Reboot Pt. 02

"Jenna?" the voice asked. It sounded distressed. "Oh, thank you so much for picking up. It's Gita."

"Rita who?" Jenna asked before fully processing what the voice had said.

"It's Sangita Desai," the voice said, making an obvious effort to speak slowly and clearly. "You're, um, dating my mom."

"Yeah, sorry, Gita," Jenna said. "Still waking up. What's wrong?"

"I just ... I need your help," Gita said. "Can you come get me?"

"Okay," Jenna replied. "Where are you?"

"I'm at a house in the U district," Gita said. "I'll text you the address."

"Okay," Jenna said. "I'm on my way."

Jenna pulled on the blue jeans and white shirt sitting on the chair next to her bed. She wore slippers instead of boots, and she didn't bother to tuck in her shirt or put on a bra. She was down the stairs and in the garage in two minutes, when Gita's text popped onto her screen. The house was a ways north and west of campus, in a very nice neighborhood. She tapped her screen for directions, just in case. The drive was under ten minutes.

Gita was standing in front of the house when Jenna pulled up. The lights, the music, and the general disarray visible from the street all indicated a party going on inside. Jenna was a little surprised nobody had yet called the cops.

Jenna got out of her car, and Gita rushed over to her. "It's this guy, Mike," she said in a panic. She looked a little strange, but Jenna wasn't really paying attention. "He's inside."

"Slow down," Jenna said. "What's wrong?"

"He puked, and then he had a seizure," Gita replied, trying to take deep breaths. "We need to get him to a hospital."

Jenna strode purposefully toward the house. "You should have called the paramedics," she told Gita.

"I tried, but..." Gita replied, unwilling to finish the sentence.

"You can tell me later," Jenna said.

Once inside the house, the crowd parted for Jenna, with Gita trailing behind her. Jenna found Mike half-sitting, half-lying on the couch. She looked him over quickly, grabbed an arm, and hauled him to his feet. Gita grabbed the other arm. Together they dragged him out the front door and into Jenna's car, where he fell into a heap in the back seat. Jenna and Sumita got in the car and drove off.

"If he pukes again," Jenna said to Gita, "you are cleaning it up." Gita nodded.

Ten minutes later, Jenna pulled up in front of the emergency room door at University Medical Center, and Jenna ran inside to find somebody to get Mike out of her car. She came back out with big, burly nurse named Jesus pushing a gurney.

"His airway's clear and his pulse is okay," Jenna told Jesus as they hefted the kid onto the gurney, "but he's totally nonresponsive. Vomited earlier and had a seizure."

"Do you know what he took?" Jesus asked.

"Alcohol, definitely," Jenna replied. "Probably something else. I wasn't there."

"Molly, maybe," Gita said. She was standing by the car, trying to stay out of the way. "I didn't see him take any, but I know other people at the party did."

"Got it," Jesus said. "We'll check it out."

Turning to Jenna, he asked, "You a medic or something?"

"Nope," Jenna replied. "Just know a lot of first aid. I tended bar in Belltown in the nineties, and the owner preferred that his patrons not die."

Jesus laughed, a big bellow of sound, and clapped Jenna on the shoulder. "You did good tonight," he said. "Maybe even saved his life. We can take it from here."

Jesus rolled the gurney inside, and Jenna and Gita got back in the car.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Jenna asked Gita.

"Fucking Halloween," Gita said, and Jenna finally noticed why Gita looked so odd. She was all in black, with a pair of cat ears poking out of her hair and the smudged remains of a feline design painted on her face.

"And..." Jenna prompted when Gita didn't say anything more.

"I wasn't even going to go to the stupid party," Gita said, "but Dina was going, and all my other friends, and I didn't want to spend the evening alone in my room like a loser."

Jenna chuckled. "Did you have anything to drink?" she asked.

"No," Gita replied. "Well, I did have a diet Coke, but I stayed away from the alcohol. It's not that I didn't want to, I just didn't feel ..." Her voice trailed off.

"It's okay, Gita. You can tell me," Jenna said.

Gita shifted in her seat, turning toward Jenna so she could look her in the face without craning her neck. "I've never had more than like half a glass of wine," she said, "and I didn't want to wake up in some strange guy's bed with no memory and no underwear."

"Smart girl," Jenna said. "What happened with Mike?"

"I don't know," Gita replied. "One minute he was fine, and the next he was lying in his own vomit, thrashing around on the floor. It scared the crap out of me."

"I can imagine," Jenna said.

