The Fast Lane

Chapter 6

I spent the rest of the afternoon with my mom.  We went down to the pool and laid out to tan.  She didn’t ask me where I had been and didn’t ask me where Harry was.  She didn’t even mention Harry, which surprised me.  

She did talk about my tattoo though.  I didn’t remember that she hadn’t seen it before, so when I took off my shirt, her eyes scanned my body and widened when they landed on the ink.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her eyes that big in my life.  She looked at it for a good three minutes, then just laid down and began talking about the time she and dad visited Thailand and rode on some elephants.  I didn’t know they went to Thailand.

She also talked about my sister and the wedding.  Turns out my sister had taken a few muscle relaxers before the wedding, and she drank so much during the reception that she and Mark couldn’t leave for the honeymoon yet.  She was in their hotel room with a wicked hangover of sorts.  My mom told me we would be going to dinner with them a little bit later. Bummer. 

When it was time for dinner, my mother and I waited in the lobby for my sister.  She came wobbling down the stairs, clutching the handrail.  She looked terrible, which, as sad as it is, made me happy.  Mark followed her, looking like he had been through hell the last little while.  Finally, to my surprise, a third character followed Mark down the stairs: Tom. 

Mark and Tom walked on either side of Jenna, and she balanced herself between them.  Mark gave my mom a kiss on the cheek and weakly asked her how she was.  They whispered about how Jenna was doing and then discussed the departure of Mark’s parents earlier that day.  Tom stood still and smiled, politely listening the whole time. 

I was watching Tom, mentally comparing his face to Harry’s when suddenly my sister blurted, “OH TOM, this is that lil’ bitch I was telling you about, my ssssssssisterrrrrrrr.” 

My mom and Mark looked at Jenna disapprovingly, and then at me, unsure of what to say.  Instead of causing a ruckus, I cheerfully (and a little sarcastically) stuck my hand out and said, “Nice to meet you, Tom.  I’m Lil Bitch.” He laughed just like Harry did. 

"Why don’t we go get you some water…" My mom took Jenna’s arm and walked towards the bar right inside the hotel restaurant.  She turned to look at us and said, "You all go get us some good seats!" 

Mark, Tom, and I walked into the restaurant and sat in a booth big enough for all of us.  Mark put his head in his hands. “This is not how I wanted my marriage to start off.” He and Tom told me all about last night and today. Apparently my sister was already completely drunk and relaxed and one of Mark’s hillbilly cousins decided to give her a joint to “help her out.” Jenna, being as impaired as she was, took the joint and ate it. Mark found out and was livid and threw his cousin out of the wedding, but by that time, Jenna was already puking up everything.  She was up all night, and this morning, she started her period early.  I couldn’t help but laugh when I heard.  

"But why are you still here?" I finally turned to Tom and asked.

"He’s been helping me out with Jenna all day!" Mark said, looking at me and then giving his best man an appreciative slap on the back. 

I looked at Tom for a minute and shook my head. “Taking care of people must just be some kind of natural instinct in your family.” 

He looked at me, confused.  ”What about my family?”

"Well, I got sick last night too.  Harry took me back to his apartment after I got sick and took care of me all night and this morning." 

"What is your name? I’m so sorry, I forgot to ask for real!" 

"Oh right, I’m Tristan!" I said, sticking my hand out.  Tom began to laugh.  He took my hand and shook it over and over, chuckling to himself.