Chapter 11
Instead of things getting better, they were going downhill fast. Jack was trying to fight off a headache. This was all that he needed. He had to leave if he was going to make his appointment with Ennis on time. He couldn't believe that he might be late when he was only a few blocks away at his studio. He was stalling for sure, he knew that. He also knew that he shouldn't have been drinking, and he hoped no one would be able to tell. Hell, it was only a couple of beers, no harm in that. He planned to ask Ennis over to the studio after hours, so had made sure that he had something to offer him when he got there.
The last week and a half had been a bear. He'd been through a lot of shit in his life, but this took the prize. His nerves were shot, and he was at the end of his rope. The more that he thought about it, the more he felt his head throb.
In the lobby of his building, Jack bought a pack of spearmint Tic Tac in the gift shop, then stepped outside into the fresh mid October air, and considered walking to his appointment. It was pretty much a toss up as to which way he'd get there faster, walking, or driving in the traffic. He decided to drive. In the end, he was ten minutes late, but doctors, even Ennis, always made patients wait, so what difference did it make? He liked to be on time, that's what difference it made. He liked people to be on time when they had an appointment with him, so he tried to be on time too. Nothing was going right for him these days.
He made his best effort to look normal as he entered the office and saw Connie sitting behind the desk. He smiled at her, and apologized for being late.
"That's alright, Jack. Have a seat, it won't be long," she said in a kind voice. He figured she could tell that he was out of sorts by the way that she looked at him and spoke to him. Maybe he just felt guilty. Even the fish aquarium couldn't calm him down. He grabbed a magazine and opened it, but there was no way that he could concentrate.
It seemed like an hour before Wendy called him in, but in reality it was only about ten minutes. Jack tried to be pleasant, but he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders so it was very difficult. Wendy was her sweet self, so he summoned his strength, smiled, and asked her how she was, and even remembered to ask about her cats.
When Ennis entered the office, Jack felt a little better. Ennis had that affect on him.
"Hey, Jack, been awhile again," Ennis said, then stopped and stared, and locked eyes with him for a second until Jack looked away. He felt like Ennis could read his mind.
"Everything okay?" Ennis asked. "You look tired."
"I feel like shit right now. Got a headache coming on, among other things," Jack sighed. "Sorry, I don't mean to complain."
"Well, if you can't complain at the doctor's office, where can you?" Ennis said with a smile.
When he didn't get any reaction from Jack, he moved on. "Let's look at your file and see what's going on."
Ennis sat behind his desk and brought up Jack's information on the lap top. He checked the report that he'd been sent from the acupuncturist. He read the notes and asked Jack if the first treatment had helped, and how he liked it, and the doctor.
"The doctor was fine. Not sure about the rest. I've only been in once. They set me up with a schedule though. Gonna be hard to keep all the appointments."
"Well, you've got to put forth the effort, Jack, and give it a fair shot. It could be just what works for you."
"I know," Jack said flatly.
Ennis made some notes and asked several times if Jack had any questions. Jack felt like his brain was mush and couldn't think of a single thing to ask, and felt like he was just wasting Ennis' time.
When the appointment was over Jack said, "Any chance we can get together and talk after you're through for the day?"
"Sure," Ennis said in a soft concerned voice. "I'll be done in an hour or so, that okay?"
"Yeah, how bout you come over to the studio?"
"I'll be there."
"Good, I'll be waiting. Thanks, Ennis."
Jack made it back to the studio and tried to busy himself with paperwork, but he was barely able to concentrate.
Ennis arrived at about 6:00. He hadn't been inside the studio since the day Jack had decided to take it. "Wow, looking good," Ennis said, clearly impressed as he was let in. He hoped that by saying something positive it would put Jack in a better mood than he was back at the office.
It was a huge space, 5000 sq feet, bright and clean. The space was highly adaptable to just about any need. Ennis noticed the equipment and backdrops, all very organized and neat. It was clear how much work that Jack had been doing. It was flexible and comfortable. The dark room was built in one corner, and an office in another. In one part there was furniture and a fake fireplace front among other props, and in yet another area was a make-up and wardrobe station.
