called," Ron told him. "And he said that there was a couple who'd made an offer on the house."

"OK..."

"They're offering a million flat," Ron said.

"That's two-hundred-thousand less than the asking price," Matt noted.

"Right, but I think that if you're intent on selling the house, that you should consider it. The housing market is tough right now, and this is a good, solid offer," Ron sagely advised.

"Do you think I should sell it?" Matt inquired.

"That's up to you, Matt," Ron told him. "I think that if you want to sell, this is the best chance you've got, for a while, of doing it."

"OK. What does Mom think?"

"You'll have to talk to her about that," Ron smiled.

"Dad!" Matt protested as people began to get out of class and make their way to other places.

"Seriously. You'll have to talk to her."

"OK. I might go over to her office while Nick's in class this afternoon."

"It'll give you something to do before y'all make it back to his place to do...whatever it is y'all are or aren't doing!" Ron joked, still firmly in the assumption that his son and this man were more than that they wanted to give the surface impression of.

"Alright Dad. Well, I love you, but I'm gonna go."

"OK. Just remember that if you decide to take the offer, you'll have to call the guy before five, otherwise, you won't get him," Ron told him.

"Yes sir..." Matt told him.

"OK. Bye."

"Chau," Matt said as the two men hung up their phones and Matt sat on the side of the fountain to continue waiting on Nick to get there.

*********

As Matt waited, Nick looked up at the clock and realized that the teaching assistant responsible for his English class was even more long-winded than usual. He was going off about something while Nick found himself lost in thought. It had already been a long day, and Nick was a bit antsy to get away from that room, that building. He wanted to go home, to climb into his bed, and lose himself in dreams of another, more peaceful place.

That morning had started in Becky's sociology class. The topic of discussion was to be about families and how they were an integral part of society. Despite the early hour, there were some rather strong discussion as people defined family for themselves. One guy whom Nick thought of in his mind as "Libbie Tree Hugger" claimed that since his family had abandoned him when he came out, that his friends were the closest things to family that he had. An older lady in the class, older than everyone else and a preacher's wife, pulled out her copy of the Holy Bible and responded to his point with scripture. Her opinion, as she went on after finishing, was that family, the most basic unit of society, should be one man and one woman, with the children that they rear coming into the fold after marriage. There were several other definitions brought to the discussion, but Nick's was one that silenced everyone else, it seemed.

"Growing up, I had a few relatives. My mom, who died on 9/11, my aunt, and my cousin, along with a couple of distant relatives with whom I have no contact anymore. The military has been a sort of family for me, and I've got some great friends that I would gladly give up my life for if it came down to it," he said. "So I guess I agree with him," he said, pointing to 'Libbie'. "Family isn't just those you're related to by blood; it's those that you become related to by the choices that you make in life... or that life makes for you."

Even though she called herself knowing Nick well, Becky knew that his mother was no longer with them, but she knew no details about her passing. As everyone in the class looked at him, some believing and feeling for him, and others, namely the older lady, who wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not, Nick found himself surprised that he'd just blurted out what had happened to his mother. He'd never done that before, for it was his most guarded secrets, a little piece of him that only a handful of people knew about. In an odd way, it felt good to be free of that secret, one of the many that, in his subconscious, guided him through life. Becky, herself not able to continue the class, called for an early dismissal, a decision that met with no opposition from those thirty people in the class that were there, religiously, every day.

As Nick packed his things, Becky walked over to him. When the classroom was empty, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into an embrace, the kind of hug that only a mother could give. Even though she wasn't his, she was still a Mom, and, to Matt, one of those friends that he'd referenced earlier, an 'othermom'.

"Thank you," Nick said when she pulled away.

"Nick. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I am so sorry," she said.

"It's fine," Nick told her as he tried not to get emotional. Here was this lady, basically his cousin's mother-in-law, showing him as much love as she showed for Seth, for Matt, and for Jenny. "Can I ask a favor?"

"Name it," she said.

"You and Matt are the only two people outside my family that know..."

"I won't say a word," she promised, knowing that it would be hard not to say anything to Linda, her might-as-well-be-sister who knew everything that she knew and vice versa.

"Thank you," Nick said as the two walked out of the classroom. Becky, in the way that only she could, changed the topic and quickly got him talking about something that she would like for him to do for class, a paper that she would help him with that she could use for a class she was teaching in the Spring that covered just the topic of family.

