The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 42

I ingest a Huge FavorOn rising Years eve day, subsequently agreeing to buy unlimited beer for our neighbors, Jake manages to trade seats with the season-ticket delayer in front line of me and once Jake is seated, he props my cast up onto his shoulder so I am able to sit down during the Falcons game.A a couple of(prenominal) minutes into the first quarter, drum wit coach Andy Reid fleeces the starters, and the game announcer reports that D alto limither in allas has somehow baffled to Detroit, which means that the Birds pull in clinched the NFC East for the fifth sequence in the last six stratums and the current game is meaningless. Every genius in the Linc cheers, in high spirits fives abound, and it is unvoiced to stay in a seated position.With the starting simple receivers tabu, I get my hopes up for Hank Baskett, and he actually does catch a few balls in the first half, each of which Scott, Jake, and I celebrate too because I am wearable my Baskett jersey over my winter coat, and we all kindred to root for the undrafted rookie.Its 17 10 Eagles at halftime, and Scott actually leaves the game, utter that he promised his wife hed come home for New Years Eve if the Cowboys wooly-minded and the Eagles game became meaningless. I give him a hard time to the highest degree leaving and am surprised that my familiar does non join in with the ribbing. that shortly after Scott takes get rid of, Jake asseverates, Listen, Pat. Caitlin has me going to this black-tie New Years Eve society at the Rittenhouse Hotel. She was mad at me for going to the game today, and I was block out of thinking about taking off proto(prenominal) so I could surprise her. But I dont want to leave you here(predicate) with the cast and all. So how do you feel about leaving early?Im shocked, and a little mad.I want to get word if Baskett gets his support touchdown, I say. But you can go. Ill be all right here with all the real Eagles fans the people who argon s taying to play the whole game. Its not a very nice thing for me to say, especially since Caitlin is belike already svelte and waiting for Jake to come home, nevertheless the truth is, I need my comrades servicing getting out of the Linc on crutches. I take a leak a odour that Baskett exit get the ball a lot in the endorsement half, and I chicane Jake really wants to see the game anyway maybe hell be able to use his mentally ill brother as a favourable excuse for missing the first calve of Caitlins New Years Eve party maybe this is what Jake really wants and needs. Beer man I let loose to the Coors Light guy who is passing our row. When he stops, I say, Only whizz beer because this guy here is leaving his c pitchpled, mentally insane brother to go to the Rittenhouse Hotel so that he can swill champagne with non-Eagles fans in tuxedos. My brother looks like I punched him in the gut, and soon he is pulling out his wallet.All right. Fuck it. Make it two beers, Jake says, and I smile as my brother sits down in Scotts seat and helps me prop my cast up onto the back of the empty seat in front of me.Through the min half, Baskett continues to catch A. J. Feeleys throws, and early in the fourth quarter my favorite thespian runs an out, catches the ball, and runs down the sideline eighty-nine yards for the second touchdown of his young c beer. Jake helps me stand, and thus everyone in our section is high-fiving me and slapping my back because over my coat I am wearing the Baskett jersey my brother gave me when I first got out of the bad place.I would later learn that Baskett is the first Eagles instituteer to catch two touchdown passes lasting than eighty yards in the same season which is an accomplishment, tear down if number 84 has only been a marginal doer this grade.And you wanted to leave, I say to Jake.Go Baskett he says, and then gives me a one-armed sideways stuff shoulder-to-shoulder. later on the Eagles backup players win the last regu lar season game, the Birds destination their season at 10-6, locking up at least one home play-off game in the process. I crutch my way out of the Linc with Jake as my fullback, parting the crowds, shouting, Cripple coming by dint of Cripple coming through Move out the wayWe dont meet up with Cliffs gang until we get back to the fat mens tent and the Asiatic Invasion bus. But when we do, our friends greet us with a Baskett intone because number 84 had a c arer-high 177-yard day and an 89-yard TD.With play-offs to discuss, everyone is reluctant to leave, so we drink beers and discuss the 8-8 Giants, whom the Birds will play in the first round. When Cliff asks me if I think our team will beat the Giants, I tell my therapist, Not only will the Eagles win, unless Hank Baskett will catch another touchdown.Cliff nods and smiles and says, You called it in front the season flat started Hank Baskett is the manJake leaves first because he and Caitlin have that hotel New Years Eve party to attend, so we all impinge on mutant of him and call him whipped besides counterbalance though he is leaving us for his woman, I give him a hug and thank him again for staying, getting me a season ticket, and gainful for the play-off tickets too, which are pretty expensive. And I know Jake has forgiven me for fashioning him miss the second Dallas game, because he hugs me back and says, No problem, brother. I love you. Always. You know that.After Jake leaves, we drink beers for another half hour or so, but lastly many of the guys admit they too have New Years Eve plans with their wives, and I take the Asian Invasion bus home to New Jersey.The Eagles have won the last five games and the NFC East, so theres no stopping Ashwini from blowing the Asian Invasion bus horn when he pulls up to my parents house, and when he does, the chant blares loudly E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES which brings my mother to the admission.Standing on the front step, mamma and I wave as the green bus pulls external.We eat a late New Years Eve dinner together as a family, but flush after another Eagles win and with Super orbit hopes alive, my father doesnt say much, and he heads for his study before Mom finishes her meal, probably so he can read historical fiction.Just before the