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CHAPTER 2: “MORNING SICKNESS’’
 By Jim Caple |
Previously at 24 College Avenue: While most of her housemates have left 24 College Avenue for the summer, Jenn Robbins remains at State College where she faces a far more pressing problem than her routines as the school mascot. Housemate John Higgins has returned to his normal gig as a marketing VP for Athena athletics, . . .
Jenn was quite accustomed to spending mornings with her head in a toilet but never had she felt this bad.
At least when I used to throw up in the morning, Jenn thought, it was because I had enjoyed myself too much the night before. But I haven’t had a drop of beer or anything else for a couple weeks. Not since I found that – UH, OH.
Before Jenn could complete her thought, she felt the tide of nausea surging again. She gripped the porcelain and leaned forward, vomiting into the bowl again.
“Gawwwddddd,’’ she moaned. “I wanna kill myself.’’
There was a knock at the door. “Jenn, is that you in there? Are you OK?’’
Jenn raised her head, reached for some toilet paper and wiped her mouth. “I’m all right, Higgins.’’
“You sure?’’
Jenn opened the door and slumped against the door frame. “Yeah, yeah. Guess I just had a little too much last night again.’’
John Higgins looked her in the eyes for a couple seconds and then nodded. “Well, after living in a house with 10 college students for a year, I know all about that. But if you want a rough morning after, try knocking back shots of Absinthe with dockworkers in Marseilles. They say that wormwood burns on the way down but that’s nothing compared to how it feels coming back up.’’
At the the mention of alcohol, Jenn closed her eyes and slowly lowered herself into a sitting position.
“You sure it’s just a hangover, Jenn? I could take you down to the health clinic.’’
“No, really. I’ll be OK. I just need to rest a minute.’’ Jenn opened her eyes and looked up slowly. The sun shining through a window made her squint. “What are you doing here anyway, Higgins? I thought you moved out after you finished up your research for Athena on college demographics.’’
“I just dropped in to pick up my mail – it takes forever to get a subscription changed,’’ he said, holding up a copy of Runners World. “How are things going here, apart from drinking too much?’’
“Pretty dull,’’ Jenn said. “Almost everyone is gone, running around Europe, and I’m not gonna lie to you, the guys who moved in for the summer are pretty much closet cases. Like this guy Adam? He moved into Ahmed’s room? He hasn’t said a word since he got here. I mean not one word. It’s kind of funny though, a lesbian moved into Katie’s room. Bet Katie would flip if she knew was going on on her old bed.’’
Higgins smiled, his mind racing back to those nights in Bangkok’s Patpong district. Now, those were shows to remember.
“Have you heard from Katie? I worry about her.’’
“Yeah, me too. We got a letter last week. She didn’t write much – I guess training keeps her pretty busy – but she says she expects to get shipped overseas before the summer is over. God, I hope she’s safe.’’
Higgins nodded slightly. “It’s a terrible thing. I had hoped your generation would never have to go through this but I suppose we all must.’’
There was an awkward silence for a moment.
“Josh called a night or two ago,’’ Jenn said, breaking the silence. “Man, I don’t know how much he had been drinking but it must have been a lot because he was making no sense. He was babbling about terrorists stealing his bus in Prague or Hungary or somewhere. I kept trying to get him to calm down but his calling card must have run out of time because the line went dead.
“I haven’t heard from Nicollette. I guess she’s got a meet coming up in Berlin pretty soon.’’
“Yes,’’ Higgins said. “One of the biggest meets of the summer is there the same week as the World Cup final. I actually need to go over there for Athena. I’ll say hello for you if I run into her. And Jill as well. Her Ljubljana team is playing a tournament there that week as well.’’
Jenn suddenly perked up. “Oh, God, that reminds me. Jill was so pissed at Dwayne when she left. He wouldn’t even give her a ride to the airport. Can you believe that? Said he had to get fitted for his suit to wear at the NBA draft. So she told him they were through, and he goes, ‘Yeah, well, I don’t think I’ll be missing you when I’m on the road with the Pistons.’ What a piece of – ULLPPP, SCUSE ME!’’ She cupped her mouth quickly and raced back to the toilet.
Higgins followed her into the bathroom and knelt beside her, placing his left hand on her forehead for support. “Don’t worry, Jenn. Just let it go. You’ll feel better in a minute.’’
When Jenn finished, Higgins helped her out of the bathroom and led her back to her bed. She curled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, pressing them against her body. “I’m not gonna lie to you, Higgins. I never should have had that last drink.’’
He looked at her knowingly. “It’s funny. I was talking to Cheryl downstairs when I came in and she said she hasn’t seen you drink anything for several weeks.’’ He smiled tenderly. “So, when are you due?’’
Jenn opened her mouth to protest but Higgins shook his head and motioned with his hand for her to save her breath. “It’s all right, Jenn. You don’t need to hide it from me. I already know. But I don’t think Kenan has a clue yet.’’
“Kenan?’’ Jenn gulped. “What do you mean?’’
“You know what I mean, Jenn. He’s the father, right?’’
Next: “King of Sport’’
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