"I got my phone out and punched in 911," Gita said, "but this big guy stopped me before I could dial. He told me no cops and no ambulance. Something about parents not finding out. I was going to call anyway, but he was so mean-looking. I honestly thought he was going to hit me, like really hurt me."

Jenna let out a low growl. "Stupid over-privileged fuck," she said, her voice thick with venom. "He's going to let a kid die just to get out of a month of being grounded or whatever?"

"I don't know," Gita said. "I never saw him before tonight. Anyway, when he calmed down a little, I asked him if I could call a friend. No cops and no ambulance, just somebody I knew who was nearby. I thought you'd know what to do."

"Quick thinking, I guess," Jenna said with a sigh. "Probably the best you could have done, under the circumstances."

Gita smiled, a weary, sad expression that looked strangely lopsided on her painted cat-face. "Look, Jenna," she said, "please don't tell my mom about this, okay? I don't want her to worry about me."

Jenna took Gita's hand in hers and looked her straight in the eye. "I promise I won't tell your mother," she said, making sure Gita understood. "But you need to tell her yourself. She may never find out if you don't, but what if she does? Do you want to take that chance?"

Gita swallowed hard.

"There were, what, fifty people at that party?" Jenna asked. "And some of them probably have parents who know your mom."

"Oh, wow," Gita said. "I hadn't really thought about that. I guess I'll tell her, eventually. It's going to take me a little while to work up the courage."

"You didn't really do anything wrong," Jenna said. "Except maybe going to the party in the first place. And if you hadn't been there, who knows what would have happened to Mike?"

"Well ..." Gita said. "I don't know."

"Come on," Jenna said, buckling her seat belt. "Let's get you home. You'll want a shower before bed."

"Yeah," Gita agreed, wrinkling her nose. "My skirt still smells a little like puke."

Jenna drove to campus, parked in front of the residence hall, and walked Gita upstairs to her room. Just as Jenna was turning to leave, Gita put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Jenna," she said. "Thank you for tonight, and, well, ... everything."

"You're welcome, Gita," Jenna replied. The corners of her mouth turned up into the faintest smile as she walked away.

The next morning, Jenna was supposed to meet Sumita around ten. They were planning to go for a hike somewhere east, off I-90, and then have lunch at a place near Snoqualmie Falls. Instead, Jenna called Sumita and told her she wasn't feeling well. It wasn't a lie, though it wasn't the whole truth. She would keep Gita's secret as long as she had to, but she wasn't quite up to facing Sumita with it that day.

~~~

Jenna met Sumita Monday night for dinner on the east side, near her office, at a vegan Asian restaurant that Sumita liked. Jenna felt a bit awkward, but Sumita didn't seem to notice, though she did ask Jenna if she was feeling better at least four times. The warmth of Sumita's concern eased the knot in Jenna's stomach, but the secret she was keeping meant it didn't go away entirely.

Sumita suggested an ice cream place in a nearby mall after dinner, and Jenna immediately agreed. She was fine with any excuse to spend more time with Sumita, and who doesn't like ice cream? They ordered a waffle bowl to share and found a quiet corner of the mall where they could sit and enjoy it.

"Well, it's not Molly Moon's," Sumita said, "but it's not too bad."

Jenna laughed at the reminder of their first sort-of-but-not-really date. "Yeah," she agreed. "This doesn't suck at all."

Sumita giggled.

After they finished their ice cream, they sat for a while people-watching. The mall was called Crossroads, for good reason. The clientele was a mix of well-off and barely-getting-by; of immigrants and locals; of high-powered tech workers and people with ordinary, everyday jobs. That was Jenna's take, anyway. She didn't know if Sumita saw the same divisions, and she didn't ask.

"So," Sumita said after a while. "Diwali is coming up on the eleventh. I always do a big dinner at the house, and I'd really like you to come."

"Diwali..." Jenna replied, testing the weight of it on her tongue. "That's the big Hindu festival of light, right? I didn't think you were religious."

"I'm not, really," Sumita replied, "but we celebrate it anyway. It's kind of like Indian Christmas. Not the spiritual story, of course, but it's an excuse to get everyone together for a big meal and indulge a little. Plus, there will be firecrackers."

"Sounds nice," Jenna said. "Who all are you inviting?"

"There's you, of course," Sumita said, kissing the tip of Jenna's nose. "You should bring Rose and Brendan too, if that's okay."

Jenna felt her chest tighten, but it was a good tightness. Sumita was starting to think of her sister and nephew as family. "I'll ask," Jenna said. "As long as it's not too late, I think Rose will be okay with it."

"Wonderful," Sumita said, beaming at Jenna. "Apu will be there, with his wife Sapna, and Vivek, his wife Dee, and their two boys. Apu was one of Rajeev's oldest friends, and Vivek was a partner in his practice. They were both really good to Gita and me after Rajeev died."

"Wow," Jenna said. "That's a pretty big group."

"I'm also inviting Sarah and Meaghan," Sumita said. "I don't think I would have survived going back to work without Sarah."

Jenna smiled.

"Plus," Sumita added, getting a dreamy look on her face, "it's because of Meaghan that I met you."

"Is there anything I can do?" Jenna asked, blushing. "Maybe help you cook, or bring something?"

"Nope," Sumita replied. "Gita's coming over in the afternoon, and we've got it covered. Just bring yourself. I'd tell you to dress nicely, but I don't think I've ever seen you wear anything other than your blue jeans and white shirt, and I can't imagine you any other way."

"Clothes aren't really my thing, I guess," Jenna said, laughing to herself. "I found one outfit that worked for me, and I stuck with it because I don't like anything else. When I have to do something formal, I have a pantsuit that I wear, but I really don't like it. I look like Hillary fucking Clinton."

Sumita burst out laughing. She threw her arm around Jenna's shoulders, buried her face in Jenna's chest, and held onto her until the giggles stopped. When she sat back up, Jenna saw tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

"You, my dear Jenna," Sumita said, trying desperately to contain another attack of the giggles, "could never look like Hillary Clinton, no matter what you wear."

"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Jenna said to Sumita, and she broke into a broad smile. Sumita's delight was contagious.