There was even a 20' x 25' loft accessible by a spiral staircase where there was a bathroom with shower, and a king sized bed for those times that Jack might need to spend the night in the city.
Jack invited Ennis into the client lounge area. Before sitting down, Ennis took in the view from the windows. By then it was dark, and the view nearly took his breath away, even though he had a top-notch view from his own office. This view was panoramic. There were black-out shades which could be used on the windows for those times when outside light was counter to the effect needed for a shot. Jack had been right the day he saw this place, it had it all.
Jack asked Ennis if he wanted a beer, and Ennis said, "Sure do," coming back to reality as to why he was there. He told Jack how great it was, and how well that he had used the space. Jack didn't comment. There was no mistaking the fact that he was preoccupied, almost nervous.
Jack set Ennis' beer on the table, kept his in his hand, and without sitting down, took a big swallow before looking at Ennis and coming right to the point.
"Lureen's pregnant and we're getting married."
Ennis felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach, and that he must have heard wrong. There must be some mistake. He grabbed his beer, took a long drink, and sharply said, "Tell me I didn't just hear you say Lureen's pregnant."
When Jack didn't answer, Ennis had trouble suppressing his anger. He got up and in a raised voice said, "Jesus Christ, Jack, how in the hell did that happen?"
When Jack stayed silent, Ennis continued. "What do you have to say for yourself?" He was becoming very impatient and agitated, and couldn't keep the anger out of his voice.
"Ennis, it just happened," Jack said, looking down at the floor.
"How does something like that just happen? Surely you used protection. Tell me you did, you can't be that stupid." Ennis shouted.
"Ennis, don't go there," Jack said with a defeated tone in his voice.
"What the hell do you mean, don't go there? Are you crazy or what?" Ennis held nothing back. "Jesus, Jack, you just met the woman! Surely you realize what can happen, and I'm not just talking about pregnancy." Ennis rubbed his eyes and shook his head.
"Ennis, it wasn't planned, we didn't have anything to use, we were in the back of the Land Rover."
"In the back of the Land Rover? What are you, sixteen?" Ennis shouted, with disbelief in his voice. "What were you thinking is what I wanna know."
"We took a drive up on Mulholland that night after we left the club. One thing led to another. I wasn't thinking, Ennis." Jack squeezed his temples and appeared to be in pain.
"What about Lureen, how fuckin' irresponsible can she be?" he spit out.
"Don't blame Lureen, it's not all her fault," Jack said sadly.
"How can you be sure it's even yours?"
"Lureen's not like that...it's mine." Jack said. His eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"One minute of carelessness and you've screwed up your entire life." Ennis said in a condescending tone.
"Ennis, you've turned into Keith." Jack said.
"Yeah, well, I guess I finally know why the hell Keith talks to me like he does." Ennis' tone was thoughtful, and his eyes full of emotion.
"Ennis, you're not telling me anything I haven't already told myself...I just wanted to let you know the situation."
Ennis tried to keep the distress out of his voice and said, "Well, I'm glad you did...even if I don't seem like I am...Did you tell your folks?"
"Hell no, but I'll have to eventually...I don't want to think about it right now," Jack said, as he rubbed his forehead.
"How long have you known about this?" Ennis asked in a calmer voice.
"About a week and a half."
"And when did you come to the conclusion that you and Lureen are getting married?" Ennis asked, again letting his anger start to boil up.
"When she told me she was pregnant."
"Has she seen a doctor, not just used a home pregnancy test?"
"She sees one next week."
"So, she's what, six weeks along?"
"About."
"Were you only with her once?"
"Only once without a condom."
"Only once without a condom," Ennis repeated, shaking his head. He felt like kicking something. "That's like closing the barn door after the horse got out."
Jack stood silently, his eyes cast down to the floor looking dejected.