They talked about it for a few minutes as they walked outside, and Nick seemed intrigued by the idea of writing an empirical paper on the relationship of an individual to the military. His thoughts, in that moment, turned to Corey. While he'd been devoted to country, to the Corps, and to those with whom he immediately served, Corey had the joined the military for those reasons and more. He hadn't lost anyone on 9/11, but he couldn't have fathomed, learning of Nick's situation, ever losing his mother like that. He was doing it for her, for all those people in Woonsocket, even the ones he didn't know. He'd joined the military not because of a lack of a father figure, but because he wanted to do something that, regardless of how minute, would change the world. It was only fitting that, on his birthday, Becky would ask him to write about that topic.

As he sat through his English class, taking notes on the new laptop he'd bought for school related stuff, he opened a second Microsoft Word Document and began jotting down ideas for the paper. It was the only thing that kept his mind from going insane as the teacher talked, almost without end, of everything that was going on. He didn't want to be there, honestly, and as he finished his brainstorming, his mind went wild with things, making him think, for a moment, that he was crazy.

When the class finally ended, Nick put his things away as others, who'd already tuned out for the day, rushed around him to get out of that place. Nick took his time, though. It wasn't because he was avoiding anything, but he needed a moment to relax before he met Matt, who was, no doubt, waiting on him at the fountain outside.

Walking from the building, he realized that the thoughts of Matt, who was the kindest, most sincere person that he'd ever met in his life, were stronger and more vibrant than any of the others. He liked Matt's passion for everything that he came in contact with. Regardless of how small a thing or task was or how grandiose it was, he handed it with a kind of grace that few people in the world possess. He wasn't afraid to ask questions if he didn't know something, and if he had something that could help someone else, he gave it without thinking twice. He didn't do anything expecting something in return, either. He was just a nice guy.

His head hung a little low, he walked out of the building as he continued to be lost in thought.

*********

All that was on Jenny's schedule for the day was a single closing. The rest of the time, she was going to just sit in her office and hope that the stomach bug that she was suffering through, would just go away. She and Seth had made plans to go to the beach that weekend, and her sickness would ruin it all. Because she was throwing up as she was, the closing took a bit longer than normal, but everyone seemed to understand. The older lady with whom she was working knew exactly what was causing her discomfort, but she didn't want to say anything to her. It wasn't her place, after all, to advise a woman that she didn't know. When it was done, her supervisor, a lovely lady named Terri, told her that she needed to go to the doctor and get checked out and then go home. Reluctantly, the woman with one of the strongest work ethics in the world conceded and left. She walked back to Seth's apartment, getting inside before blowing chunks once more in his bathroom.

She was changing into one of Seth's t-shirts and some shorts when she felt a pain shooting through her lower abdomen. It wasn't like anything she'd ever felt before, though. It was the kind of pain that could bring a grown man to his knees and make him cry like a baby. She tried to walk over to where she'd lain her phone, but with each step, she found it harder and harder to walk. She fell to the ground, grabbing the footboard of Seth's bed to keep herself from falling too rapidly. She made it over to the bedside table and grabbed her phone. Hitting the green button twice, she didn't know, in that moment, who she was going to get because the pain was so intense that she couldn't focus on the number being dialed.

"Hey gorgeous. How are you feeling?" Seth asked as she held the phone to her head.

"Help..." she whimpered.

"What's wrong? Where are you?"

"Home..." she said.

"I'll be there in five minutes," Seth said, hanging up the phone.

He told his boss quickly what happened and left the bank, headed home. While on his way, he called the only person that he trusted to walk him through what was going on: his 'othermom', Linda. He explained that she'd been feeling funny since the previous weekend, but that she's been throwing up since Tuesday morning and that it had been getting worse and worse. He was walking through the door as he told her what had just transpired. Linda told him to call 911, and assured him that she would be waiting at the ER when they arrived. She wouldn't be there in an official capacity, though, but rather a maternal one.

He walked into the bedroom to find her lying on the floor, in a fetal position, crying under the pressure of the pain that her body was forcing her to endure right then. "It's OK, sweetie. I'm here," he told her as he took her hand with his right and dialed 911 with the other one. He calmly explained to the operator what was going on and where they were, to which he got a response that someone would be there shortly.