~~~

Rose was excited for Diwali. She had only met Sumita a few times, and this was an opportunity to get to know her big sister's girlfriend a little better. If she got to tell Sumita some embarrassing stories about Jenna, so much the better. She wore her Sunday best, and she made sure Brendan did as well. Brendan was indifferent to the idea, happy to be out on a school night but mildly offended at being relegated to the kids' table.

Jenna, Rose, and Brendan arrived at Sumita's house early in the evening, before the worst of the rush hour traffic across the I-90 floating bridge. Meaghan was already there, sitting in the kitchen chatting with Sumita, and Gita and Dina were watching Jennifer in the living room, completely enthralled by the baby girl.

Sumita greeted Rose with a hug, Brendan with a handshake, and Jenna with a kiss. She showed Rose and Brendan around the house, and she took them out to the boat jetty on the lake when Brendan asked. Vivek, Dee, and their twin boys Bill and Ed arrived just as Sumita came back inside. Jenna thought the twins looked familiar, though she couldn't say why. Perhaps it was their curious expression when they saw her, or perhaps it was just her imagination. Apu and Sapna showed up a few minutes later, and then Sarah finally appeared.

When all the guests had settled in, hung up their coats, and deposited their bottles of wine and the like on the kitchen counter, Sumita made the introductions, with plenty of shaking of hands and polite exchanges of 'hello' and 'nice to meet you'. She introduced Jenna last, saying, "... and this is my girlfriend, Jenna," and then kissed her on the lips to underline the point.

Jenna felt a rush of red heat in her cheeks, and she looked at the unfamiliar faces for reactions. Bill and Ed didn't react at all - they were nineteen, and for them, a person being gay had never really been a thing. Apu, a big, dark teddy bear of a man, looked mildly uncomfortable with the public display, but unsurprised. Sapna and Dee both smiled warmly, welcoming Jenna into their little community. Vivek looked like somebody had hit him over the head.

"Your girlfriend," he said after a long, awkward silence. "Okay..."

Dee took Vivek by the hand, whispered something into his ear, and led him into the living room. He followed, still looking confused. Sumita shooed everyone else into the living room as well while she and Gita finished up with the cooking. By the time the samosas came out of the oven, any lingering awkwardness was gone. Brendan was a little in awe of the twins - they were smart, they were tall, and they were in college. That automatically made them cool, and sitting at the kids table with them suddenly didn't seem bad at all. Plus, there were Gita and Dina, who were all those things, and also pretty girls.

Before the meal, Jenna took Brendan, the twins, Dina, and Gita out to the lakeshore to shoot off fireworks into the Autumn darkness. The rest of the adults wandered out a few minutes later, except Sarah, who stayed behind to watch the baby. When everyone came back inside, Jennifer was asleep in her car seat, unbothered by the pops that had gone off outside. Sarah was gently rocking the car seat in the middle of the coffee table. Jennifer stayed asleep for almost the whole meal, which was unusual for her and lucky for everyone else.

