Just Before You Go

“For the love of all things dark and dreary, let’s fucking go!” Jimmy screeched from my front door.
I was meticulously picking and choosing makeup items to bring with me to LA for next four days. It had been a slow process, convoluted only by Jimmy’s impatience. He was impatient to get on the road, despite the fact is was less than an hour away and it had hardly broken noon. But his petulance for waiting was something to be amused by.
With a swift brush of my arm, I pushed everything on my bathroom counter into my bag and zipped it shut. I tossed it over my shoulder and rounded the corner, giving Jimmy my best “What?” expression.
He tapped his foot and pointed to the invisible Rolex on his wrist.
“So impatient,” I smirked.
Jimmy was right when he’d said my boss didn’t have a problem with my taking more time off. He’d been completely relaxed about the whole situation and had encouraged me to go and have some fun. My bank account surely was not rejoicing in quite the same way—but I figured I could scrimp and save and hopefully still make ends meet.
I still had not heard anything from my parents. Jen, on the other hand, seemed to forgive me wholly and was supposed to be joining us for the weekend. That is, until she came down with a severe case of influenza and was basically rendered unconscious for the foreseeable future.
“I’ve been waiting for nineteen days,” Jimmy groaned as I continued to waltz around my house, collecting items I might need. “I’m going to fucking die in your doorway.”
“Well come in then,” I retorted over my shoulder.
He whined even louder, “Let’s go!”
I couldn’t help but smile at him as he towered in my doorway, griping theatrically. He stopped himself when he caught me staring. He cleared his throat a little and adjusted his belt.
“Are you ready?” he asked calmly.
I shook my head, “You’re an idiot.”
He nodded.
“We can go,” I laughed. “I think I have everything.”
“It’s four days, Aria,” he told me like I didn’t know. “You don’t need the entirety of your house.”
I shoved him out the door and locked it tightly behind us. He was walking backward, badgering me nonstop about how much I’d packed and how it was wildly unnecessary.
“I packed one extra t-shirt,” he told me wildly. “That’s really all you need. Get it dirty? Toss the original into the bathtub. Rock the stunt shirt. Problem solved.”
I grimaced as visibly as humanly possible, “Why do you insist on being so gross?”
He beamed proudly.
“You didn’t even pack—” my half of the banter was cut short when I finally looked up to find two known strangers leering in my direction.
Jimmy looked at me confusedly, I gestured just behind him. He whipped his head around and his entire demeanor shifted in an instant.
“Aria,” my mother said awkwardly.
I stammered, “W-What are you doing here?”
“Is this a bad time?” she asked pleasantly.
My father was sizing Jimmy up.
“Sort of,” I hesitated. “We were just heading out.”
“Oh,” my mother tried to smile. “No problem. We just thought we’d swing by for a quick visit.”
“Where are you going?” my dad asked flatly.
I looked at Jimmy, who was looking nervous and unbound. He glanced at me quickly.
“We’re going to Los Angeles for a couple of days,” I answered truthfully.
“Los Angeles?” my mother repeated, with just a hint of excitement.
My father didn’t look so joyed, “What’s in LA for you, Aria?”
“Jim—James is playing at a festival there,” I told them nervously.
I thought that James might somehow bridge the gap between our worlds—it was a fairly formal name that many notable, respectable men had shared. I thought it might make Jimmy appear a little more…serious.
Neither of my parents seemed to know how to take that news.
“We have a little while before we have to be there,” Jimmy spoke up weakly.
They still weren’t saying anything.
“You hang with your parents,” he said to me. “I’ll come back for you in a bit…”
My mother decided to be a decent human being, “No, no…That’s unnecessary. We didn’t mean to shoo you away.”
“Do you want to come in?” I asked them confusedly, clinging to Jimmy so he wouldn’t abandon me.
My father scoffed but my mother responded with a rather violent jab to his ribcage. She nodded at me and mumbled a quick thank you to Jimmy—who I was dragging inside at this point.
They sat themselves on the edge of my couch, looking almost as if they’d never been inside of my home before. Jimmy sat on the chair across from them, visibly uncomfortable.
I stood between them, lingering with indecision for a quick instant before ultimately choosing Jimmy’s side.
“We wanted to apologize for what happened at dinner,” my mother broke the silence.
I forced a smile, “Apology accepted.”
“We’ve talked a lot about what you said,” she continued. “And you’re absolutely right, you’re an adult now and if you believe that you’ve found someone that makes you happy…Who are we to disagree?”
My father wouldn’t look at me. This was obviously a mother-oriented discussion. I felt bad for poor Jimmy, stuck in the middle of it all.
“I’m glad you’re here,” my mother continued, turning her focus to Jimmy as he squirmed in his seat. “I’m truly sorry for the way we treated you…Any friend of our daughter’s is certainly welcome in our home any time.”
Jimmy shrugged, “No problem.”
“We’d really like to get to know you,” she insisted—and I almost believed her. “I was going to ask Aria to invite you over for dinner…but since you’re here now, I suppose I can ask you both.”
I looked at Jimmy who didn’t really seem all that moved.
“Any time,” Jimmy assured her.
“Your attitude is refreshing,” my mother smiled, nudging my father subtly and forcing a grunt and a nod from him.
Jimmy snickered, “I’ll tell my mom you said so.”
“Well,” my mother sighed, stretching her arms out before her. “That’s all we came to say…I’m relieved we caught you both in time before you left for your trip.”
I just sort of stared. I wasn’t really sure what to make of the impromptu drop-in.
“When are you back?” she asked as she climbed to her feet.
“Tuesday afternoon,” I answered slowly.
She smiled, “Great. Will Tuesday night work for dinner, then?”
I looked at Jimmy who shrugged.
“Sure…” I said suspiciously. “Tentatively though…Just in case…you know, the car breaks down or something…”
My mother nodded once, “Fair. We’ll see you Tuesday then…tentatively.”
I walked them to the door, still edgy and nervous about their presence in my home—their presence near Jimmy. My mother mumbled something about it being nice to see me and then wished Jimmy good luck ‘on his performance’. He snickered a little to himself but thanked her anyway. My father maintained his stony silence.
But, it was progress and for that, I was relieved.
“Well that was weird,” Jimmy announced once they’d vacated the premises.
I laughed lightly, “That was weird.”
“Good though,” Jimmy smiled, wrapping his long arms around my waist from behind. “I really didn’t want to be the thorn in your parents’ paws.”
“You weren’t,” I smirked, turning around in his grip to face him. “And even if you were—”
“That isn’t a good option either,” he cut me off knowingly. “Maybe it’ll work itself out.”
“Or they’ll hate you forever,” I grinned, leaning up to kiss him quickly.
Jimmy scowled at me.
“Now can we go or what?” I groaned playfully. “I’ve been waiting for nineteen days.”
“I swear to god,” Jimmy grumbled, releasing me from his grip as I sprinted for the door.
“Let’s go, Sullivan!” I called from outside. “What’s taking you so long?”
And we were off.

Notes

I'm sorry for the delay in updates! I've been immobilized by the flu for the last few days. It seems to have mostly passed...mostly...which means more Jimmy!

xx