Jem… Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I can’t help but smile at Roxy.

“Yes, I made cookies today.”

“Oh my god! You are so cool! I’ve never had homemade cookies before!”

She hugs me and then just as fast she turns around and run/skips into the kitchen. Both Raven and Brooklyn are looking at me with surprised smiles. “You bake?”

“Yes a little bit, all kind of self taught but my Dad taught me how to make cookies.”

We all head into the kitchen where Kim’s actually piling a bunch of cookies on a plate and I smile and take them from her and she looks at me. “But…but…” I look at her. “Here, get the milk out and get the glasses.” I take the plate of cookies and add to it some more and put them in the microwave for twenty five seconds.

They come out all softer and just heated up enough to be warm and the pounce on the plate of them except for Raven who’s not really looking the best of shape. I touch her forehead and she’s warm and she gives me this odd look and a little smile that’s not normally there like that. You know that smile that you get from someone when their not feeling good.

That’s the smile.

“You look like you need some sleep.” I tell her.

“I’m okay it’s just a cold or something.”

“Yes well the or something is kicking your ass girl. Why don’t you go and lay down for awhile. I’ll call you when supper’s ready.”

“Yeah…bed…bed sounds like a good idea. They smell good Angel.” She gives me a hug and heads out of the kitchen and heads upstairs.

I get started on the stuff for the tacos and get Roxy and Brooklyn to do some of the stuff while I go up and check on her. She’s curled up in her blankets and already out like a light by the time that I got up there so I very care fully take off her glasses and then her shoes and get another blanket and cover her up in it.

I might have done more but there’s still the whole thing about me really being a guy and all that. I mean there are some boundaries I’m not sure about crossing yet given everything that’s going on.

Supper actually went over pretty good with the tacos and everything and I have mine but let the girls kill what’s left because with raven being sick I’m pretty sure that tacos and the spices and all of that stuff isn’t really a good idea.

I let the girls do the dishes as I get on my laptop again and I call the Pine Tree café once I pull the contact information off of Summer’s webpage.

“Hello Pine Tree Café, how can we help you?”

“Hello, this is Angel Benton calling and I was wondering if I could talk to whoever’s signing up the live bands for your café?”

“Just a moment.” I hear a bit of talking then a man’s voice comes on the line. “Hello.”

“Good afternoon sir. My name is angel Benton and I was looking through some events for the area and noticed that you had Kisses and Thorns playing at your café on Thursday night and wondered if you had a follow up group?”

“I can’t really afford to pay the band we’ve got hired Ms. Benton, let alone to add in a second act.”

“Oh I’m sorry to hear that Mr.?”

“Walker.”

“Mr. Walker, we’re a pretty new group and we’re an all girl act and that’ll draw people in anyway. I’m offering for us to play there for free.”

“For free?”

“Yes, we’re just starting out and we’re trying to build a name for ourselves first and just pay our dues. The music’s the most important thing we play and do right by or venues and the fans then…”

“You sound really motivated.”

“I am, we all are.”

“For free?”

“Yes but I’d like to have your permission to set up some cameras and stuff.”

“Sure.”

“Sure? Does that mean that we have the second show?”

“Yes Ms. Benton you girls have the second show. What’s the name of your band?”

“We’re called Starlight Butterfly.”

“Cute, very uhm…”

“Very girly, I know but we’re plenty cool with that.”

“I’ll see you Thursday night then your set will start at eight.”

“Eight it is and thank you so much sir!”

We both end up hanging up and I do a little happy dance sitting on the couch and I get back on the phone and call the next venue. It’s Lucky’s Pool Hall and the results are the same. No one’s going to turn away another band that’s willing to play for free.

I don’t get that Saturday nights gig shadowing summer because the booking spot is filled for The Amsterdam Pub but they’re will to hear us play and I send Mr. Ingstrom a couple of our sound files off my computer to his e-mail and he listens to them while I’m on the phone with him and we get the eight PM show at the Pub next Friday night, and it’s a paying show. Not great cash but its one hundred bucks and whatever we can get from the crowd in tips.

Roxy and Brooklyn were sitting beside me after the heard me whoo-hoo about landing the second shadowing gig at the pool hall and getting our first paying gig since Summer took off has us all excited and celebrating even if we’re trying to keep it down.

I’m swarmed with Roxy hugs and even quite a few from Brooklyn and she’s even a bit weepy again and that get’s Roxy started too. Brooklyn looks at me while rubbing her eyes making a nice raccoony mess.

“Thanks Ange, I mean it really thanks…I…I just wasn’t sure if... (Sniffle)...if we’d have ever got back on our feet….and you just keep doing more and more and I mean…it thank you.”

I hug her and Roxy has he face into my chest and she’s crying in this whiney little sobbing way. “God you’re so cool, oh my god you’re so cool…I don’t know why those assholes are after you? You awesome…”

“Okay, okay you guys I get it you’re happy. I was just doing the stuff that we’ve been talking about.” I hug them and then hug them some more.

