A Twist in My Story

Kevin opened the door to their new Teaneck, New Jersey house and let Danielle enter first. He was raised to be the gentleman he was and after nearly two years of marriage to his high school sweetheart he still was and prided himself on that. They had just gotten home from Nick’s high school graduation. It was a big day, well big year, for the whole family. Nick graduated high school and was off to Penn State, Joe graduated from NYU, and Kevin was this close to making partner at his job with the record label. All in all 2011 was a big year for the Jonas family.

Danielle shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it on the back of the couch. She let out a sigh at all the boxes waiting to be unpacked that littered their living room and filled up bedrooms. When she asked Kevin if they could move out of New York City and to the New Jersey suburbs she never thought they’d have this much to unpack. Their Trump Towers apartment had always seemed so small. There was no way all this stuff could’ve fit in there, but it did. However even with all the unpacking they had ahead of themselves she wouldn’t regret the move. The city was too stifling for her and she knew eventually they would need an actual house to live in. Apartment life wasn’t for her.

“Hey Kev sweetie, how about we unpack some boxes in the guest room before bed?” she called from her closet in their bedroom where she relieved her sore feet of her heels. “Kevin?”

She poked her head out of her closet to find the room empty. She could’ve sworn he had followed her to their room. She tied her long brown hair up in a ponytail as she walked down their hallway. She felt the cool wood floor under her bare feet and ran her fingers along the beige soon-to-be pale yellow wall relishing in the fact that they finally had their own house.

She found Kevin where he usually was – his office. “Kev, did you hear my question?” she asked from the doorway.

He looked up startled by her presence. He previously had his head buried in a box on his desk. “Hey honey. No I didn’t. I remembered on the way home that my bosses wanted me to look at a proposal and now all I have to do is locate it,” he went back to shuffling through papers. “This move has totally knocked me off kilter.”

Danielle closed her eyes at his last comment and pretended she didn’t hear it. She knew he didn’t want to move out of the city away from his job, but he had for her and she loved him for that. She knew that at least in some capacity she still ranked above his work.

“I asked if maybe you wanted to tackle some boxes with me in the guest room before bed,” she repeated steeling herself up.

Kevin glanced up again and saw her hopeful face. He sighed and joined her in the doorway, resting her hands on her hips and pulling her up against him. “I have a better idea,” he said, inciting a sparkle in Danielle’s eyes. “We divide and conquer. You take the guest room and I’ll take my office. We’ll get done unpacking twice as fast.”

And the sparkle disappeared. “But…Kevin…” she struggled for words as he watched her, his eyes now the hopeful ones. And in that moment she caved. That was the current issue with their relationship: he loved her enough to move away from his work and she loved him enough to never complain about his work’s encroachment onto their marriage. “Sounds good to me,” she faked a smile.

“Great. We’ll have this done in no time and I’ll find that proposal. It’ll be fine, Dani,” he kissed her cheek and went back to rifling through papers in boxes.

Now slightly depressed Danielle walked to the guest room alone and surveyed the four boxes in it. Supposedly everything in those boxes belonged in here, but she doubted that. Luckily her brother had come by a few days ago and helped her put the bed together while Kevin was at work. That was the only thing in place in this room.

For the next hour and a half she worked on unpacking that room, several times running across items that didn’t belong there. Every time she passed Kevin’s office he never even glanced up and she knew she wasn’t being exactly quiet. She had even stomped past slowly. Not so much as a glance from his paper that she assumed was the proposal. She brushed it off and worked in her room until 11:30pm when she called it a night.

Slipping into her silky pajamas she poked her head in Kevin’s office to let him know she was heading to bed. He acknowledged her with a wave of his hand and a nod; didn’t even look up from the paper. Fighting back the urge to cry she climbed into their king-sized bed and wrapped her arms around herself, telling herself that it would get better.

Sometime around 1am Kevin slipped into bed and spooned himself behind her.

“I found it and I think it looks like a winner,” he whispered by her ear as he got comfortable with her in his arms.

“Mhm,” she murmured back, half-asleep.

“It’s going to be a great deal,” he sighed and snuggled into her and fell asleep.

* * * * * * *

Joe was hanging out in the basement of his parents’ house with his youngest brother Frankie. For an 10 year old the kid was pretty smart and Joe liked goofing off with him. They had gotten back a few hours ago from Nick’s high school graduation which made Joe remember his own quite vividly. He couldn’t believe that four years had flown by so quickly. It seemed his life was flying by, not giving him the chance to enjoy it. But then again, he wasn’t allowed to enjoy the things he really liked so it really made no difference to him. He had just graduated from NYU with a double major in international affairs and foreign language and had absolutely no idea what he wanted to do with his life. According to his father he was going to follow in Kevin’s footsteps and join the record label Kevin worked for and flourish from there. According to Joe, that wasn’t going to happen.

Footsteps plodded down the stairs; one pair of heavy steps and the other light steps. Joe glanced out the corner of his eye to see his father standing in the doorway, his mother behind him looking weary.

“Joseph, we need to talk,” his father Kevin Sr. said gruffly.

Joe sighed and continued his game with Frankie though Frankie was glancing nervously at their parents every four seconds.

“Frankie, go to your room and get ready for bed please,” his mother Denise said quietly.

Frankie took the opportunity to get out of the tense room. Joe began packing up the pieces to the game and putting it away, still not acknowledging his parents’ presence.

“Joseph, this has to stop,” Paul said firmly.

“What does? Your yelling? I agree. See, discussion over,” Joe smiled and pushed past them to go upstairs.

“Joseph Adam, you stop right there! You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Paul rushed up the stairs after him.

“Paul, not tonight please,” Denise pleaded softly.

