Poker Night; Part One

Nolan took just a moment before pulling on the door handle and stepping out of his car.  He didn’t really want to play cards tonight.  He’d had a movie night planned with Z and the kids.  It was a Saturday night and he wasn’t at the wine shop and he’d rather be at home. Cozy on the couch, holding his wife closer than he ought to in the presence of young children, because he knew their eyes would be glued to the tv so they wouldn’t notice Daddy nuzzling Mommy’s neck or stealing kisses during the action scenes.

He’d told his brother ‘no thanks’.  It was Zahra that had insisted he go. 

“What did he say, exactly?”  Zee had pressed when Nolan had mentioned the bizarre phone conversation he’d received from his brother.

“I don’t know, nothing, really.”  Nolan didn’t want to talk about it.

“Love—“ she said, in a tone he well knew meant business and not love.  “It sounds to me like he needs you.”

Nolan had sighed then, because he knew she was right.  “It isn’t a big deal Zee, he’s just lonely and wants to play cards—I’m not dropping everything here just to go entertain a guy whose wife is out of town.”

Zahra looked at him curiously.  “He would drop anything for you in a heartbeat.”  She said kindly.

He closed his eyes.  “I know.”  He replied, and he did know.  And he wished he could believe that it was just Jonah having a sudden whim to play poker with pals, but something squirming in his gut told him there was something else.

“Do you think they’re having trouble?”  Zahra asked softly.

Nolan re-opened his eyes.  “I don’t know.  Maybe.”  Jonah had said Velvet and the girls had gone upstate to look at some resort but it was possible that there was another reason she’d up and left so suddenly.  It was fairly difficult to fathom.  Jonah adored his wife.  But nobody was perfect.

Nolan tolerated Velvet very well, but he’d never been behind the marriage.  He’d made his peace with it because she made his brother over-the-moon happy, because she was the mother of his nieces and nephew, and because she really was a nice woman, easy to get along with, but he never quite stopped believing it would end in disaster.  But it had been more than twenty years now, hadn’t it?  Maybe Nolan was just being stubborn.  Regardless, his gut told him otherwise.

He suspected Velvet had never really broken things off with her ex.  He’d never voiced theses suspicions, and perhaps they were groundless, he certainly didn’t have any proof, but there was just something he couldn’t quite put his finger on about her.  Something locked away, but something not-quite honest.

And Nolan knew Jonah had always been entirely faithful to his wife.  He was certain of it like he was certain air was for breathing.  Nolan knew his brother.  So if Velvet had walked out, if Velvet was not upstate looking at a resort then maybe the truth of her duplicity had come out? 

No, Jonah hadn’t sounded devastated, more… distracted.

“It feels wrong to ditch you and the kids.”  He said, knowing that he was going to have to go play poker.

“We’ll always be here. “  She said with a melancholy smile.  They locked eyes and he knew she was telling him not to be afraid.

Because he was.  He was afraid every time he stepped out of the house that things might not be the same when he returned.  He swallowed.

“You can take them out for ice-cream and the arcade tomorrow to make it up to them.”  She said with a dazzling smile.

He couldn’t help smiling back.  “Then for my sake I’ll try not to drink too much.”  He’d done the arcade hung-over and it had to be one of the most excruciating experiences a father ever has to endure with a smile for the sake of his kids.  All those buzzers and whistles and flashing lights and shrieking children.

She reached over and caressed his cheek.  “Go help your brother.”  She said and leaned in to kiss him.

Standing next to his car, staring at the Delaney mini-mansion on Cedar Crest, Nolan ground his teeth together and convinced himself to start up the brick path to the doors.  Before he’d made it two steps the front door opened wide.  No turning back now. Nolan smiled at his youngest niece.  She didn’t quite return the smile, but rather watched him curiously as he approached.

“Hey, Vi.  Thought you girls were upstate with your mom.”  He said pleasantly, reaching the door and giving her a peck on the cheek.

“Not really my scene.” She said with a smile and gave him a very teenager-y sort of half hug. 

Nolan nodded knowingly and chuckled.  “I’m the first one here?”  He hadn’t seen any of the other guys’ cars in the driveway.

