by Nicki Elson
She heard him speak with Maria and explain what had happened. When he hung up, she told him Big D was listed as “D” in her contacts. Sleep’s tender fingers cradled her, coaxing her to release consciousness. In a fog, she heard David say, “No, don’t come … Her parents will be here tomorrow … She wants you to stay and get things ready for her back home … I guess her bedroom’s a mess, so maybe you could clean it up for her.” Through her half-closed eyes, Jen caught David’s mischievous grin as he gave that last suggestion. “Um, no, she’s sleeping right now. She’ll call you when she wakes up … Uh-huh … Sure.”
Jen succumbed to sleep. When she woke, her room was empty and her curtains were drawn. She was hungry, but knew she wouldn’t be allowed to eat anything before surgery. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, she spotted her phone on the tray in front of her and pressed D’s number.
He answered on the first ring. “What happened? Are you okay? Do you want me to come? I’ll leave right now. Who’s this David guy?”
“Let’s see…” Jen shook her head fully awake. “I’m a klutz. I’m fine. No, I don’t want you to come. David’s a really good friend. I think you might know him.”
“I wish I could be there with you.”
“I know, but don’t worry. Surgery’s early tomorrow, and then my parents will be here and will bring me back to CIU.”
Big D was silent.
“I miss you,” Jen said in the playful little-girl voice she’d adopted around her boyfriend. David stepped into the room, flicking on the lamp when he saw she was awake.
“I miss you, too, Jenny,” D responded in a deep murmur. He was the only person in the world who could get away with calling her that. She liked the affectionate, possessive way it rolled of his tongue.
She and D stayed quiet for a few moments, listening to each other breathe, until Jen started to feel uncomfortable with David standing right there. “I better let you go. But I’ll see you tomorrow, hopefully.”
“If they don’t let you out tomorrow, I’m burning rubber to Springfield no matter what you say.”
Jen smiled.
“’Night, beautiful.”
“’Night, handsome.”
Jen hung up, turning toward David. “That was D.”
“I gathered.” He held a plastic bag. “They only have basic channels here and no On Demand, but there’s a DVD player, so I found the local superstore and bought us some movies. This is the best the five dollar bin had to offer.” One by one, he held up his purchases. “Adventures in Babysitting—a major score. Had to dig all the way to the bottom to find it. Scrooged—what the hell; it’s the holidays. Last and least—Shrek the Third.”
Jen nodded in approval. “Can we watch them in that order? I’m hoping I’ll be sleeping again before we get to Shrek.”
“As you wish.”
While David peeled off the cellophane, Jen asked, “Remember that day I saw you by the rugby fields? You gave Big D a funny look. What was that about?”
“I don’t remember looking at him funny.”
“You said he was famous. Famous for what?”
“Famous for being a great guy. Like CIU’s very own superhero.”
“Do you promise you’d tell me if you knew something bad about him? I don’t want you to ‘bro’s before hoe’s’ me.”
“First of all, you’re not a hoe. Second, after the Dave fiasco, I’ve learned to be upfront with you about guys who are jerks. I swear, as far as I know, D’s perfect.”
Jen grinned, thinking about D’s perfection. Then her brow creased. “Ellie doesn’t like me very much, does she?”
David shrugged, moving toward the TV. “She doesn’t like me half the time, either.”
“I guess I don’t mind what she thinks as long as you and I can still be friends. She’s not the reason you’ve been avoiding me all semester, is she?”
He slid the first DVD into the player. “She doesn’t have any impact on you and me.” He picked up the remote and focused on finding the right setting. Jen noticed he didn’t deny that he’d been avoiding her, but she was willing to let it drop. He’d proven beyond a doubt today the he was a loyal friend.
Chapter 5
When Jen woke in the morning, she looked immediately toward where David slept, feeling a new wave of gratitude. He’d kept her mind off surgery the night before, and having him there in the morning was so much better than waking up all alone. The stab of pain as she pushed herself to sitting brought her fears rushing back to the forefront.