"It's OK, baby," he told her again. "We're gonna be at the hospital in a few minutes. Othermom will be there, and she won't let anything happen to you." She was able to nod. "I'm gonna pick you up and take you into the living room. OK?"

"Just help me stand up," she said as she got herself into position only to realize that she was in far too much pain to stand. With that, Seth scooped her up into his arms and carried her out of the bedroom and down the hallway into the living room.

"Do you want some water or something?" he asked.

"No... Will you call my Mom?"

"Anything," Seth grabbed his phone and dialed the number as he walked to the door to wait on the ambulance. As he talked to her, trying to explain what was going on, he found the reality of the moment wasn't an easy pill to swallow. Lying on the sofa was the only woman that he'd ever loved as a man should love someone else, and there was nothing that he could do to help her, to make things easier for her. Seth got off the phone as soon as the ambulance got there to transport his beloved to the hospital.

Being that they weren't technically family, the ambulance driver's wouldn't let Seth ride with her, despite the fact that Jenny was begging them. They claimed it was for liability reasons as Seth, fuming, told Jenny that he would be there right after her and walked to his truck. Turning on the flashers as he started the vehicle, he was in position to follow them just before they shut the doors. Shaking, he called the only other person in the world who could calm him down like she could, Matt.

Matt and Nick had just gotten to the Student Union building and were sitting at a table to enjoy their lunch. Matt opted for a huge baked potato with all the fixings, for him, comfort food. Nick loaded down a plate with a ton of Southern goodies that he'd enjoyed since his childhood: roast turkey breast with a freshly made giblet gravy, some mashed potatoes, green beans, and a roll that was made at the bakery in town.

"Sup?" Matt said as he answered the phone.

"Where are you at right now?"

"Student Union," Matt answered. "What's wrong?" Matt asked, hearing something in Seth's voice.

"I don't know. It's Jenny. She's in an ambulance on her way to the hospital."

"OK..." Matt looked at Nick.

"I'm not sure what's wrong, but I could really use some Matt time," Seth told him, honestly.

"K. I'm on my way," Matt said as he started gathering his things. "Nick and I can be there in about 20 minutes."

"Thank you, Matt."

"It's no worries. Seriously," Matt said as he motioned for Nick to follow. Both guys picked up their trays and dumped them in the trash as they took their cups of soda with them. "We'll be there in a little while."

"K..." Seth said as they hung up the phone, Matt and Nick walking out of the Student Union on their way to Matt's car.

"What's going on?" Nick asked.

"Seth said that Jenny's being taken to the hospital by ambulance," Matt said as they briskly walked back through campus.

"Shit."

"Yeah..." Matt said.

It took them less time than normal to get to where Matt had parked the car. Nick, who'd lit a cigarette for their walk to the truck wasn't finished by the time they got there. Matt, knowing that other things were more important in the moment, told him not to worry about it, that that's what detailing was for. With that, Nick climbed into the car as Matt started it up, rolling down his window almost all the way so that the smell of the smoke wouldn't invade Matt's car too much.

"I wonder if anybody's called Janelle," Nick noted as he rolled up the window.

"Here," Matt said as he pulled out his phone and got it to a screen where Nick could dial the number. In a moment, running through the Bluetooth in the car, he heard ringing.

"Hello?" Janelle answered.

"Hey J..." Nick said.

"Nick... sweetie... where are you?"

"On my way to the hospital," Nick told her.

"Good. I'm packing a bag, so I'll be up there in a little while. Call me and let me know if I need to push the gas anymore," she instructed.

"Yes ma'am."

"Whose phone is this?"

"It's mine, Ms. Janelle," Matt responded.

"OK. Is it OK if I save it?"

"Please..." Matt said as he navigated through streets that he knew would help them avoid traffic in town.

"OK. Nick. Tell her I'll be there in a little while, please..."

"Yes ma'am," Nick told his aunt.

They talked for a second as Matt was pulling into the hospital and driving past the professional buildings to the main building of the hospital and then around to the emergency room. They walked in to find Seth sitting in the waiting room, unable to go back right then.

"How's Jenny?" Nick asked.

"I don't know..." Seth said as Matt sat on one side and Nick sat on the other side.

