A moment later, a girl with stringy dyed-auburn hair and sleepy hazel eyes opened the door. She leaned against the doorjamb heavily. "Who're you?" she mumbled.
"I'm Isaac. I'm here to see Jerry," he said, looking over the girl's shoulder. "Who are you?"
"I'm Conna. Jerry's cousin," the girl said, running a shaky hand through her hair. Isaac noticed then that the girl was in her bathrobe. The front of it hung open exposing her body, clad only in silky red bra and matching underwear. He struggled to keep his eyes on her face and not on her body.
"Oh. She's mentioned you before. You live here right?" he asked.
"Yeah," the girl said. She glanced over her shoulder. "Jerry's at work. She's started working the dayshift."
"Oh," Isaac said. He glanced up and down the hall nervously. "Well, um, could you tell her I stopped by? I'm leaving tomorrow so..."
"No, no," the girl muttered, waving a limp hand at him. "She'll be back in a half-hour or so. You can stay. The couch is free. Well, uh, watch out for Daniel. He's kinda napping there."
"I don't think I should," Isaac replied uncomfortably.
"If you're not gonna be here tomorrow then you should just wait. She'll be home soon," Conna said, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside. She shut the door quietly after him. "Sit. I'll go put some clothes on. Uh...watch him." She flung one last gesture at a little bundle on the couch and then stumbled back to the room.
Isaac sat down on the couch next to the stacks of pillows. They were arranged in three piles, with Daniel nestled strategically inside; one on the outside edge of the couch, and one above Daniel's head and below his feet. He was laying on his back on a blanket, sleeping. Isaac peered over the piles at him, then leaned back against the couch.
Conna came bumbling back into the room, now wearing a pair of tight, faded jeans and a halter top. Her bra strap hung out of the back of her top, drawing Isaac's attention again to her underwear. She sat down in the recliner and leaned her head back. "I've got such a hangover."
Isaac nodded quietly. The girl looked at him through half-closed eyes. "So, you're Isaac. Hanson? You're 19?"
"Yeah," he replied. She nodded dully and her eyes rolled back in her head. She seemed to stop breathing, and for a moment Isaac feared she was dead. "Um, are you okay?" he asked timidly. Her eyes popped open.
"Fine," she replied. "So you're Jerry's friend. She's sweet isn't she?"
"Yeah," he replied.
"Hard to believe a girl like that would have a baby when she was only 18, huh? A real goody-goody," Conna rambled, reminding Isaac of an alcoholic. "She really got fucked over by what's-his-face. Michael? Yeah. What a dick. She was too good for his fucker ass in the first place..."
Isaac watched Conna, almost with a sense of fear. She eyed him skeptically, then burst out into hysterical laughter. "I'm not crazy, I assure you. Just too many drinks...last night." She twirled 2 fingers around in the air. "That's the way Jerry ended up the way she did. Her bastard boyfriend got her drunker than hell. Drunker than I've ever been. She flat passed out in the floor of that party. The asshole couldn't get any from her any other way. She was smart, you know. He fucked her unconscious. I mean, she was before he...bah. I can't talk. You know?"
He nodded again slowly. He'd never heard Jerry really talk about how she came about being in the situation she was. He'd never really thought of it before now. Conna went on. "She didn't even know anything happened until he told her. God, he's a prick. She had all sorts of shit going for her. Scholarships were flying at her from everywhere. She's a genius, I swear to fuck. She found out right before school ended, and her dad kicked her out on her pregnant ass. He told her to never speak to him again. Brian is a loser, too. He never amounted to a pile of shit, and he probably never will."
Conna's eyes glowered at the wall. "My dad and him are nothing alike, even if they are brothers. My mom says he's a bum. He claims he's a writer, but he hasn't published anything since Victoria died."
"Who's Victoria?" Isaac interjected suddenly.
"Jerry's mother," Conna replied smoothly. "Anyhow, Jerry moved in with me. She works her ass off, the dove. She does more for this trash heap than I do. I feel so sorry for her. She should've gone off, but she didn't. She couldn't, really. She didn't have any money, or any place to stay. Brian just completely cut her off. He even closed out her checking account that she had started herself when she was in junior high. A jerk..."
"So, what about her boyfriend?" Isaac asked. "Michael?"
Conna snorted in pained amusement. "When she told him she was pregnant, he got upset. He told her he didn't know what he was going to do, because he couldn't afford to keep up with himself, much less a child. I was there for that blow-out. I think he worries about them sometimes, but he's too ignorant to get a job and help out so he stays away."
"Oh," Isaac said. "Wow."
"She's a tough bitch," Conna said. "I wish I was her most of the time. She's got a whole helluva lot more going for her, even with a kid, than I ever did. Smarts, and such shit."
"You shouldn't say that sort of thing about yourself. I've bet you've got plenty going for you," he said.
Conna grinned dryly. "Yeah, right. I bet you can't name a single asset I've got."
"Well, you're pretty," he said, blushing a bit. She smiled at him.
"Thank you," she replied, revealing for the first time that she really did have manners. "That was nice of you to say."
He shrugged. Just then, Jerry came walking in the door. She was surprised to find Isaac and Conna sitting in the living room having a nice talk. Uncertainly she said, "Hi..."
"Hey, Jer," Conna said. "I met your little Hanson friend. He's sweet. You're home, so I'm gonna go out okay. Talk to you later, Isaac."
"Bye," Isaac said as she walked out the door.
Jerry inspected Isaac and then began to giggle. He looked at her confusedly. "What?" he asked.
"You've got that look," she commented. "That love-struck look that all guys get when they see Conna. This is too cute!!"
Isaac watched as the girl giggled some more, annoyed. "I don't have 'that look'. I'm not 'love-stuck', and this is not 'cute'."
Jerry just laughed harder. After a moment, her laughing quieted and she sat down by Isaac on the couch. "So, would you like it if I set you up with her?"
"Could you?" Isaac asked, a little too eagerly.
"Sure," Jerry shrugged. "Why not?"
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Isaac replied.
"Not a problem," she said.
"Now, I've got something for you, too," he said. A look of surprise and curiosity passed over her face.
"What?" she asked.
"Well, really it's for Daniel. But...it's a song. A lullaby."
"Awww," Jerry cooed. "Are you gonna sing it?"
"Sure," Isaac said. "If you want me to."
"Here," Jerry said, picking Daniel up from his nest. "Do it the right way." She sat back down by Isaac, and lifted the still-sleeping boy up so Isaac could see him. Isaac leaned down, and began to sing softly. The song was so sweet that it brought tears to Jerry's eyes. When he was finished, Jerry smiled and sniffled. "That was so sweet, Isaac."
"Thanks," he replied, blushing sheepishly.
Just then, she held Daniel out to Isaac. He took the baby and cradled him in his arms. Jerry sighed, and stood up. "So, you leave tomorrow?"
"I leave tomorrow," Isaac said, watching as Jerry went to the kitchen and began to pull pots out of the cabinet.
"Well, I guess this calls for a celebration. How does Ramen noodles sound?"
Isaac grinned. "Great."
"Good. Shouldn't you call your mom and tell her you won't be home for dinner?" Jerry asked.
"Um, yeah," he said. He carefully placed Daniel back in his pillow crib, and then went and picked up her phone. After calling his mom and telling her his plans, he went to the kitchen to help Jerry finish off the meal.
