A Decision for Jarren - 7. Chapter 7

Sunday morning Jarren found himself on the couch at Lex and Ian’s house. It had been far past midnight when they finally found their respective beds. Luckily he had kept his alcohol consumption to a reasonable level. He just had a slight headache and a wicked dry mouth. Advil and a big glass of water should take care of that. Cassie and Lex, however would be sad puppies today. They were totally wasted last night.

Jarren made his way to the guest bathroom and peed for what felt like an eternity. Who knew the bladder could hold enough to fill a kiddie swimming pool? At least that’s what it felt like. After washing his hands and splashing water on his face Jarren made his way into the kitchen, The clock read ten-thirty. He spied the bottle of ibuprofen that Ian must have left on the counter and popped four of the pills back with a glass of water.

Halo padded over to him for some attention and after scratching behind her ears for a few minutes, he opened the slider so the dog could go out. He saw the coffee maker and rummaged through the cabinets for coffee. All he found were whole beans. He located the coffee grinder and snickered to himself as he pushed down the lid and the sound of the grinder filled the kitchen. He knew Cassie and Mazen had to be in the guest room and the door was close to the kitchen. Sure enough, evil Cassie threw open the door and stomped over and unplugged the coffee grinder all while shooting daggers at Jarren.

Mazen came to the rescue and pulled the beast away from doing harm to Jarren. “You just had to go there, didn’t you? Mazen accused.

Jarren snickered again and shrugged his shoulders. “Yup, and totally worth it.”

Mazen sat Cassie down at the table and got her some painkillers and a huge tumbler of coffee. He grabbed a frying pan and pulled out a hamburg patty that Lex had left in the fridge. Soon the smell of frying meat filled the air and Jarren watched in amusement as Mazen fixed a cheeseburger for his fiance. He had seen this same scene played out once before when Cassie had gotten shitfaced. Coffee and a monster cheeseburger were the only thing that would turn her human again and Jarren was amazed at the transformation after the burger had disappeared into the girl’s mouth in roughly seven or eight bites. Cassie finished her coffee and then disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower. Halo scratched at the glass and Jarren let her back in.

Lex and Ian came stumbling out from their bedroom, both wearing that ‘post mind blowing orgasm’ look. Well at least somebody was getting some. Jarren teased Lex and pointed to his friend’s face. He couldn’t help but crack up when Lex grabbed a napkin and swiped at the corner of his mouth. Hearing Jarren laugh, Lex threw the balled up napkin at him and muttered “Asshole.” That just made Mazen and Ian join in the laughter.

After downing some ibuprofen, Lex and Ian pulled out various breakfast ingredients. Lex put bacon on the stove and told Mazen to scramble some eggs. Ian told Jarren to make some more coffee while he started on the pancakes. By the time Cassie was through with her shower and came back to the kitchen, Lex was just finishing up with the last of the bacon, placing it on some paper towels to drain. Even though Cassie had just demolished a huge cheeseburger, she somehow managed to fit in a couple of pancakes, and a few strips of bacon. She stole a few bites of egg from Mazen’s plate as well. Halo was also a lucky recipient of some eggs and bacon that Cassie swiped from Mazen before he hunched over his plate to guard it from further pillage. She was a bottomless pit and yet had a rocking body for a girl.

Conversation was a little subdued and mostly centered on what Cassie and Mazen wanted for a wedding. Lex offered to pick out a theme for them and Cassie just flipped him off.

Lex diverted the conversation and asked Jarren “So have you decided what you’re going to do? Are you going back to Atlanta?”

Jarren swallowed the bite of pancake he had been chewing on and replied. “Yeah. I think I’ll stay and help out Mom and Dad for this week and drive back Friday or Saturday. I might see if Robbie wants to go with me. Sixteen hours of driving by yourself sucks. He’s on winter break next week. I’m not sure if he has any plans though. I’ll talk to him when I see him this afternoon.”

Mazen looked relieved and told him “That’s a great plan. I was going to offer to drive back with you, but this makes more sense. I think Robbie might jump at the chance to get out of here for a few days.”

“That’s what I was thinking too. Next Monday is President’s Day and I’d be off work anyway. If Mom and Dad don’t mind him skipping on Friday I’d like to leave then. Then we can hang out for the long weekend and do some sightseeing. I haven’t had much time to explore. Danny should be back by then too. I’m sure he can give me some ideas of what to see and do with a seventeen year old for a couple of days. I can put him on a late afternoon or early evening flight on Monday and that would give him the rest of the week to goof off with his friends.” Jarren replied.

When everyone was finished breakfast Jarren helped Cassie clean up. They worked in companionable silence for a while. When Cassie finally spoke up Jarren knew the painkillers and food had worked their magic as she pried “So, are you feeling better after your psych session with Dr. Lex?”