David stirred. When he saw Jen was awake, he hopped off his bed. His long, thick bangs were a rumpled disaster. “Do you need anything?”
At first, she shook her head but then reconsidered. “Maybe an ice chip.”
David disappeared out the door and returned soon after with a Styrofoam cup filled with ice. He sat on Jen’s bed, holding out the cup so she could help herself. His dark eyes were still bleary from just waking up. “Nervous?” he asked.
“Yeah. Thanks for staying. I’m so lucky you came with us yesterday.”
“If I hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have told you to look at the light beam, and you wouldn’t have fallen. Neither of us would be here.”
“I’m glad I saw the light! It was beautiful. Totally worth all the pain.”
He shook his head, smiling. “You’re so strange.”
A nurse came in and checked Jen’s vitals, then left just as a call came in from Mrs. Whitney. She and Jen’s dad were on their way down and she was calling to wish her daughter good luck and let her know they’d be at the hospital by the time she came out of surgery. Before Jen was quite ready for it, a stocky nurse came in to wheel her to surgery prep.
David went with them. Along the way, he laced his fingers through Jen’s. She gripped them, more scared than she wanted to admit.
The nurse eventually halted at a set of ominous double doors. “Time to say goodbye,” she ordered. “You can wait in the third floor waiting room. After surgery, the doctor will come with an update.”
“I’ll call your parents and tell them where to meet me,” David said, keeping his wide, nervous eyes on Jen’s.
She found his concern comforting, as if David’s worried gaze were absorbing her anxiety, making her stronger. He leaned forward and softly pressed his lips to hers. As he started to lift his head away, Jen felt something like panic race through her. She didn’t want David to leave. She reached her hand behind his head and held him close while she pressed her mouth more earnestly against his in a full-on kiss.
“Hey, guys, enough!” the nurse snapped.
Jen lowered her head back to the pillow and slipped her hand from David’s tangled hair. She arched her neck as the stretcher wheeled away, staying locked in the security of his warm, comforting eyes until the double doors swung shut behind her.
***
When Jen regained consciousness in the recovery room, the nurse called for her parents. The surgery had gone as well as possible. Jen wore a cast and felt no pain at the moment. The doctor said she could go home later that day.
“I’m so sorry we weren’t here before you went in,” her mother cried as she came in and hugged her daughter. “Next time I’m coming straight down! I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I’m kind of hoping there won’t be a next time, Mom” Jen said, squeezing her tight. Next she reveled in a bear hug from her dad. She’d needed to see them more than she’d realized.
They were eventually taken back to Jen’s room where David waited with a giant balloon and a teddy bear. He’d cleaned himself up, but his clothes were wrinkled and parts of his hair refused to play nice. Jen was anxious for an opportunity to explain to him that the kiss had merely been a reaction to fear and medication.
After Jen was settled in her bed and the nurse left, the four of them sat in silence. Mrs. Whitney was the one to break it. “I enjoyed talking to your mother on the phone the other day,” she said to David.
“My mom?” he asked.
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“Yes, it’s lovely of your parents to invite Jennifer along on your family vacation this spring.”
“Oh, Mom, no,” Jen said. “You’ve got the wrong guy.”
“This isn’t your Dave?”
“No, this is my David. He’s not my boyfriend. David and I are just friends. He was here working on a project with me and stayed until you could get here.” She hoped the “just friends” bit had gotten a message across to David as well, though she wished she hadn’t had to do it in front of her parents.
“Oh, dear.” Her mother said. “That’s really going above and beyond when you’re not even her boyfriend. Henry, give the boy some money.”
“No! No. That’s completely unnecessary,” David said. “It was my fault she fell in the first place.”
“We still appreciate it.” Mr. Whitney slipped folded bills into David’s hand.
When David snuck a helpless glance at Jen, she realized her face was burning with embarrassment. “Mom, Dad, you guys must be hungry and tired after the long drive down. Why don’t you go to the cafeteria to get something to eat or at least a coffee.”