"I'll find out," Nick told him as he immediately stood back up, walking over to the check in desk as much concerned about her as Seth was. He talked to the person at the desk for a second before they let him go back into the ER, to her room. A second later, Matt got a text from Nick.

'She miscarried,' was all that he could type. Matt showed Seth the message only to have his best friend break down completely in his arms.

Becky, probably because she and Linda talked four times a day on a slow news day, was the next to come in. Seth stood as she walked in, taking her baby into her arms as he cried. Linda came out a moment, still wearing a white lab coat, wiping the tears from her ears. She knew all too well what was going to be going through her mind in a couple of days, and, no doubt, Ron would be there shortly to help Seth out any way he could.

The Moms sent Matt to get Seth some coffee from the lobby of the Main Hospital, where the "Pink Ladies" had another stand. He returned a moment later with four cups, only to find that the Dad's had arrived. Ron, perhaps as much as Seth, was crying. Matt didn't think anything of it at that moment, though, as his father was making jokes. Seth seemed OK until Janelle arrived, having driven like a mad lady to Eudora and then getting lost trying to find the hospital. Being that she'd talked to Nick a little while earlier, she knew what had happened. Also, she knew that Seth was different from the men that she and her sister had chosen to have a child by, and the fact that he couldn't stop crying let her believe that her daughter had better taste in men than she had when she was Jenny's age.

"I'll take you back, Janelle," Linda said after they'd had a chance to talk for a minute.

"OK..." Janelle said as she turned to walk beside Linda through the waiting room into the ER. The two of them navigated through hallways until they came to the room where Jenny was. Nick was sitting outside, in a chair.

"Hey, J," Nick said as he stood to hug his aunt.

"Come stai?" she asked in Italian.

"Non so," Nick responded. "Un dottore ha venuto fa dici minuti, pero non ha detto niente più."

"I'm sorry," Janelle turned to Linda. "Sometimes, when I need to speak clearly, I swap to Italian, because I have to think about what I'm saying."

"Listen... you do what you have to do. What can I get for y'all?" she offered.

"Nothing right now," Janelle said.

"Nick?"

"I'm fine. Thank you, Linda."

"I'm gonna go see if I can find out anything," Linda said as she walked away.

"Janelle... I need a cigarette," Nick told her, not letting her in on all that was going on in his mind.

"OK. I'll be here..."

"And I'll be back in a moment," Nick told her as he walked away from the room.

Walking into the lobby, he walked over to Becky and the guys.

"She OK?" Seth asked, immediately.

"Her doctor says that she's gonna be OK, but they were doing an examination a moment ago. Are you OK?"

"I'm fine as long as she is," Seth answered immediately, surprising everyone with the confidence with which he said that simple phrase.

"Do you need anything?" Nick asked.

"I'm fine. You?"

"I'm about to go smoke a cigarette," Nick told him.

"I'm gonna join him," Matt said as he and Nick walked outside for a second.

"K..." Seth said as Matt walked outside.

Silently, the two stepped over into the smoking area a few yards away from the entrance. Nick pulled the pack from his pocket and lit one as Matt sat on a bench off to one side.

"Is she really OK?" Matt inquired as Nick sat across from him.

"They said something about her having to stay in the hospital until she passes the tissue," Nick said. "I've seen her go through a lot of stuff, but I think this has stretched the limits. Matt. It's so weird. She's normally jovial and talkative. She's like nothing right now. She's unresponsive, like she's ignoring people. The nurse said she just kind of tuned things out when she found out what happened."

"Shit..."

As they talked outside, after Nick had finished his first and started on his second, Janelle walked into the waiting room and over to Seth. A second later, she turned as Seth jumped up to walk back with her to Jenny's room. She guided him back to a small exam room and opened the door. Since only one person was allowed to be in the room at a time, she shut the door and gave him a moment.

Jenny's eyes were closed right then, as she was resting, but all around here were the sights and sounds of a hospital. The sterility of the room, though, was cut by the dimmed overhead lights. There was a chair sitting right beside her bed, where Nick and Janelle had been sitting earlier in the day. Still in his suit, having refused to take the jacket off for whatever reason, Seth took a seat on her left side and gently took her hand. It woke her from a very shallow sleep, and she turned her head took at him.

"Hi," she whispered her first word of the afternoon as she looked at him. "I'm sorry..."

