Rudy Can't Fail

Billie Joe had invited us to Thanksgiving at his humble abode an I was currently helping Adrienne in the kitchen…well I say helping but more refilling her wine glass and tasting things as she went along, while the guys and the kids played with toys and watched television, respectively.

"I still can't believe you can't cook! In this day and age? Not even spaghetti?

"To quote Frank Iero; I burn everything and call it Cajun." I laugh into my glass, while she shakes her head. "But Spaghetti is about the only thing I can cook. I mean, I could probably burn cereal." I shrug as she just looks at me in amazement.
"That’s just crazy…how do you and Tre survive? Especially him; I know how much he likes his food!"
"Ever noticed how we're always 'just stopping by' here or Mike's? Or we go out to dinner a lot?" I ask. "Or why we have Orient Chinese, the pizza place and the Indian restaurant on speed dial?"

"Dear God! I have to teach you how to cook!"

I liked Adie. Not only was she beautiful and intelligent, she was a really nice person; always ready to lend her ear or hand if needed. She had kinda taken me under her wing and we had fast become firm friends. We had met at some dinner thing, not long after I met Bill and Mike for the first time. I met Brittany then too, but I didn’t click with her the way I did with Adie.
As a result, we spent some time together and we developed a sisterly relationship.

"Your birthday's coming up, hon. got any ideas in mind?" She carries on peeling potatoes Glancing over at me every now and then.

"How did we get from my lack of culinary skills to my birthday? And uh…no. I told you before, it's just another day; ergo not important." I dismiss her with a wave of my hand. I hadn’t really celebrated my birthday since…I can't even remember when. Usually, I would pig out and watch old movies.

"Well Tre was talking to Billie about it, and I thought I'd better ask you before they go ahead and plan something outrageous." She offers.

"Ah fuck…sounds ominous." I mutter.

"And we should do something! It's our Baby's first birthday with us, and we have to make it special." She grins. Yeah, they had all taken to calling me Baby, cos I was the youngest adult in the ‘group‘. A name I outwardly hated, but secretly, I was pleased that they loved me enough to do that.

"I don’t want to, okay? End of discussion." I sigh. She looks up at me with this confused look on her face and opens her mouth to say something more, but decides against it. "And anyway, I'm gonna spend the day with Max, since I've been neglecting her lately. I saw her a couple of days ago and we need to catch up." Adie just nods and I continue "I feel really shitty about not seeing her as much these days. You guys are very demanding, you know!"

"Yeah, we kinda have that effect on people. I don’t think anyone realises how much impact we have on each other professionally and in private. I used to joke to Billie, when we first got together, that he probably couldn’t wipe his own ass without consulting Mike and Tre first." We burst out laughing and I get up to pour her another glass of wine.

I'm mid-pour when there are some thundering footsteps and arms suddenly attached themselves to my waist.
"A man could die of Starvation! What's the hold up? Feed me, Goddamit." Tre nips at my ear then lightly kisses my cheek.

"You, my darling, would never starve. And don’t tell me you guys have finished the 'Stay Out Of The Kitchen' munchies I laid out! You haven’t, have you?" Adie questions a now fidgety Tre Cool, who's now raiding cupboards in a quest for food.

"Uh…well it smells so good…and we used all the chips trying to attack the kids earlier." He looks to Adie then back to me with a sheepish smile.

"What do you mean 'attack the kids'? Frank Wright the Third…what did you and Billie Joe do?" I ask him with a raise of my eyebrow.

"Uh nothing…"He replies. "Wait… what's that…" He whips round to look through the empty hall "What's that you say, Bill…oh…Dora the Explorer's on now? Okay…I'm coming!" As quickly as he appeared, he went off again, laughing like a fool.

"You do know Billie didn't call him, right?" I look back at Adie, shaking my head at my slightly weird boyfriend.

"Yeah, I kinda got that." She chuckles.

Walking back to my seat, a dizzy spell takes me and I stumble, quickly placing my hand out on the surface for support.

"Sweetie are you, ok?" Adie steps round and is with me in an instant, helping me into my seat.

"Uh…yeah…just a head rush" I lie. "I'm good now though…thanks." I look at her briefly before wringing my hands in the pocket of my hoodie. I hated lying but why worry her? I was cool.

"Well you don’t look fine. Hon, don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like shit and have done for a few weeks now." She says softly, pushing my hair out of my eyes.

"Gee, thanks Aid." My reply drips with sarcasm and I sigh before speaking again "I'm just a little run down is all. I'll be fine."