“Huh?”  Viola responded, swinging the door closed behind them.

Nolan blinked.  “Where’s your dad?” 

“I dunno.”  She said, her eyebrows wrinkling a little.

Nolan kept his face easy.  “We’re having a poker night.”  He explained.  “Since your mom’s away, I guess your Dad decided to take advantage of the opportunity to have a bunch of animals over for male bonding time.”

Viola scowled.  Then she wiped her expression clean, but Nolan hadn’t missed it.  “Oh.”  She said and breezed by him into the living room and through to Jonah’s study door.  Nolan followed a good distance behind, hanging back. So she knew precisely where her dad was.  Every other thing out of that girl’s mouth was a lie. “Sorry, he didn’t tell you?”

“No.”  She replied and knocked on the study door.

There was no immediate response.

She knocked again.

Nolan heard Jonah’s muffled voice from behind the door.  “Yes?”

“Uncle Nolan’s here.”  Viola said, clearly peeved despite her valiant effort to sound non-chalant.

The door opened suddenly enough to make Nolan lean back, a little startled.  Jonah must have been standing right behind the door.  Viola hadn’t flinched.  She looked up at her father, a question and a challenge written all over her face.

Jonah stared at her for what felt like a very long, tense moment before he spoke.  “I’m having a poker night.”  He said to her.

Viola pursed her lips and walked away.  “Have fun.”  She called over her shoulder as she exited the living room.

Nolan was squinting when his brother finally peeled his eyes off his daughter and looked at him.  Something was definitely wrong.

“Hey Jones.”  Said Nolan casually.

“Thanks for coming.”  Jonah said and crossed to the sideboard.  Nolan watched his brother pour himself three fingers of single malt.

“Not a problem.”  He replied calmly.  “What’s up with her?”

Jonah tensed visibly, pausing in the act of returning the cap to the scotch.

“Sorry?”  The man’s voice sounded a little tight.

“What’s the deal with Vi?  She seems a little pissed at you.”

Jonah took his time replacing the cap and didn’t speak until he’d finished the task.  “We were supposed to watch a movie together.”  He said, a deliberate quality in his voice that made Nolan slightly uncomfortable. 

“And you wanted a poker night instead?”  Nolan asked, bristling a little that just because Jonah chose to blow off his kids he was being forced to do the same.

“Well, no, it’s—“  He trailed off.  “Can I get you anything?”  Jonah still hadn’t turned around and Nolan got the impression that he was delaying the moment when he’d have to look his brother in the eye. 

“No thanks.” He wanted something but reminded himself about the arcade.

Jonah picked up his tumbler of scotch and turned at last.  “She’s not supposed to be watching tv.”  He finished and took a sip.

“Grounded?”

Jonah nodded.

Nolan relaxed a little.  That’s probably the real reason she hadn’t gone upstate with her mother, and why she was behaving like a royal bitch.  But that didn’t explain Jonah’s increasingly peculiar behavior.

He wanted to ask what she’d been grounded for this time but he’d learned a long time ago to keep his mouth shut when it came to Jonah and Viola.  It was Nolan’s opinion that the man let her get away with murder because she was the youngest and clearly his favorite, but it wasn’t his place to interfere in how his brother chose to parent.  Besides, Viola wasn’t the real issue here.

The doorbell rang.

A wide smile and bright eyes transformed his brother’s expression and Nolan grimaced. 

As Jonah moved toward the door Nolan slid a hand under his arm to stop him.  “Jones, is everything ok?” He searched his brother’s eyes, trying to divine the truth before Jonah brushed off the inquiry.  Something was troubling his brother but Nolan couldn’t fathom just what it could be.

For half a moment it looked like Jonah might confess, might spill whatever it was that he was toiling with, but then a false smile appeared and a mask was in place.  “What?  Of course everything’s ok!” Jonah said brightly.  “We’re going to play cards, drink a little, and have a good time.”  He laughed and Nolan felt cold.  “Of course everything’s ok.”  Jonah repeated.  “How about you?”

He extricated himself from Nolan’s grasp and made his way to the foyer and to the front door.

Nolan bit the insides of his cheeks.  He decided maybe he’d have a drink or two after all.