Roxy hugs me a bit tighter like she’s trying to bury her face into me. “But…you follow through, nobody but you guys ever follow through in my life, nobody’s ever cared enough.” The she sniffles and stares at me some more tears still running from her eyes.

Brooklyn’s not crying anymore but has this still kind of upset look but it’s this upset intensity there.

“Ange, you really don’t get just how special you are. I’ve seen way too much that people haven’t really given a shit. Hell I can count the people that I’d trust on one hand. But you you’re different, I mean I hit you with my car and you’ve got that psycho rich boy on your ass and you’ve been through the grinder just as much as we have and you just…you actually fucking care…and you care about people more than yourself.”

I blush but pull her into a hug so it’s the three of us and she’s hugging but still looking me in the eyes and I look back and smile the pull her in and kiss her on the forehead.

Roxy sniffles and mumbles. “I really love what you did with your room. It’s awesome.”

“I’m glad that you like it.” I run my fingers through her hair while she’s starting to let go.

“Is it alright if we go check it out Angel?” Brooklyn asks.

“Sure I want to take a look in on Raven anyway.”

We head upstairs to my room and I turn on my lights and it looks different even to me having been away from it for a couple of hours. I shouldn’t like it as much as I do because it’s seriously girl and not a guy room but I do like it, it’s a great room for Angel and kind of really girly tent canopy made of soft fabrics and an almost English brass framed bed and all around me is this white lattice heavy with plants and ivy and flowers all dotted with ornaments and stuff.

It actually makes me smile. It’s not Jase’s room but Jem/Angel it fits to a T.

Roxy comes in and bounces onto my bed. “I love this; I mean this is like so completely cool and stuff I’d have never thought to do anything like this.”

Brooklyn’s wandering around touching the walls and the fake flowers and stuff. “I don’t get where this came from Jase… (She looks at me but bites her lip.) I mean you’re not gay or anything right…Not that that’s a problem but between the voice and the clothes and this…are you sure you’re not a girl?”

I take a seat at the head of my bed and pull my knees up and look at them both. “Look Jem, that’s my stage name and Angel that’s me like this in disguise and stuff but when I’m Jason I like girls. It’s just.”

“Just what?” Brooklyn asks.

“It’s just when I’m Angel it’s like I’m able to flip this switch somewhere in my brain that lets me go from Jason to Angel and Angel’s the me I’ve got in my head if I’d been born a girl and had the chance to learn all the good stuff about being a girl from her.”

I look at them and Roxy’s smiling at me and looking at the ceiling. “Well to me it’s like no big, I mean you and Raven have some kind of dancing around each other thing that kinda got me thinking if you’re gay then Angel might be exploring her lesbian side.”

I blush and both of them chuckle. “It’s not like that we’re friends.”

“Well Raven hasn’t looked at someone like she looks at you for a long time and you’re just as bad Angel.”

“Yeah, okay I like her, I like Raven a lot but it’s not going to happen.”

“Why?” Roxy sits up but Brook’s nodding even before I say it.

I sigh. “Raven’s awesome and like no one that I’ve ever met before and yeah we could do…stuff but in the end she’s into girls and as much as I might look the part and act the part I’m not. And I’ve only been Angel for a few days…as much as this is working I’m still Jason in here.” I tap my head with my finger and I look at both of them.

“I like it here, I like the three of you and as short a time as it’s been you girls are my friends and you’ve taken me in and stood up for me and been kinder than I’m used to having in my life. I don’t want to do stuff to mess this up.”

Roxy hug-mugs me again and Brooklyn sits on the bed too and hugs me and we laugh a bit just…I don’t know to burn off the whole nervous energy thing and all the very real moment kind of talking we had and we shifted around on my bed until the three of us were laying crosswise on it staring up into my tent rook and stuff and just looking a chilling out.

Brooklyn sighs. “I really like your room too angel it’s very sort of Secret garden in a way.”

“Thanks, that’s sorta what I was going for.”

Roxy does this big inhale. “I like it I think I can even smell it.”

“Thanks, I got some cedar in here and some potpourri and tried to match the stuff up.”

“It works, you think we could do stuff with our rooms too?” Roxy asks.

“Yeah sure we can actually fix the place up pretty easy with all of us chipping it.”

Roxy hits my stomach lightly. “Gawd Angel you’re like such the tomboy.”

Brooklyn sighs again. “It’d be nice to have something nice. I really don’t know anything about doing any of this stuff and back home anything that I did have my brothers would make sure they’d trash it or something when they felt like I was getting to be some uppity bitch that didn’t know her place.”

“Your place?” I reach over and take her hand and lace our fingers together.

Yeah, my place just like that place of every woman according to all the guys in my family. She does this impression that’s all sort of deep voiced and drunk sounding. “Know yer place Brookie, on yer knees, or on yer back or in the fuckin kitchen.”

I feel her grip tighten on my hand and there’s a sniffle. “There were times Ange, I honestly thought that this was it, all there was in life from them or whatever guy they told me to marry or shack up with.”