"For what, Sweets?" he inquired, his face puffy from all the tears he'd already shed as he refused to be anything but strong in this woman's presence.

"A multitude of things," she told him. He could see the sorrow in her eyes, the guilt, all the negativity.

"Like what?"

"For not knowing that I was pregnant... for getting pregnant... for losing the baby," she said.

"I was there," Seth gave her a half grin, hoping to lighten the mood, but it wasn't really working.

"I need to tell you something, but I want no interruptions. OK?"

"Yes ma'am," Seth told her.

"The doctor told my mom a little while ago that they're going to keep me overnight. They want to run some tests tomorrow, but they're not sure that I'll ever be able to carry any children to term." Seth squeezed her hand, to show his support for her. "And I know that you want children one day... so if you want to dump me, that's fine. I won't be upset."

"Jenny..." Seth looked directly into her eyes. "If you want me to leave, then I'll leave, but I want you to know that whether or not we can have children one day... is not as important as having you, and only you, in my life forever. You are the one woman that I have ever fallen in love with... besides, we can always adopt." Jenny started to cry. "Why are you crying?"

"I was so expecting you to say that you were gone," she told him.

"I'm sorry," Seth flashed his million-dollar smile. "I just can't help it. I'm that in love with you, and I can't wait until you're Mrs. Bentley."

"I love you, too," she whispered.

"So have I ever told you about an old family tradition when it comes to weddings?" Seth asked.

"Uh oh..."

"The best man gets to choose the song that the bride and groom dance to for the first time."

Jenny smiled. "Then you tell Matt that if he choosing something bad, I'm gonna kick his ass."

"I love your smile," Seth smiled.

"And I love the fact that you surprise the hell out of me every single day," she told him as an orderly came into the room with the nurse to transport her to her room. "Will you tell everyone where I'll be?"

"Of course... do you need anything else?" he asked.

"Just you, babe," she told him.

"Yes ma'am," Seth said as he stood, leaning down to give her a kiss on the lips.

As he walked out of the room, the nurse looked at Jenny's smile. "Sweetie. I'm telling you this as a nurse and as a woman, but you're breath is kicking. If he's still willing to kiss you, you should hold on to him!"

"I plan on it," she smiled as the lady, dressed in tan-colored scrubs, started to move the bed.

Seth walked outside into the lobby and told the parents where she was being taken. After a moment, though, he walked outside to find Nick and Matt sitting across from each other in the smoker's just outside the front entrance. He walked over virtually unnoticed until he reached the place and sat next to Nick.

"How's Jenny?" Matt asked.

Seth smiled. "She will be OK," he told his best friend, a certain sense of relief in his voice that calmed Matt's on nerves for him and Jenny in that moment.

"That's good..." Matt told him. "She being admitted?"

"Yeah. She said that they want to run some tests in the morning. Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah..." Matt instantly said, without thinking.

"Will you run to my place and get us some clothes?"

"Sure..." Matt told him. "You wanna ride with me?" he turned to Nick.

"Yeah..." Nick told him. "I need to get some cigarettes anyway, if you don't mind stopping."

"No..."

"To stopping or to the fact that I need cigarettes?" Nick sort-of joked.

"No, as in 'I don't mind'," Matt said. Turning to Seth, "Anything in particular that I need to get?"

"Just some shorts and such. Get some of Jenny's stuff, too," Seth told him.

"We can do that," Matt told him.

"OK. I'm gonna go upstairs."

"Do you want us to bring you some dinner or something?"

"I'm good, but thank you," Seth said as the three of them stood. "Thank you for dropping everything..."

"I do owe you a couple, after all!" Matt smiled as the two of them hugged.

In just a moment, Nick and Matt were walking back to the truck. They climbed inside, and Matt immediately started it up. He backed out of the space and made he way toward the huge complex's entrance.

"So other than this, is everything going OK today?" Matt asked as he turned onto South Cossart.

"Yeah," Nick answered, looking over to see that Matt knew exactly what he was asking. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Asking... for sitting with Seth... for being there for me," Nick said.

"No thanks are necessary, really, Nick," Matt told him, just before they passed Dan's house. He hadn't thought about the offer on the house since earlier in the day, before they had to drop what they were doing to go to the hospital. "So I got an offer on the house," Matt commented as he continued to drive up the tree-lined street toward Seth's condo.

"A good one?"