“Denise, go check on Frankie,” he dismissed her. She walked out of the room with a sorry glance at Joe.

“I’m 22, Dad. I know how to live my life,” Joe steeled himself for their daily battle. Ever since he graduated a month ago and moved back home unemployed, he and his father shared these chats on a daily basis.

“If you knew how to run your life you’d be working at Kevin’s company making good money instead of waving around useless degrees in international studies and foreign language!” Paul yelled. “No one uses Latin anymore!”

“Yea and that’s why I studied German and French, Dad!” Joe shot back.

“What can you do with that? Nothing,” Paul shouted.

“I could travel the world if I wanted to. I could go to Europe or something. There’re plenty of jobs I can get with my degrees. I just don’t know what I want to do yet. I’m still healing and adjusting,” Joe argued back.

“That’s right. Hollis broke up with you. Now I remember. It was right after graduation and your 3 year anniversary of dating. Do you know why she broke up with you, Joe?” Paul goaded him, getting Joe angry. “She broke up with you because you have no ambition. You have no idea where you are going in life and she does. She’s studying to be a doctor and you don’t have a clue about what you want out of life. And that’s why she’s happy and you’re not. Kevin at least got it right. He knows what he’s doing in life. Take a lesson from him.”

Joe had heard enough. “Shut up! Shut up!” he exploded his eyes full of fury, hands fisted at his sides. “Just shut up, Dad! I need time to think it over and then everything will be fine. Just get off my case.”

“I’m on your case because I want you to succeed and all this time you’re wasting doesn’t look good on résumés, Joseph. I want you to make something of yourself,” Paul pressed.

“No that’s not why you do it and you know it,” Joe shook his head and headed for the stairs. He couldn’t take any more or he was seriously going to lose it tonight.

“Where are you going? This discussion isn’t over,” Paul shouted after him.

“Yeah it is. Night Dad,” he said dully then sprinted up the stairs to his room and locked himself in.

Two minutes later Green Day flooded his room as he cranked his stereo up, knowing it would piss off his father. Then he lay on his bed with a satisfied smile on his face, ignoring the bangs that now pounded his door.

* * * * * * *

Nick stood in the backyard of one of his friends’ house. This was only the first of three graduation parties he was going to tonight. Being one of the popular kids had its perks. Being very athletic had gotten Nick on both the football and baseball teams at school. Plus he landed a baseball scholarship at his new college, Penn State, but he didn’t know if he’d go pro or not. He had four years to figure that out.

“So, Jonas, how does it feel to be graduated?” his friend and teammate Pete asked.

“Fantastic. I’m so glad to be out of that school,” Nick said, not even scratching the surface on his true feelings.

“You’re not gonna miss any of the guys who are underclassmen?” his other friend and teammate Alex asked as he joined the conversation with his girlfriend on his arm.

Nick shrugged. “Sure I’ll miss playing with them but I can’t wait until August when I’m finally out of this town.”

“Ahh. Jonas has growing pains,” Pete nodded and took a swig of whatever was in his red cup.

Nick swore off liquids tonight because he could name 5 people who would kill him in a span of 10 minutes after ingesting that alcohol. Another reason to get out of town and go off to college.

“So you going to NYU like Joe and Kevin?” Alex asked.

“Nah,” Nick shook his head. “Penn State. Didn’t you read the wall?” Their school posted the colleges all the seniors would be attending.

“Nope. I’m not up there so what’s the point. Besides I had me a lovely distraction,” he nuzzled his girlfriend’s neck making her giggle obnoxiously.

“Yeah…well I applied there and got in but I wanted to go to Penn State more so Dad let me. Said it would be good for me to be away from my brothers’ influence,” Nick shrugged. “I can’t wait to get there. There’s going to be so many people there that I’ll just blend in. No one will know my past. I can reinvent myself.”

“Plus it’s a party school so you’ll be banging a shitload of chicks,” Pete whooped and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Yeah sure, Pete,” Nick rolled his eyes. It was true that Nick was a player in high school, but in reinventing himself he hoped to change that and maybe get a steady girlfriend. “So I think everyone is officially here. Ziggy throws one hell of a party,” he stated looking around.

Girls were running around in bikinis (it was a pool party). Guys were chasing them. Splashes leaped out of the pool when the girls were caught. And of course people were making out in the shadows and the light.

“I know one person not here,” Pete smirked to match Alex’s.

“Who?” Nick raised an eyebrow.

“Um let’s think. Oh I know!...Chadwicke,” Pete said.

“Don’t bring her up,” Nick groaned. He had practically grown up with Olivia Chadwicke since their fathers were both ministers and best friends. She and Nick were in the same grade level and their mothers always thought it was cute that they played together when they were little. And all throughout high school Nick just got frustrated because she was so polar opposite of him and his friends ragged on him about her because of her religious personality. He got tired of defending himself about her.

“She’s probably at home praying for all our poor misguided souls,” he mocked with folded hands. “Well here’s to you Miss God-Loves-Everyone.” Pete tossed back his cup.

“Yeah, the reverend’s daughter is too good for everyone except Nick. She loooves him,” Alex chimed in, laughter ensuing.

“God, just drop it. I’m glad she’s not here. Another reason to get out of this town,” Nick said.

“Yeah, yeah. You’ll see plenty of her at Penn State next year. Yea, I looked on the wall. Plus you know the feeling’s mutual,” Pete pushed, his obviously alcoholic drink kicking in.

“Run, Pete. Run. 1…2…3!” Nick took off after him gaining lots of stares followed by laughter and cheers.

Nick dived at Pete’s ankles, hooked them, and tumbled both him and Pete into the pool. They both came up laughing and the evening carried on as usual.