"So you two have been sleeping together," Ennis stated, with a pained expression on his face.
"A few times, at her place."
"So you're attracted to her...you're not in love, are you?"
"In love, no, not in love. She has feelings for me, more than I do for her, but I mean, I like her a lot, we're friends. She comes on to me, puts on sexy little outfits and won't take no for an answer."
Ennis thought of Alma in her strange little Tuxedo number. She said she'd gotten it at a boutique. He wondered if Lureen wore one of those too...well, maybe Jack liked stuff like that.
Ennis, trying to be the voice of reason said, "Jack, there's no reason to jump into marriage. Why not live together awhile and see how it goes first?"
"Have the baby and not be married?" Jack said, sounding less than convinced.
"Why not?"
"Ennis, I never thought you'd give advice like that. I figured you're into marriage and all, you and Alma been married quite awhile. Aren't you happy bein' married?"
That hit too close to home. "We're talking about you, not me."
"Why can't we talk about you too?"
Ennis didn't figure that airing his dirty laundry would do any good, only complicate the matter, so said, "I'm just saying that marriage is a big step. It's hard even under the best of circumstances. You need to think about this and not make any hasty decisions."
"Lureen and I have already decided. I told you what my situation and plans are. I wasn't asking for your advice."
Ennis could see that Jack was trying to keep his composure as he went on in a quiet voice, "What I need from you is support. Can you give me that?"
Ennis' heart went out to Jack. He wanted to make him feel better, not worse, so gave it his best shot. In the most reassuring voice he could muster, he said, "Sure, Jack, anything you need. I'm here for you," and he meant that in all sincerity.
He wrapped his arms around Jack and softly said, "We'll get through this, you'll see. It'll all be okay," and Ennis tried to believe it for Jack's sake. He felt guilty for having come down so hard on him, and hoped that he knew it was only because he wanted the best for him. Ennis tightened the embrace, and Jack relaxed in to him. Ennis could feel Jack's soft hair on his cheek. The hug lasted only a moment, but Ennis felt a strange calm come over him, and hoped that Jack felt it too.
Ennis hated to leave, but Jack insisted that Ennis go home. Ennis worried about him being alone with a migraine, and the worries of the world on his shoulders. He felt inadequate as a doctor, and as a friend. Jack said that he planned to sleep in the studio that night, so at least he wouldn't be trying to drive, so Ennis reluctantly left him, and set out for home.
He had lots of time to think during his drive. He knew that he needed to put forth an effort to not harbor ill feelings toward Lureen, but it was fuckin' hard. The thought even entered his mind that she had done this on purpose, but he tried to dismiss it. It was bad enough that he had it in his head that Alma and Lureen had set up the chance meeting in the club. He had no proof of that, only suspicion, and had never brought it up to Alma because he knew that she'd never admit it. And he sure didn't have any proof that Lureen purposely tried to get herself pregnant. What woman in her right mind would do that with a man that she'd just met that night? No, that wasn't reasonable at all, but neither was two adults having sex with no protection, especially in this day and age.
Ennis just couldn't believe that Jack had done that. He must have been desperate is all Ennis could figure. Lureen had been coming on to him right there in the club though, so Ennis could only imagine what she'd turned into when she had him alone parked in an SUV on a dark, deserted road. He immediately felt ill, so he pushed that thought out of his mind.
Ennis continued to try and make sense out of what had happened. Jack was a good looking man. It was easy to see how anyone would want him. Lureen was a looker too, in that short red dress and long dark hair, if a person were attracted to that type of woman and evidently Jack was.
Maybe they fell under a spell. Yeah, maybe there was some love potion #9 in their food that night. Ennis shook his head, now he was getting ridiculous. There sure as hell hadn't been any in his and Alma's food, considering their fight at the end of the evening.
He needed to think clearly in order to try and help Jack, and there was nothing that he wanted more in the world right now than to help him. He just hoped that he could.
To Be Continued...