“I can’t imagine what that’d be like…I mean I got all of that from stuff in my outside life sort of but I never got that with family.”

(Sniffle.) “Yeah well it’s all in the past and as soon as I could I got out of there. It still hurts y’know just seeing stuff that if I’d had a decent family would have been like normal and stuff.”

“Yeah…” Roxy sniffles. “I used to see other kids and families and think why them and not me?”

I pull both of their hands up ontop of my stomach and hold them together. “We can’t pick our relatives but you can pick who’s family.”

They both sniffle and laugh a bit but also squeeze my hands a bit tighter. “Yeah…” both of them say.

We just lay there for a little bit longer before getting up and I’m heading to the door. When Brooklyn says. “Angel?”

“Yeah Brook?”

“Thanks for listening and like being our shrink and stuff it’s a load of stuff to pile on anyone….you just let us open up and didn’t like get y’know…”

“Judgy…” Roxy finishes for them both.

I hug both of them again. (Yeah girls do hug a lot, or we are hugging a lot.) I look at both of them while I’m still in hug mode. “Never apologize for saying what you feel you guys it’s like you trying to say sorry for being a real person okay?”

“Okay…” there’s another hug and we head down the hall to where Raven’s at and her door’s open and I hear a semi-solid splash and retching sound coming from the bathroom.

I peek my head in and she’s hunched over the toilet dry heaving. It looks like she didn’t get up or here in time. I hear Roxy gagging. “Rox, go downstairs okay and look in my purse and make a store run.”

“Okay, wadda need?”

“Ginger ale, Tylenol, Lemons, a bag of peppermints, chicken stock or chicken soup if there’s no stock and some tissues, and popsicles.”

“Okay how much do you want me to take out?”

“Don’t worry about it just take my whole purse.” She looks at me with that whole you’re trusting me with your stuff look. I smile at her and nod. Roxy bites her lip and takes off downstairs. I look at Brooklyn. “Go and find Raven some clean clothes and stuff.”

I say it as I settle in beside her and tilt her a little more upright and reach over and pull back her hair then hold it with one hand and use the other to wet a wash cloth and then take my time and I wash off her face and then the back of her neck and her arms. She got a good temperature going but not one I’d freak out about and run to the doctor with or to the ER. I’m really well acquainted with being sick from my cancer treatments and this feels like a good solid dose of the flue or a stomach bug. She’s staring at me red eyes from the tears and all blotchy and whines. “I’m sorry, Angel…you don’t have to….”

“No I don’t but I want to and you don’t have to suffer through being sick either so let’s just keep going with it okay?”

“But…”

“No, Raven right now is not the time for you to be all EMO stupid and stubborn about stuff. Just stop defending that damned wall you’ve got up and let us take care of you.”

“Okay…” (Sick-whining-sniffle.)

Brooklyn comes back. “She didn’t make it here Ange she got her bed and the wall pretty good too.”

“Okay, she’s pretty much done here.” I’m going to get my bed ready and can you get her sponged off and dressed.”

“Gotcha, C’mere Rave and let’s get you cleaned up.” She let’s Brooklyn get her up to where she’s sitting on the toilet by the time I leave.

I get my bed ready and a bucket beside it and Roxy comes in. “I got the stuff what now.”

“Pour a half a mug of ginger ale and put it in the microwave for a minute.”

“In the microwave?”

“It’ll heat it up but it’ll make it go flat and she can use some flat ginger ale to sip to settle het stomach and… can you find her some Midol?”

“Midol it’s not that time.”

“Kim, it’s also got stuff in it for nausea and for bloating and stuff it’s actually pretty good stuff for when you’re sick.”

“Okay cool coming right up!”

I clean up the vomit where Raven took really sick and take the laundry and stuff to the basement and put that right on and then head to the kitchen where I look at some of the stuff we have and what Kim had picked up.

I grab a big pot and dump both two litres of chicken stock into it and dice three cloves of garlic then an onion all really finely and them use the cheese grater to add two carrots and some celery and the cilantro from the fridge and get it cooking away.

The lemons I use to make a hot lemonade just lots of lemon juice and water and some sugar and then I slice the lemons up and add them straight into the stuff and a couple of tea bags. I use Earle grey with bergamot in it because it goes well with the lemon.

I head upstairs with a big mug of the chicken broth once it’s ready and smile at the girls being there. Roxy sitting at the foot of my bed and Brook with a cool washcloth over Raven’s forehead.

“Here try sipping at this.” I pass her the mug and she gives me the most pathetic girly sookie look like she’s going to cry and whines. “You made me soup? No one’s every made me soup before?”

“You’ve had soup before.”

“Yeah… but like in the restaurant or like for lunch but not like this…”

“Well you had soup before then stop being so dramatic.”

She gives me the finger with a sniff.

“If you’re going to do that at least treat me like a lady and wash your hands and paint your nails first.”

She looks at me and I smile a sweet and innocent smile before the giggle slips out and the Roxy and Brooklyn join in laughing and Raven… she doesn’t laugh being as sick as she is but there’s a smile there hiding behind the soup mug.