Come One, Come All to This Tragic Affair

Today was my first day going to the studio with Frank. I’d given Charlie the day off a couple times so she could go, but I’d never actually been.
“So what are we doing today?” Frank asked, settling me on his lap on the couch.
“Umm.” Ray looked at me. “Cancer.” My stomach turned a little at the word and took me back to one of the worst days of my life.
“Mrs. Han?” The doctor asked.
“Yes?” I stood up, twisting my hands anxiously. My husband had been coughing blood up and I’d brought him to the hospital.
“I’m so sorry to tell you this, but your husband has lung cancer.” The doctor said gravely. “It’s terminal.”
“Terminal?” I felt like someone had cut my legs out from under me.
“Jadey?” Frank said softly, bringing me back to the present. “Do you wanna go?”
“No, it’s okay.” I laced our fingers together. As long as he’s here, I’ll be okay.
Mikey and Gee didn’t look convinced, and neither did Frank. But Gerard still went into the recording booth and the track started to play.
Within seconds of Gee singing, my eyes started to water. I was full blown sobbing by the end.
“Shit.” Frank put his guitar down and pulled me into his arms, stroking my hair gently.
“Its okay, it’s okay.” I managed to say, wiping my eyes. “That was beautiful.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked, his warm hazel eyes searching mine.
“I’m okay.” I nodded. “Just caught me off guard. That’s fucking amazing Gee.”
“Thanks.” Gerard handed me a tissue. “Do you need me to call Charlie?”
“I’m fine guys. Seriously.” I smiled and Frank gave me a peck on the lips, pulling me in close while Gerard did another take.
--
“I seriously don’t get it.” I said, pushing a lock of sweaty hair off my forehead.
“Don’t get what?” Frank panted, rolling to the side.
“How you look so damn sexy all sweaty and I look like someone dumped a bucket of water on my head.” I probably had an afro now to top it all off. Ray and I had been trading curly hair tricks all day today.
“Speak for yourself.” He kissed my neck, wrapping one arm around my waist. The sheets were tangled up around us, but I could barely feel my bones at this point so I didn’t bother trying to move anything around. “You’re beautiful Jadey.”
“So I was thinking…” I traced one finger down his arm, over the tattoo of his grandfather. “That maybe it was time to tell my family about us.”
“I thought they were the “if she dates anyone she’s ex-communicated” type of Italians?”
“Yeah, but I’d rather not see them and have them know that I’m happy than lie to them.”
“Whatever makes you happy baby.” His hair tickled my cheek.
So the next morning I said goodbye to him and started the drive to Jersey to my parents’ house.
The whole drive over I was listening to a Leathermouth CD I’d jacked from Frank’s apartment. I had no idea a guy as small as he was could scream like that. I turned it down when I pulled up to my parents’ house.
“Jaden!” Mom called, seeing me through the living room.
“Hi Mom.” I gave her a hug, inhaling that smell that just screamed ‘mom’, like warm cookies and roses. I’d inherited my dark curly hair from her and she had brown eyes like me. I stood a good three inches taller than her, making her about five foot nothing.
“Come on in sweetheart.” In the space of thirty seconds, she had me on the couch with a cup of tea in my hands. I took a sip: black tea with milk, just the way I liked it.
My mom was prepared.
“Your brother is home too.” Mom said, standing at the bottom of the stairs. “David! Your sister’s here.”
“Jaden!” My brother was eighteen, but he still acted like a little kid when I came home.
“Hey there big guy.” I said, standing up to give him a hug. He’d clearly taken after my dad, towering over the rest of us at almost six feet tall. “How’s high school treating you?”
“Can’t wait to get out.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re lucky you’re done with this bullshit.”
“David!” Mom swatted the back of his head. How she could reach, I have no idea.
“It’s just Jaden.” He muttered, moving out of her range. I grinned and went to put my stuff in my old room.
Mom really hadn’t changed anything in here. I’d collected prints of famous paintings and hung them all over my walls, so it was like sleeping in a gallery.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I flipped it open to see a text from Frank.
How’s everything going? It said.
Haven’t told her yet. Telling them after dinner. Call me around 9 ish? I texted back.
Love you. I couldn’t help but smile. I looked at the background of my phone for a minute. It was a picture of me and Frank. I was kissing his cheek while he stuck his tongue out at the camera.
I closed my phone and threw it on the bed.
Time to bite the bullet and tell them.
I sat down on the couch next to my mom, twisting my fingers nervously. My stomach felt like the ocean during a storm and I could barely open my mouth to talk.
“You aren’t wearing your wedding ring.” Mom said.
“Yeah, I, uh, took it off.” I said, looking down at my finger like I’d just realized it was missing.
“Why? That’s hardly respectable.” She looked less than happy about it.
“It’s my choice Mom.” I took a deep breath. “I took it off because I’ve been seeing someone.”
That was all it took for her head to practically explode. “Are you serious? How dare you defile your husband’s memory like that?”
“It’s been two years!” It hadn’t really occurred to me that so much time had passed. “Its not like I ran out after the funeral and started dating.”
“This is utterly disgraceful. I raised you better than this Jaden.”
“You raised me to do what I think is right.”
“What you think is right? You’re out there whoring around while your poor husband is dead!”
“I knew I shouldn’t have told you.” I muttered, standing up.
“So you would lie to me as well as commit adultery?”
“Danny’s dead!” The words echoed in the silence. “He’s dead Mom. That doesn’t mean I have to be.”
Clearly the wrong thing to say, because I had to sit and listen to her lecture me for half an hour.
And then my dad came home from work and she told him that I was selling my body on the corner and my dead husband would be rolling over in his grave and the big city has changed our little girl and all this other complete bullshit.
“You know, I wasn’t happy when you married Danny, and you know why, but I didn’t expect for you to do this after he’s gone.” Dad said.
“You didn’t like him because he was Korean. Well Frank’s Italian and now you’re pissed about that.” I looked at the time and saw that it was almost 10:30. “You know what; I don’t wanna talk about this anymore tonight. Goodnight.” I walked up the stairs and into my bedroom, locking it behind me.
I didn’t see any missed calls on my phone, so I dialed his number.
“Hey.” I said, lying down on my bed. His voice is all I need to relax.