Mr. and Mrs. Whitney agreed, promising not to be long, and left after giving their daughter kisses on the forehead. While Jen debated the best way to explain the pre-surgery kiss, David asked, “You’re going on spring break with Big D’s family?”
“Uh-huh. Sanibel Island. I guess they go every year.”
“You two must be getting serious.” David’s good-for-you smile told Jen the kiss hadn’t meant anything to him, either. She was relieved…but it came with a twinge of disappointment.
The doctor released Jen from the hospital just before dinnertime. Mr. Whitney drove the four of them back to CIU. The temperature had dropped since the day before, and the whitened-charcoal sky promised snow. Jen spread across the middle row of seats with her leg propped up while David sat in the far back of the SUV, his earbuds wedged into his ears. Jen couldn’t wait to get back to CIU. She missed her own bed, and she missed D.
As soon as they parked in the Netherfield lot in front of her building, D came trotting out. He shook firm hands with Mr. Whitney and politely introduced himself to Mrs. Whitney when she stepped out of the car. While David struggled in the back to pull Jen’s crutches from under the seat, D reached in and lifted his girlfriend from the car.
“Hi, beautiful.”
“Hi, handsome.” She rubbed the tip of her nose against his.
David emerged from the car, pulling Jen’s crutches free with a grunt. He looked up to see her perched securely in D’s arms. “Guess you won’t be needing these, then.”
Jen noticed her mother’s eyes scan David’s inadequate denim jacket and the thick, messy bangs hanging over his eyes. When Mrs. Whitney’s gaze turned back onto D in his thermal North Face coat and neatly trimmed hairstyle, her entire being seemed to sigh with relief. “So this is your Dave!”
Jen flashed with irritation at her mother’s shallow judgment. It was so unfair. The only reason David looked so bad compared to D was because he’d spent the night at the hospital taking care of her. Besides, it wasn’t as if the two of them were in competition, anyway.
“It was nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Whitney. Thanks for the ride.” David said, pushing the crutches toward Jen’s father.
Jen wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her guardian angel. “You can’t go—you haven’t signed my cast yet.”
“Don’t you think he’s already donated enough time to the cause?” D said. “Let the poor guy go home and take a shower.” Jen frowned. He was right. From under her thigh, D extended his hand. “Thanks, man, for taking care of my girl. It was good to know she wasn’t alone.”
“Glad to do it.” David gave D’s hand a small shake and nodded a goodbye to Jen. He thanked her parents again and walked away.
“I’m still going to make you sign my cast!” Jen shouted after him as she, D, and her parents headed toward the apartment.
Kate and Maria had decorated with balloons and streamers. They’d also baked cupcakes for Jen’s homecoming. “Sweetie, how are you?” Maria ran over while Big D set Jen onto the couch in front of the huge bouquet of flowers he’d brought for her.
“I’m fine. It really wasn’t so bad. I should be able to move to a walking cast in a couple of weeks and will be back to normal by spring break.”
“That’s great,” Kate said. She and Jake had recently had a long chat on Skype, during which they’d both confessed to having no interest in dating others. Now Kate was counting down the dwindling days until he’d return.
Mr. Whitney offered to go out to pick up dinner for all of them, and D scored more points with Mrs. Whitney by volunteering to go with him.
“Don’t forget to bring in the balloon and teddy bear when you come back,” Jen said before they left. She supposed it was some sort of reverse Florence Nightingale effect that caused the small ache she felt when she thought of David.
***
Jen and Big D had already agreed to take things slow physically, but after Jen’s accident, D took it to nearly a standstill. She appreciated him keeping things PG under her parents’ roof when he visited during Christmas break, but even after they returned to campus in January, he hardly did anything more than kiss her. They started getting hot and heavy on the couch one day while her roommates were out, but as they maneuvered to a vertical position, Jen smacked her walking cast on the coffee table. She yelped, sending D into a flurry of apologies. After that, she barely got so much as a nibble of his tongue. She hoped he’d be less cautious once the cast was completely off.
