Chapter Five

Minnie comes home at six o'clock sharp. She's always been a punctual person, and today is no different. I hear her car as it rolls into the driveway. It's a little red Volkswagen, sort of like Doctor Eaton's. My dad got it for her sixteenth birthday as a gift, but also as a 'thank you' for letting him move in her bedroom. He was tired of living by himself. I was happy to let him stay with me; he deserved after spending the first two thirds of his life raising me. That, and he was faithful to Mom, even after she died. He never remarried. 

I'm sitting with my dad on the living room couch, reading a book I picked up at the library. I've decided to give all of my medical tomes a break and try to find enjoyment in a book that follows an actual narrative. It's one I remember vaguely reading in ninth grade. The Great Gatsby. I remember not liking most of it. I thought Daisy and Gatsby were shallow, Tom was an ass, and Jordan was unimportant. The only people I really felt for were George and Nick. George lost his wife, and Nick had to sit back and watch everything happen. He just wanted to have a nice, quiet vacation and got dragged into a mess he didn't want to get dragged into.

I was enjoying myself, and the silence I'd created by wearing my headphones. For my birthday, Minnie had gotten me some soundproof ones, ones that weren't made of little foam sponges. I can change the settings on them if I want to; I lower the sound-proofing setting when Minnie wants to ask me a question, and I turn it up when my dad starts snoring. 

The front door opens. I lower the setting on my headphones. 

Minnie and Denny's voices cross over the threshold first. They're arguing. 

"..I need to tell them, Denny. I..I just have to." Minnie's voice is shaking. 

"Hon, why can't you just hold off for a moment? You haven't even taken three tests yet. The website said you should take three tests before we know for sure." His voice seems just as shaky, but it's hard to hear over the sound of the TV. My dad's practically glued to the thing, watching another rerun of All in The Family, a show that's even older than I am. 

Minnie tries to say something, but she bursts into tears. I slip my headphones down so that they sit around my neck. I set down my book facedown on the armchair of the couch, and shuffle into the front hall - it's connected to the living room, so it's not a far walk. 

Denny and Minnie are still in their work uniforms. Minnie's face is buried in his tee shirt, which is covered in a blur of orange, red, and green splotches. His hair has fallen back into its usual stringy clumps. It could really use some brushing. 

He's running a hand through Minnie's hair, and trying to shush her with comforting words. "Alright, honey. It's alright. Everything's gonna be fine." He looks up and sees me. His clear green eyes go wide. 

"Hey, Adam." He says softly. He smiles at me, but its fake, I think. "How are you?"

"Good." My throat goes tight. I feel my brows knit together. I start to feel angry again. I thought those feelings had gone away earlier, but I thought wrong.

 "..What's wrong?" 

I watch as Minnie lifts her face to look at me. She goes pale, and then turns green. She pushes away from Denny, and tears down the hall to the bathroom. I hear her retch, and retch, and retch.

"What is that noise?" My dad tromps into the front hall, looking disgruntled, as usual. 

I slip my headphones back over my ears as Denny rushes after Minnie. He stands in the bathroom door, looking helpless. I turn down the noise setting, and tell my dad that Minnie's sick. He runs a weathered hand through his thick, greying hair. 

"Well, I suppose I could make some chamomile tea to help settle her stomach. Let me just get out the kettle." 

Minnie pauses to hack and cough, and then she starts retching again. I turn up the noise setting on my headphones and let myself sink back into silence. It's the only thing keeping me from melting down, sometimes.

Minnie stays in the bathroom for hours just throwing up. She usually eats like a bird. I didn't think so much vomit could stew in a person's stomach, but Minnie's living proof of otherwise. Denny stays right next to her the whole time, or at least I think he does. He was kneels by Minnie's side, rubbing her back in circles. He had his hair pulled back in a ponytail, and had used a grimy looking rubber band to keep it up. His leather jacket was crumpled and wrinkled into a little black mass, and was laid askew, right near the brass foot of the antique bathtub that's shoved in the corner of the already-cramped space. Me and my dad tried to get it out of there once. It turned out that it was bolted to the floor. My dad had tried to make her tea, but he ended up drinking it. He made himself comfy again and reclaimed his spot on the couch, which was, of course, right in front of the TV.

"Dad," I put down The Great Gatsby and take off my headphones. I looked at the mug in his hand, coils of steam billowed from the lip. "That's supposed to be for Minnie." 

My dad grimaces. "She'll just upchuck it." He lifts the mug to his lips and takes a sip. He lets out a little sigh as the liquid slides down his throat. "That's some good stuff."

"That's supposed to be for Minnie." I say again, but he doesn't seem to care. I reach out to grab the mug, but he pulls it back towards him. 

"Dad, please. You said you would make it for her. You're being rude." I know that he knows that. He smirks at me and takes another sip. Minnie coughs again, for the last time, I hope. And I'm right. Denny helps her to her room. About half an hour later, I hear his heavy footfalls come back down the hall towards the living room. He pokes his head in the door. He gives me a tired, weary smile and waves. 

"I think I'm gonna head out. " He tells me. 

"Alright." My dad replies for me. "If I were you, Dennis, I would drop by the pharmacy and pick up a few packs of Pampers. You're gonna need them eventually." 

Denny's mouth drops open. He lets out a little noise, a strangled sound before words start coming out. "Sir, I-I'm..Minnie and I are-"

"Figuring it out, I know. Now scram." My dad waves him off. 

Denny leaves without a word. I smile at my dad. He smiles back. 

"I think I can forgive the whole tea thing now." I tell him. 

"Uh-huh." My dad chuckles. "You always come around, Adam."