Jarren smiled at her and admitted “Yeah, I think I’ve sorted a few things out." He paused before adding "I need to tell you something and please don’t judge me. I’m gay Cassie,” he teased, with a shit eating grin.

Cassie snorted and replied “Damn, I never would’ve guessed you flaming homo!” She started singing “If you’re homo and you know it swish your hips! If you’re homo and you know it swish your hips! If you’re homo and you know it then your face will surely show it. If you’re homo and you know it swish your hips!”

Jarren laughed and flicked some soap suds at her. Cassie’s sense of humor was twisted and warped but he had come to really like her. He was glad she would be part of their family even if she was a little over the top.

Mazen walked in to see the two of them laughing and when Cassie spied him she went over and gave him a kiss. Then in a mock, loud whisper she said “Did you know your brother was a homosexual? He finally figured it out!”

Mazen laughed and smacked her ass, “Don’t make fun of the gay boy, he might sprinkle you with fairy dust!”

Jarren’s eyes narrowed and gauging the distance he quickly snatched the sink sprayer hose and let loose a blast of icy cold water at the pair. Cassie squealed as the cold water caught her right under her neck. Mazen yelled as the spray got him in the face. Halo scrambled out of the way so fast, her short legs were scrabbling on the smooth floor. Jarren didn’t care that there was water all over Lex and Ian’s kitchen. It was a small price to pay. Mazen started toward him and Jarren let loose another blast.

All three were laughing as Lex walked in, took one look at the mess and just shook his head saying “You guys are cleaning it up.” He turned and went back down the hallway, Halo following closely, wanting nothing to do with getting wet. Smart dog. Lex was happy to see his friend laughing again. If a little water fight helped, so be it. The darkness that had hovered around him for the past few months was gone and Lex hoped that it would stay that way for him.

Jarren cleaned up his mess as Mazen and Cassie went to put on dry clothes. He pulled Lex aside as he was getting ready to go home. “Thank you, Lex. I’m not sure how you you know exactly what to say but I’m glad you did. I feel a lot better and I’m beginning to realize that being gay isn’t so bad. You and Ian have what I’m hoping will happen for me. As Cassie just told me, it’s time to put on my big boy rainbow jockstrap and start rocking it.”

Lex snorted and pulled Jarren in for a hug. “That’s Cassie, blunt and to the point. I’m happy for you Jarren. Just take things one step at a time. If you think that this Nash guy is worth it, don’t rush into it. Make sure he is on the same page. Don’t hide from him and don’t hide from yourself, be open, OK? And Jarren? Use lots of lube” Lex advised as he started giggling.

Jarren turned pink, laughed and gave him another squeeze in reply. He gave Ian a quick hug as well and flipped his brother and Cassie the bird as he stepped through the slider going outside. The air was still cold, but it had at least ‘warmed up’ into the mid 30’s today.

Jarren returned to his house to shower and change his clothes before going to his parent’s house. If Mazen was going to move out he would need to decide what to do with this house. It actually had belonged to his mom and dad. They had purchased it dirt cheap at an auction about ten years ago when the housing bubble had burst. Bill Dalton was a savvy businessman and had invested in both real estate and stocks. He carefully monitored his investments and was able to avoid the pitfalls that had decimated both the housing and the stock markets. He had weathered the downturn and was one of the few companies in the construction industry in western Mass to make it through relatively unscathed. There was only a short period of a few months where he had to lay off a few workers.

When Jarren had turned twenty he approached his dad about buying the house that they had been renting out for a couple of years. Bill agreed to finance the purchase directly and they agreed on a fair price. Jarren had also managed to give his parents a fifteen thousand dollar down payment. He had been saving since he had first started working at fourteen and had taken his dad’s advice at eighteen and invested in the market as well. Mazen paid him rent and kicked in toward utilities. It had worked out so far and Jarren knew that with the improvements they had made on the home, if he did decide to sell he would make a nice profit. He was twenty-nine years old and the house was close to three-quarters paid off. If he decided to keep the house then he would have to consider renting it out if he stayed in Atlanta. Thankfully he didn’t need to decide right away. He just needed to focus on getting through the next week.

Jarren got to his parent’s home and was immediately engulfed into somewhat controlled chaos. Everyone except Mazen and Cassie were there which meant there was an entire baseball team worth of little kids underfoot. Bailey’s firstborn was the oldest at ten and Troy’s new addition was just over a year old. The remainder of the team were nearly every age in between. Despite the noise level being equivalent to being at an amusement park, not to mention increased odds of being head butted in the balls, Jarren enjoyed having the kids around, at least for a little while. He certainly didn’t envy teachers and daycare providers. No way could he put up with the cacophony day in and day out.

