I was sitting there looking into my third drink when I heard footsteps behind me and a female voice that I recognized.
"You know you are going to have heartburn tomorrow."
I looked over and saw Jennifer sitting down next to me. I looked her up and down before returning to my drink. I held it for a little while before she took it from me and took a drink from it before putting it down.
"You would be happy to know that Brin took good care of your niece and she is at home now."
"I bet she did," I said downing the rest of the drink ordering another one but Jennifer telling the bartender no.
"What is that suppose to mean?"
"Nothing and don't do that again."
"OK something obviously pissed you off. So before you cause a scene let's go over there and talk."
She grabbed my hand and led me to some tables nearby before sitting down looking at me. She ordered two cokes as the waiter went away.
"Brin called me because she has never seen you so angry. You left your niece there crying which isn't like you either. So what's the dealio?"
"Nothing Jennifer. None of your business."
"Damn right its my business. You are a friend of mine but also this is affecting friends of mine and families so it is my business," Jennifer said as the drinks arrived.
We sat there in silence for a little while before I started to get all funny in the head. I looked at Jennifer who I guess saw what I looked like when she reached her hand forward.
"Give me your keys Mike."
I reached into my pocket giving her my keys before she got up and dragged me up by my arm. We both walked outside in the cold air where she led me to her car and put me in the passenger side. I was still a little foggy when she got into the other side as I could barely keep my eyes open. The next thing I knew there was someone shaking me awake and when I opened my eyes I saw we were at Jennifer's place. She helped me into the apartment before sitting me down on the couch and then leaving for a little while. She returned a short time later sitting on the couch next to me looking at me.
"So what is going on Mike. I don't care what it is just tell me what is going on."
I took a deep breath and told her the entire story of what has been going on. Jennifer seemed shocked at many parts. Some point during the story she got us some coffee and talked over that. Before I knew it, it was getting close to 6 when I stood up but immediately came down again not feeling right.
"Slow down Mike. You aren't going anywhere tonight. You are going to stay here and sleep it off. Tomorrow we will take care of things," she said rubbing my hand.
I smiled at her and for the first time in a little while felt at peace.
"I have to go to Brin's tomorrow for some Christmas thing."
"Yeah we changed it to over here. You didn't get the message yet."
She kept rubbing my hand before laying next to me and turning on the television. We watched it for a little while when Brian came in from work.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Rough day. You mind if Mike says here tonight? I don't want him to drive," Jennifer said getting up and giving Brian a long kiss.
"No Problem."
The rest of the night went on without incident. We laughed, watched TV and had dinner. Jennifer and Brian went to bed early before giving me some blankets and pillows for the night. I laid there for a long time thinking what was going on in my life and slowly drifted off to sleep.
I woke up when it was still dark outside. I closed my eyes briefly before opening them again trying to get the headache to go away but also try to remember where I was when it all hit me. I closed my eyes trying to get the pain to go away in my head but wasn't going to go back to sleep. I looked at my watch and saw it was almost 6 in the morning. I got up and somehow made it to the bathroom where I splashed some water on my face which made me feel better. I then walked into the hall and then living room. I turned on the television real low watching some Christmas stuff which passed the time. Around 7 I decided to make some coffee and went back watching TV once again. Around 8 I heard some noise and saw Jennifer coming down the hallway with her hair all tussled and in a sweater. She looked really cute when she saw me sitting on the couch. She went into the kitchen getting a cup of coffee before coming out giving me a kiss on the forehead and going up the hall. A few minutes later she came out with some aspirin and tossing them to me.
"How's your head?"
"Not as bad now as when I first got up this morning."
"How long have you been up?"
"Since about 6. Couldn't sleep anymore."
Jennifer just shook her head and drank her coffee seeing what I was watching. We sat there in silence when we both heard the bathroom door close and the shower go on. Jennifer rolled her eyes and started laughing.
"Every time we do it he has to take a shower the next day," she said drinking her coffee.
I just looked at her weird before she slapped me on the leg.
"Oh don't give me that. You know a lot more than that about us. So I was thinking, when Brian left, you would take a shower. We would get ready and I would drive you over to your place where you can get the presents and gage the atmosphere. I would drive you to your car and you can come back here and hang out for a while before Brin and Brian come over."