"For some reason, I don’t believe you. You've been saying that for a while and everyone's noticed a change in you. What's going on Nat?" After looking me over one last time, apparently satisfied that I wasn’t about to die in her kitchen; she walks over to the oven and checks on the turkey. Change? What change…I was a bit slimmer and grouchy lately. No biggie.

"Adrienne, please! It's nothing. Just a few headaches and I went to the Doctor about it. Everything's under control… I'm just stressed out a bit. That’s all."

"That doesn’t explain the weight loss or the dizzy spell, Nat. So you better start fucking talking!" She looks me dead on, her eyes all dark. I had never seen her pissed…well I had, but usually it wasn’t directed at me; just Billie or sometimes Tre.

"I don’t want to ruin Turkey Day. Dumb and Dumbass wouldn't forgive me." I try to diffuse it by making a joke but it doesn’t go over really well.

"Well, they don’t have to know. So put down that glass and talk, Sweetie."

I look up at her and swallow the proverbial frog in my throat. Kicking a chair out, I motion for her to come over and sit. Only Max knew that I had missed the second Doctor's appointment. And she didn’t know the full extent of the headaches either. Adie did as I gestured and sat down, taking my hand in hers, and nodded for me to tell her everything. And tell her, I did.

When I was done she stared at me, not saying anything. The next thing I know, Adrienne has slapped me up-side my head.
"What the hell was that for?" I screech, rubbing the spot where she had got me.

"For being an ass! This isn’t normal at all! And as soon as the Holidays are over, you're making a new appointment and I'm coming with you!" She half-whispers; trying not to draw attention from anyone else in the house.
"Fine, I'll make an appointment." I sulk. Folding my arms across my chest. “You still didn’t have to hit me, though…I could have you arrested!”
"Well I was only slapping some sense into you. I figured if it worked on Billie and the boys’…” Her tone is firm and she doesn’t even crack a smile. “What about telling Tre? He has a right to know if you're sick."
"I’m not sick!” I half yell. “Anyway, there’s no point in worrying him until I know for myself, right?"
She sighs and shrugs her shoulders. "Promise me, you'll tell him soon, Baby."
"Yeah, I will...promise." Promises can be broken if you secretly cross your fingers though…right?

***

What the fuck's going on?

We're eating dinner and Adie keeps looking at Nat, like, in a real strange way. Watching her every move. Both of them had been acting kinda strange throughout the meal, actually.

Billie had walked past the kitchen earlier and had said something about them being deep in conversation and an appointment. Appointment for what? We had sat trying to figure it out for a minute but then decided we were better off not knowing and had left it at that.

"So when are Mike and Britt back?"

"Um…a couple of days I think, why?" Billie Joe looks over at me, with the fork halfway to his mouth.

"Well, we have a birthday party to organise! It would be nice if he was here."

"Who's birthday are we discussing here? Yours Tre? Cos it sure as hell isn't mine!" Nat says, glancing over at the kids' table; checking if they heard her curse. But she forgets that with parents like us, it's nothing out of the ordinary.

"Baby, you're not getting out of this one! Seriously…it's your first one with us and it has to be big." Billie says, spitting Mac n' Cheese as he talks.

"Funny, that’s what Adie said." She snorts.

"And they're right, M'lady. So get used to the fact that you're birthday will be the talk of this Godforsaken town" I chuckle at the sudden appearance of her bad mood.

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but I've made plans and going on a piss-up with you isn’t one of them."

Billie's about to say something, but is interrupted "Daddy…what's a 'piss up'?" Frankito looks up and flicks his eyes over all of us adults.

"Well son, I think it's an English thing. Natalie, would you like to elaborate?" I shoot at her, smirking. She hated when I did shit like that.

Suddenly everyone focuses on her and the room is quiet, waiting for her to speak.

"It's…uh…well…you…basically, like going to a big party, Frankie." She says finally. "Tre, sweetie, sleep with one eye open." It's said under her breath, but Billie, Adie and I all heard it and smile, knowingly.
"Oooh." Frankie nods, and turns back to Joey and Jake. Their idle chatter filling the room again.

Nat's known us for a while now, but it cracks me up to think that she doesn’t like having to speak in front of us all. I said that to her the other day and she had said; you make a living doing things in front of millions of people. I do things for one person.

Wiping her mouth with her napkin, she looks at us all, "Excuse me…" she pushes her chair from under her "Thanks for dinner Adie, it was lovely. But I have a craving for Nicotine…again, excuse me."
I look at her plate and see that it was barely touched. Something's wrong and I'm gonna find out what; she's losing weight and seems more irritable than usual, if that's possible.
Adrienne fixes Nat with a 'are you ok?' type look. Natalie just nods and takes her plate into the kitchen.