"A very good one," Matt answered.

"So why don't you seem excited about it?"

"It's Pa's house. I have so many memories that are related to that place. I just don't know if I'm ready to give it up."

"What's your first memory?" Nick inquired.

"Seth and I were four, and our grandparents were having a grown-ups party at the house. Seth's Grandmom put him in his room; Pa put me in mine, but we eventually got up and then went to the top of the stairs and just sat there watching until Ma noticed we were out of bed."

"Did you get in trouble?"

"No, actually," Matt smiled. "She took us into my room and put some different clothes on, and then she took us downstairs. She even fixed us some coke in little glasses like Pa and Granddaddy had their bourbon in. It was so cool." He thought for a second. "I get your point in asking that question."

"OK..."

"I shouldn't try so hard to hold onto the past, when all that I need is in my head," Matt smiled.

"And you... Matthew Harper, win a gold star!" Nick smiled.

"So I should take the offer?"

"My opinion is yes..." Nick told him. "If you're grandfather is the kind of person that I think he was, he wouldn't want you to fester in the past."

"True..." Matt told him.

"Just like Corey wouldn't want me to fester in the past either," Nick told him, honestly.

"So what are we gonna do about it?" Matt asked as they arrived at Seth's apartment, turning off the car but making no effort to get out of the car in that moment.

"I don't know," Nick told him.

"I should talk to my mom, make sure it's perfectly OK with her that I sell the house she grew up in."

"And I should ask you out on a date," Nick looked at him.

"Do you really wanna go out on a date with me?" Matt wondered, hoping that he would say yes but fully expecting him to maintain their agreement, the status quo.

Nick took a deep breath. "Yeah..." he answered after thinking for a second about how to make the perfect response, deciding on the simple rather than the verbose.

They stepped out of the car, each with a smile on his face. Walking into Seth's condo, Matt walked back to what had become his and Jenny's room. They grabbed a few things, packing them neatly into a small suitcase, working quietly and quickly.

"Ya know," Matt started as he was grabbing some boxers from Seth's drawer, "I should make you work for a date with me."

"Oh yeah? What do you have in mind?"

"I should make you quit smoking before I say yes," Matt smiled.

"Why didn't I see that one coming?!" Nick questioned himself as they closed up the suitcase. Nick grabbed Jenny's stuffed pig, something she'd slept with since childhood, and brought it along with them.

As they left, Matt stopped at the Chevron on the corner of University. Nick climbed out and went inside to get a couple of things, returning with two Mt. Dews and a pack of Marlboro Lights. He gave the cigarettes to Matt, telling him that he'd have to help him quit, to taper off. Matt agreed to give him five a day for a week, since that was as little as he smoked anyway. After that, he would slowly move down until Nick didn't smoke anything at all.

They returned to the hospital a few minutes later and went up to Jenny's room. "You remembered Mr. Oinkers!" Jenny exclaimed, having been given something for the pain.

At around seven, the parents were ready to leave. While Ron and Jimmy talked to Seth for a few minutes as the Moms worked their magic and convinced Janelle to go get something to eat with them. Nick and Matt promised that they wouldn't leave until Janelle returned, and Seth wasn't going anywhere anyway. With those assurances, she left. Just before nine, she returned with a plate for Seth from Ms. Geneva's restaurant. When she found out where he was, she wouldn't let them leave until after she'd fixed him a plate. When Matt asked where his was, jokingly of course, Janelle smiled and told him that Ms. Geneva said that he'd have to come get his own. Matt smiled and said something about making Nick take him out there the next morning, to which he offered no argument.

When visiting hours ended, Nick and Matt took their leave of the two of them, taking their time to walk back to Matt's SUV. Janelle, full and happy that Jenny was OK, took a small, pullout sofa that was in the room turned in the for the evening. Seth, in a recliner, quickly fell asleep as Jenny clutched Mr. Oinkers. As the pain meds were wearing off, she clearly saw her mother sleeping. Seth got her attention most, though, as she grabbed her phone and snapped a quick picture of him.

A few minutes later, Nick smiled as he sat on the sofa next to Matt at his place. The message attached to it read, quite simply. 'This is the man I'm going to marry.' Nick showed it to Matt, who smiled, knowing that Seth wouldn't have done that for just anyone, least of all a girl.

To be continued...

Posted: 07/22/11