“I do. You want to know if you can sleep in here. And the answer is no,” Jack said sternly.
“Why don’t you go sleep with Sue?” I recommended. We both knew that wasn’t going to happen, though, and I wasn’t surprised when Mike tried to convince me to go in and wake her. It was true Chris was snoring loudly. With the door open, we could hear him in our bedroom. After a moment’s discussion, Jack told him he could sleep on the floor, and Mike lay down, bundling up under a tiny blanket that barely covered his feet.
As we could have guessed, it only took him a moment to start complaining. I looked at the ceiling and tried to tell myself this wasn’t happening.After hearing Mike turn around and curse for the third or fourth time, Jack said, “For God’s sake, just come up here,” and Mike jumped between us. They immediately started bickering again, and I almost shouted, “Can we just try and get some sleep?”
But obviously, Mike couldn’t let the night end without another one of his stupid jokes. “What’s it like, finally being in bed with the handsome brother?” he asked.
“It’s terrible,” I responded. Mike kept trying to talk until Jack issued a few death threats. Then, despite his complaints that he wasn’t tired, he started snoring. By now, I suspected I’d be awake till morning. Jack sighed and covered his ears.
“What did I do to deserve this?” he asked.
I shushed him and he grumbled, “What? Are you afraid I’ll wake the six-foot baby resting beside us? This idiot has ruined my night.”
“We’ll have lots of nights together, Jack.”
“Not enough, if you ask me.” That got a smile out of him, and we each turned on our side and tried in vain to get some rest.
“Uuuuuggghhh!!!”
I looked up from my cell phone at Naya. She was lying on the sofa with outstretched arms. Mike ignored her, focusing on changing the channel. Seeing that no one would come to her aid, Naya tried again: “Uuuuuugggghhh!”
“What is it?” I asked her.
“Finally, somebody’s taking pity on me,” she said.
“For what?” Mike butted in.
“I need help getting up! I’ve got to go pee!”
Mike grimaced. “How many times a day to you have to pee? I swear, it’s every five minutes.”
“I’m peeing for two, have a little respect,” she said.
I knew Mike wouldn’t lift a finger, so I stood, gave her my hands, and waited for her to drag herself up and stomp to the bathroom. When the door closed behind her, I sat back down. “Mike,” I said, “why don’t you ever leave a show on for more than five seconds?”
“There’s nothing good on.”
“We could watch a movie. I could text Jack and ask him for a recommendation.”
Mike sighed and said, “He’s in Holland, leave him alone.” Mike was acting crabby again, the same way he’d been when Jack and I had gotten back from Greece. Everything anyone said seemed to get on his nerves. I’d had it, and I decided today was the day to grab the bull by the horns. I snatched the remote from his hand and turned off the TV.
“I’ve had enough of this, Mike. I need you to tell me what in the hell’s going on with you! Why does every little thing I do or say piss you off? Did I do something to you?”
“No…”
I sensed some doubt in his voice and scooted over closer to him. “Is it the band thing again?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“It’s complicated,” Mike said.
I was frustrated, but I took for granted that once again, my efforts at talking had failed. And despite my irritation, I decided to be understanding. “OK, man. Well, if and when you want to be honest with me, I’m here. But for now, try not to treat everyone else like dirt. We’re all going through things.”
He frowned. “I don’t mean to treat you badly. I like you a lot.”
“I like you, too, Mike. We’ve been through a lot together.” I reached over and grabbed his hand. “And whatever you need, you know you can count on me.”