Jen was spared another night of sexual frustration when D and some of his fraternity brothers decided to pull an all-nighter with a new video game that had just come out. She’d been mostly hanging out with D and his friends lately, so she looked forward to a night out with her own people. Marcy picked her up and they drove together to a party at Joe’s house.
The two girls took seats next to each other at an oblong table where a group had invented their own drinking game. They called it Dial-a-Drink. From what Jen could tell, the game involved four dice, a deck of cards, a Mason jar, a bottomless pitcher of beer, and a rare landline telephone. She did what the others told her to do, picking up on the rules as she went along. After finishing her turn with the cards, she looked around the room to see who else had arrived. Amid the cluster of students in the living room, she noticed David leaning against a far wall by the fireplace. He was talking to a blond girl Jen didn’t recognize.
Marcy pushed the dice in front of Jen. She rolled and without waiting to see the results, cupped her hands around her mouth, shouting, “David!”
He turned toward her, and she waved, excited to see him for the first time since Springfield. Tonight she could finally get him to sign her cast. One side of his mouth twitched up into a half smile, and he gave her a nod before returning his attention to the girl. Someone at the table slid the pitcher to Jen. It was her turn to place a beer bet. If she won this round, her opponent would drink whatever she put in the jar. If she lost, she’d have to drink it. She filled the jar only an inch.
“Oh, I think you’re a little thirstier than that.” Her opponent, a guy named John, upped the ante to half a jar.
Jen groaned. A red card was pulled, and Marcy pressed a series of numbers on the phone’s pad. She held the receiver out. At the sound of a faint “Hello?” everyone at the table shouted, “Hooray!” Marcy slammed down the receiver, shaking with laughter.
“That’s what you get for picking on an invalid,” Jen called across the table to John as he swallowed the bet.
Marcy passed Jen the phone and the group settled down. While Jen waited for dice to be rolled, beer to be poured, and cards to be drawn, she pondered David’s less than enthusiastic greeting. She’d meant to get him some kind of thank you gift for staying with her at the hospital, but hadn’t done it. She wondered if perhaps he felt snubbed after all he’d done for her. But that didn’t seem like David.
>
“Dial away, Jen,” Joe said, bringing her attention back to the game.
She looked at the dice and the cards. “What order do I dial in?” Joe recited the phone number, and Jen dialed. Five rings, no answer. She grabbed the deck of cards and glanced toward David. He laughed at something the girl had said. Then Jen realized—David wasn’t mad at her. He just had better things to do than talk to her. He’d rather talk to that girl.
The notion gnawed at Jen’s gut. Ever since freshman year, her friendship with David had held a special place in her heart. She’d thought she was special to him, too. Seeing him across the room, absorbed in conversation with that girl, Jen suddenly doubted the uniqueness of their relationship. Maybe David made every girl he talked to feel like she was special. The way the blonde across the room gazed adoringly up at him certainly backed that theory. Tonight, Jen had faded into David’s background, and she didn’t like it.
A girl named Donna slid the pitcher across the table to Jen. Beer sloshed over the sides. Donna had been getting the brunt of the game and wavered in her chair. It was Jen’s turn to place a beer bet against her. She showed mercy and barely topped off the half inch that was already in the jar.
Marcy rolled a five.
Joe murmured, “Uh-oh.”
“What?” Jen asked.
“Just wait.” He nodded to his roommate Steve, who sat to Jen’s left. Steve pulled a card—it was black.
“Yes!” Joe shouted, standing and throwing his arms into the air. “That’s our phone number! It’s impossible to get an answer, so you”—His finger sliced through the air to point at Jen—“have to drink the jar!”
“Me?” Jen protested.
“Yep. Unfair advantage, so you drink.”
Jen sighed, but felt vindicated for having gone soft when placing her bet. Now she wouldn’t have to drink much. She reached for the jar.
“Hold on.” Joe came around the table to grab the pitcher and pour. “You have to drink the whole jar.”
“Now you’re just making shit up!” Marcy shouted.
“My house.” Joe set down the pitcher after he’d filled the jar to the rim. “My rules.”