It was calm. Deceptively calm. It was late afternoon but it might as well have been evening for all the light outside. Jack was sitting on the couch, inspecting the remote rather than the TV, and completely at his leisure when Bobby came in and sat down next to him.
"Hey, you know that song, Cracker Jack?"
"He knows all the songs," Angel put in, coming up behind Bobby.
"What song?" Jack asked, still inspecting the remote. Weird, how people thought of these things…
"You know. That one from that movie Ma likes. West Ham Story or something."
"That's West Side Story, Bobby," Jerry corrected.
"Yeah, whatever, and it's got you and Camille written all over it. But, Jack, you know that song, it's sort of…" Bobby began humming a few lines until recognition dawned on Jack's face.
"Oh, yeah, I know it." He put away the remote and looked between his three brothers. Something was up.
"What are the words?"
Jack narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What do you want to know for?"
"Just tell me the words, Jack."
Angel stepped in. "I think I know the beginning. It's like, um, 'I feel pretty' or something."
"Yeah, yeah, 'I feel pretty and witty and—'" Jack paused abruptly.
By this time his brothers were doubled over laughing, but Bobby still had breath to call out, "Say it, Jack! Say it, Jackie Boy!" with Angel howling in the background. Even Jerry had trouble hiding his chuckles.
A look of hurt confusion crossed Jack's face and he got up and left the room, Bobby still calling at him from behind, "You feel witty and what? How else do you feel, Jack? Jack!" From the other room, Jack heard Bobby turn to the others, chuckling, "Oh, man, that was golden. He was this close to admitting it."
"I'm not gay, Bobby!" Jack yelled at the top of his lungs, pounding up the stairs.
Still the sound of laughter grew louder and Jack flung himself on his bed, reaching for his guitar so he could focus on something else besides…that. It wouldn't matter if he came home with some blonde model—to his brothers, he would always be Jackie: Pretty, Witty, and….that other thing.