Dinner itself was lovely, a vegetarian feast of tastes and textures and colors, mostly traditional Indian with highlights ranging from Mexican and Chinese to minimalist and modern. All five of the kids went into the kitchen for second helpings, and so did half the adults.

"Sumita tells me you're a painter," Vivek said to Jenna over dinner. "She made a point of showing us the new painting hanging on her bedroom wall before the fireworks. It reminds me of a sunset."

Before Jenna could respond, Dee jumped in. "It's two people fighting, dear," she said to her husband. "Did you not see them?"

"Oh, those were people?" Vivek asked. "I just figured they were clouds or something. Anyway, I like it. I could see something like that hanging up in the waiting room at the office - much better than the washed-out gray stuff my office manager Darlene picks out."

"Thank you," Jenna said, smiling her winning professional smile at both of them. "I'm glad you like it. I can give you my card if you're interested in any of my other work."

She reached into a pocket for a business card and held it out across the table. Dee took it, said, "Thank you," and slipped it into her purse. Jenna got the feeling she would actually do something with it.

The conversation level rose gradually as people finished eating, and then dropped again suddenly when three trays of homemade Indian sweets appeared from the kitchen. Things got loud again when Jennifer woke with an indignant wail. Meaghan scooped her up and disappeared into Sumita's bedroom to feed her and calm her down. When she emerged, everyone had finished eating and returned to the living room. Meaghan handed the baby to Jenna, at Rose's suggestion. "It'll be good for you," Rose said.

Jenna wasn't so sure about that, but she played along, standing little Jennifer up in her lap and making baby talk and funny faces to her. Jennifer responded with smiles and giggles, and Jenna decided that maybe this whole baby thing was okay, as long as the baby was in a good mood, and she could give it back when it inevitably started crying.

Meanwhile, Dee went into the kitchen to help Sumita clean up. She was basically incapable of not helping.

"Don't mind Vivek, Sumi," she told Sumita. "He was just a little surprised, that's all. Jenna seems great, and we're both very happy you've found someone. I know it wasn't all roses with Rajeev when you were married, but I also know how hard it was for you after he passed away."

"Thanks, Dee," Sumita replied. "It was really gracious of you to be so accepting."

"Honey," Dee said, "it's hard enough in this world find anybody at all you can live with. As long as you're happy, I think it's great."

Jennifer's happy mood lasted about ten more minutes, and after that she got cranky enough that Sarah and Meaghan went home. A car ride was one of the most reliable ways to calm her down. Vivek's family drifted out a while later, followed by Apu and Sapna.

"Really nice to meet you," Apu said to Jenna, shaking her hand as he left. Sapna surprised Jenna with a hug.

"You take good care of her," Apu added, glancing at Sumita with a big goofy grin on his face. "She can be pain in the ass, but Rajeev always thought she was worth it. Most of time, anyway." Sumita rolled her eyes at Apu's teasing.

Sumita waved with her right hand as Vivek and then Sapna drove off. Her left hand held Jenna's.

"That went well," she said to Jenna as they walked back inside. "Apu seems to like you. I was a little worried about that - he's a really nice guy, but he took Rajeev's death pretty hard. They'd known each other since they were teenagers."

Jenna kissed Sumita on the lips.

"This was lovely, babe," she said to Sumita. "Your friends are very nice, and it felt good to be acknowledged like that. No drama or anything. You have no idea what a relief that is."

"No, I guess I don't," Sumita said, "nothing like you anyway. I'm just glad everybody got along."

A noise from the living room reminded Jenna that Rose and Brendan were still there, and that they had driven together. "I should probably go," she said. "Brendan has school in the morning, and we have work."

"I wish you didn't have to," Sumita sighed, "but I know you do. Friday?"

"Yeah," Jenna replied. "Looking forward to it."

Rose drove home, and Jenna sat in the passenger seat feeling warm and fuzzy. She was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, she and Sumita could actually make it work together.

~~~

After Diwali, life conspired against them for a while. They didn't get to meet Friday night because of a work emergency for Sumita, and Saturday and Sunday were out because of a big rush job for Ballard Bites. The next weekend Sumita had plans with Gita and Jenna with Rose and Brendan. So when they could finally meet for dinner at Sumita's house on Tuesday night, two days before Thanksgiving, they were both thrilled.