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“You still talk to him?” Caleb asks in surprise. “I thought you were counting the days until you were away from him.”
“At the time, I was,” she said. “Back in high school, I mean, but I guess things change when you get older. It’s not like we’re close or anything, but I try to keep in touch with him. He’s not doing so well healthwise.”
“Shocker, considering how much he used to drink,” I say.
“Still does, from what I understand.” She sighs. “I don’t know. I let go of a lot of the resentment I felt toward him, but that didn’t fix everything. I still want to keep my distance as much as I can, though I also want to stay in touch. I know the day’s coming when he’s not going to be around anymore, and I don’t want to regret not reaching out to him when I still had the chance.”
“That makes sense.” Julian nods. “But still kind of weird to tell him that we’re your bosses.”
“I don’t know,” she says again. “He knew you when I was in high school, but I don’t know how to explain now that we’re together. Like, I don’t want him to freak out about it.”
“Freak out?” I ask.
“I mean, he knows that things were a little rough between us during my senior year, and while I don’t think he knew for sure that we were dating, I do think he suspected there was more to it than just friendship. But then, I don’t know, now that I’m an adult and could tell him that we’re all together without worrying what he thinks, I don’t know how that would go over. I think he would freak out about it.”
“And do what? Tell you that you can’t be with us?” Caleb asks. “You’re a grown woman, and you can make your own decisions.”
“I know that,” Jeanette replies. “But aren’t you a little worried about what your family is going to think when they find out that we’re all together in one big happy family? It’s not like it’s the most normal situation in the world.”
“Sure,” Caleb says. “But who cares? The way I see things, if everyone in the relationship knows what’s going on and is okay with it, then who cares what the rest of the world thinks? All that matters in my life is that I’m happy, and it seems like we’re all happy together, aren’t we?”
“I know I am,” I chime in.
“Me too,” Julian says. “I don’t care what anyone else says. I make my own decisions in life, and I’m not going to change anything because of what someone else says isn’t normal. I just don’t care enough about what other people think for that to factor in.”
“But you guys are rockstars. Don’t you think it would be smart for you to keep this side of your life private so it doesn’t turn into a big thing?” she asks.
“You make it sound like we’re in politics,” Julian laughs. “The only person we’re unsure about finding out is our manager, and that’s just because we don’t want her to feel like she’s only taking Hendrix so we can have adult time. If that wasn’t the case, then I wouldn’t care if she knows what we’re doing, either.”
“Exactly,” I say. “And you shouldn’t, either. We just wrote that song and dedicated it to you. It’s not going to be very long before people put the pieces together and figure out that we’re all talking about one woman, and we all stand by that. I don’t care if they can’t handle it. I just want to be happy.”
“I guess I should be more like you guys,” she says. “I don’t know, it’s just weird to me to be able to put myself out there and not worry about what anyone thinks. I mean, I’ve never been the kind of person to just be myself and not think about what the rest of the world is going to say about it. That’s why I was such a wallflower in high school.”
“It’s about time you get over it,” I tell her. “I thought we broke you of that kind of thinking way back then?”
“You broke me of a lot of things, but then after how things switched, I don’t know. I just started to second-guess myself, and when that happened…I guess I don’t know how to really explain it. My confidence was shaken,” she admits.
“I think it’s about time you let all that go,” Julian says. “We’re not in high school anymore. We’re all grown men and women, and it’s time for us to deal with the shit that we have in front of us now. How are you going to move on with your life and be happy if you keep thinking about how things went down back then?”
“I mean, I guess I just get stuck in the pattern of thinking that the best indicator of the future is what happened in the past,” she says with a shrug.
“Then you need to get a new outlook on life,” I tell her with a smirk. “And you need to start living life as though every day is a fresh start and what you did the day before doesn’t matter.”
“It’s that kind of thinking that got you Hendrix,” she tells me.
I smirk again. “And what’s your point? He’s the best thing that’s happened to any of us.”
My other brothers agree, and she can’t even deny that it’s true. Even with the drama we could be facing with Hendrix’s mother, no one would trade him for anything. Not even Jeanette.
“All aboard!” the driver breaks into the conversation and we all turn.
“It’s time to hit the road,” I say. “But think about what we just said.”
“I will,” Jeanette promises. “Is Hendrix staying with Mags?”
Caleb confirms that he is, and we all settle onto the couches to spend time online and hanging out with each other. The driver starts up the bus and heads for the freeway, and I try to focus on what’s on my screen, but I can’t help but sneak another glance toward Jeanette.
I know she’s coming around, but I hope she’s able to do so completely. I know I don’t want to lose her again, and neither do my brothers. We made a mistake when we were such assholes to her in high school, and we aren’t going to treat her that way again.