He found his dad in the living room ensconced on his recliner with a pillow under his leg. Jarren noticed all of the kids were careful whenever they came near. He knew they were under threat of having every electronic and/or toy taken away for a very long time if they bumped into Grandpa’s leg. He went over and gave his dad a hug, then immediately felt his right leg encased by skinny little arms as one of his nephews attached himself to his leg. It was Derek, one of Bailey’s brood and he always managed to cling onto Jarren like a leech. Jarren laughed and tried to shake him off gently. When that didn’t work he reached down and tickled the little boy under his arms. That did the trick. Derek let go and howled in protest. Jarren quickly swung him up and over his shoulder grabbing his ankles and, letting him hang off his back. The little boy dangled upside down and started laughing. Jarren gently lowered him to the floor, not wanting to hyperextend his shoulders. The little cretin was getting heavy. After being used as a climbing tree for a while, he managed to extricate himself from the onslaught of kids who had seen their brother or cousin hanging upside down from Uncle Jarren and wanted in on the action. Kelsey took pity on him and managed to herd the kids into the rec room to park them in front of a movie.

Jarren’s mom came over to check on her husband and Jarren took the opportunity to discuss having Robbie help out with the drive back to Atlanta. Neither his mom nor his dad had an issue with it and his dad even offered to pay for Robbie’s flight home. Jarren set off to find his little brother and located him hiding out in his room. Being the closest in age to the next generation and still living at home led to him being seen as the personal playmate for all the little ones. So when the whole family was gathered Robbie took advantage of the other uncles. Especially Jarren and Mazen, letting them entertain the kids for a change.

Jarren smiled at his brother, who was a younger version of him and Mazen, with the same blond hair and blue eyes. He had a game controller in his hand and was currently ensconced in an online battle of Call of Duty with his friends. He flopped onto Robbie’s bed which miraculously was made for a change and watched his brother play. Soon after Robbie got killed off and he told his buddies he had to go. Robbie was a typical seventeen year old. His room was messy, but at least there was no rotting food. Mom had never allowed any of them to eat anything other than the occasional candy bar in their rooms. There were clothes on the floor, only Robbie knew which were clean and which were dirty. The room had that typical stale sweat and faint cum stench to it. Winters were worse when it was too cold to open the windows to air it out.

Robbie looked at his brother and said “What up?”

Jarren looked back at him and asked “You have any plans for winter break?”

“Nothing set in stone. Might go snowmobiling with Sam and Johnny. Maybe skiing a couple of days. Why?” he inquired.

“Wanna help out with my drive back to Atlanta? I already talked to the ‘rents and they’re OK with it. They’ll even let you skip on Friday. I figured you could help out with the driving and in exchange I’ll keep you through the weekend and we can see some sights in Atlanta.” Jarren offered.

Robbie’s face lit up. He always loved seeing new places and as the youngest, Mom and Dad had taken him on vacation more than they had been able to with his siblings when they were young. They had gone to the Canadian Rockies last summer and Robbie had loved it. He had also seen northern California, Arizona and Texas on some of his summer vacations. He was hoping to go to Europe next year. He belonged to a ski club and they were in the early stages of planning a trip to Switzerland next January right after New Year’s. He was holding off on committing to it because he needed to decide on what college he was going to. If he stayed in state then most of the state universities had their semester break through the third week of January which would allow him the time to go. If he decided to go out of state a lot of other places started their spring semesters shortly after New Year’s Day.

“Really? I’d love it! Thanks Jare!” Robbie said enthusiastically.

Jarren got up and ruffled his brother’s hair as he was reaching for his laptop. Jarren knew he was going to look up things to do in Atlanta and left him to it. When he went back to the living room he saw that Mazen and Cassie had arrived. He mosied on into the kitchen to see if they needed any help. Bailey, Kelsey and Mom had everything under control. Feeding an army of hungry people called for precision teamwork and those three had it down pat. Kelsey told Jarren to go get the little kids and get their hands washed and sit them down at the kid’s table. Jarren, having done this before knew the routine. He managed to get them corralled and wrangled them through the downstairs bathroom, the three older ones helping out with the younger ones. Once at the table Jarren made sure each kid was sitting where they were supposed to be. They had learned long ago who couldn’t sit next to each other. Once they were settled Bailey and Kelsey brought out the plates that had already been prepared.

Mom had made baked chicken breasts. The kids pieces had been pre cut into bite sized chunks and the two oldest girls helped the two and three year olds get their food to make it to their mouths. In addition to the chicken there was corn, green beans, broccoli casserole and mashed potatoes. While the little kids were being served the rest of the grown ups sat at the big mahogany table that had all three leaves added to it. It easily accommodated the twelve adults. Troy’s one year old was sitting in her high chair in between the big table and the kid’s table. This way she could easily be fed and entertained watching her cousins at the same time.

It wasn’t quite like feeding time at the zoo but it was close. Jarren was just happy that he wasn’t stuck in the middle. He sat to the left of his Dad who was in his place at the head of the table. He sat sideways so his leg could be elevated on another chair. It made it awkward, but he managed. Conversation was lively and with such a big group several discussions were held all at once.

Halfway through Mazen decided to go the dramatic route and stood up, pulling Cassie with him. “We’re getting married!” he announced. For several seconds there was silence and then all hell broke loose. Choruses of ‘congratulations’ overlapped as everyone tried to speak at once.

Troy managed to make himself heard over everyone else when he shouted at Cassie “Are you pregnant?”

That got everyone’s attention and Cassie laughed and answered “Oh God no. I think this family has already contributed its share to the global population. We are in no hurry to stretch the natural resources any further!”

Dinner resumed and conversation remained lively. The girls started to get into discussing all things wedding related and Jarren finished his meal and just sat back and enjoyed the bantering. These were the moments when having a huge family was worth it.

When everyone was finally finished, the kids were cleaned up, sticky hands and faces washed, the table cleared and dishwasher loaded with the first batch of dirty dishes and the rest stacked up waiting on round two. The little bit of leftovers were packed away and coffee was brewed. Dessert was an assortment of cookies and the little eclairs that were Jarren’s favorite.

Eventually the evening wound down and tired little kids were bundled up and carried out to their parent’s vehicles for the ride home. Soon it was just Jarren left at his parent’s place and he discussed the Atlanta trip with Robbie and his folks. He decided to let Robbie plan the route, his only stipulation being that they avoid New York and DC. Robbie was a little disappointed as he was hoping that they could stop in the nation’s capitol for a few hours. Bill told his son that they would plan a separate trip. There was just too much to see and do that it deserved a trip of its own. That placated the younger Dalton. Jarren said goodnight and embraced the silence on the short ride back to his house.

He was glad to see that Mazen’s truck was gone. That meant he was probably spending the night at Cassie’s apartment, presumably having sex. Cassie was loud in just about every area of her life, the bedroom being no exception. Jarren had heard way too much of that type of noise. Listening to a girl order his twin brother to “Fuck me harder” did nothing for him other than give him the heebie jeebies. He shuddered at the memories.

Jarren thought about calling Nash, but held off. Instead he called his roommate to let him know what was going on. Danny had just gotten back from Florida and was happy to hear from Jarren. He teased him about leaving a mess in the kitchen and Jarren apologized. Danny understood and told Jarren that he was saving the fuzzy green plate for him to take care of when he got back. Danny joked and told him he had named it Peaches. Jarren had laughed and told him where he could shove Peaches. Jarren went to bed shortly after ending the call with Danny. As much as he loved his family, they tired him out, mentally more than anything else. Nine kids hanging around tends to do that to a person.

The rest of the week went quickly. Jarren chickened out of calling Nash again and just sent him a few texts instead. He helped out with some things that needed to be done at his parent’s house and checked on the restaurant job site a few times for Mazen. Overall Mazen had everything at the company under control.

On Wednesday he went snowmobiling with Lex and Ian. They had bought snowmobiles as their Christmas presents to each other. Lex had his custom painted the same turquoise blue that graced his 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle. Jarren had the same snowmobile that he bought when he was twenty from their older neighbor who had moved to Arizona. It was a fun afternoon and Jarren felt a whole lot less stressed.

Dad was doing better and by Thursday could manage to hop the distance from his bed to the chair and bathroom without too much difficulty. Jarren went over there Thursday afternoon and stayed for dinner. Robbie would stay at his house so they could leave early in the morning. Jarren hoped to be on the road by five o’clock. It still sucked, but it was better than three and at least there was someone to share the driving this time.

Jarren said goodbye to his parents, his mom cried as usual whenever one of her children left for any length of time. Robbie grabbed his stuff and managed to start Mom’s tears flowing again when he went to hug and kiss her goodbye. He rolled his eyes at her in that typical teenager fashion and high-fived his Dad after giving him a hug and kiss. Jarren promised to call as soon as they arrived safely no matter what time it was. God, his mom was a worry wart.

Jarren and Robbie hustled out to the truck and both breathed a sigh of relief. Jarren had to chuckle at the look of happiness on his little brother’s face. It must be hard being the youngest with such an age gap between his siblings and even with his nieces and nephews. He was stuck in this middle space with no other family members close in age. Sure there were a few cousins on both sides of the family, but they didn’t get together very often so no one was really close. At least Robbie had a tight knit group of friends.

They watched a little TV before going to bed and by five o’clock the next morning they were on the road. Jarren had gassed up the night before and made a quick stop for coffee at Dunks before getting on the highway. This time south and toward Nash. Jarren missed him. He just really hoped that Nash had missed him too.