ball drops on Dads huge flat-screen television, Mom asks me if I want to go right(prenominal) and ravisher pots and pans like we used to do when I was a kid. I tell Mom I dont really want to bang pots and pans, especially since I am tired from spending the day outside in the cold, so from the couch, we watch people celebrating in Times Square.deuce thousand and six becomes 2007.Its going to be a good year for us, Mom says, and then forces a smile.I smile back at Mom, not because I think it is going to be a good year, but because my father went to bed an hour ago, Nikki never came back, theres not level(p) the slightest inclination to suggest that 2007 is going to be a good year for either Mom or me, and even Mom is whitewash move to fetch that silver lining she taught me about so long ago. She is still holding on to hope. Its going to be a good year, I say.When Mom falls asleep on the couch, I turn off the television and watch her breathe. She still looks pretty, and perceive her resting so peacefully makes me raving mad at my pa, even though I know he cant transplant who he is, but I wish that he would at least try to appreciate Mom more and spend some tonus time with her, especially since he doesnt even have the Eagles to be fussy about anymore, because the season is already a success regardless of what happens in the play-offs, especially after making it this far without McNabb. And yet I know my father is not likely to change, because I have known him for thirty-five years, and he has always been the same man.Mom tucks her knees and elbows in close to her luggage compartment and begins to shiver, so I push myself up, grab my crutches, and crutch my way over to the cl oset. I pull a cape from the bottom of the closet, crutch my way over to Mom, and jump her but she continues to shiver. Back at the closet, I see a heavier blanket on the top shelf, so I reach up and pull it down. It falls on top of my head just after I ensure a little crash. I look down, and by my feet is a videocassette in a white plastic case that has two reverberance bells on the cover.I crutch my way over to my mother and cover her with the heavier blanket.It is hard to pick up the cassette with my cast preventing me from squatting I actually have to sit down on the floor to pick it up. After slue over to the TV, I slip the cassette into the VCR. I look over my shoulder, checking to make sure that Mom is sleeping soundly, and then turn down the plenty before I hit PLAY.The video is not completely rewound, and the part that pops up on-screen is the beginning of the reception dinner. Our guests are seated in the fete room of the Glenmont Country Club, which is near a gol f course in a swanky little town just outside Baltimore. The tv photographic camera is focused on the entrance doorway, but you can see the bound floor and the band too. Using the microphone, the lead singer says, Lets introduce the hymeneals party Philly style, at which point the horn section of the band begins performing the opening notes of Gonna Fly Now The guitarist and bassist and drummer soon begin playing, and even though it doesnt sound exactly like Rockys theme song, its close nice to get the job done.Parents of the groom, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick PeoplesOur guests clap politely as my mom and dad cross the dance floor arm in arm, and the painful panorama on my fathers face suggests that this was one of the worst experiences of his life being proclaimed at my wedding.Parents of the bride, Mr. and Mrs. George Gates.Nikkis parents do a little skipping routine into the banquet hall, making them look sloshed, which they were, and I laugh thinking about how much fun my in-law s were when they drank. I really do miss Nikkis parents.Bridesmaid, Elizabeth Richards, and groomsman, Ronnie Brown.Liz and Ronnie come out gesture to our guests, as if they are royalty or something, which was strange, and the tactic all but mutes their applause. Ronnie looks young in the video, and I think about how he was not yet a father, how Emily did not even exist when this video was shot. housemaid of honor, Wendy Rumsford, and best man, Jake PeoplesJake and Wendy travel across the dance floor and directly toward the camera until their faces are life-size on my fathers huge flat-screen television. Wendy just sort of screams like she is at an Eagles game or something, but Jake says, I love you, brother and then kisses the camera lens, leaving a lip-shaped smudge mark. I see the videographers hand emerge and quickly wipe the lens with a slash of cloth.And now, for the first time ever, allow me to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Pat PeoplesEveryone stands and cheers as we walk into th e banquet room. Nikki looks so pretty in her wedding dress. Shes holding her head in that cute, shy position, with her chin close to her chest, and seeing her now makes me call out because I miss her so much.When we move to the dance floor, the band shifts gears, and I hear those sexy synthesizer chords, umbrageous high-hat taps, and then the soprano saxist steps forward and Songbird takes flight.Something in my mind begins to melt, and it feels as though I am experiencing an ice-cream headache or as if someone is miffed my brain with an ice pick. Im not seeing the television screen anymore, Im seeing the road through a fogged windshield, and its raining something fierce. Its not even four in the afternoon, but its as dark as midnight. Im disorder because we have a big game coming up and yet the gym roof is leaking again like a sieve, which has forced me to spark basketball practice.All I want to do is take a shower and then watch game tapes.But when I tape my house, I hear a soprano sax moaning, and its strange to hear Kenny Gs smooth jazz coming from my bathroom at a time like this. Mr. Gs notes are swirling all about. I open the bathroom door I feel the steam lick my skin, and I wonder why Nikki is listening to our wedding song in the shower. Kenny Gs solo has reached a coming once more. The CD player is on the sink, and two piles of turn rest on the floor, and a pair of mens glasses are on the sink next to the CD player. Sexy synthesizer chords, faint high-hat taps.You fucking whore I scream as I rip the shower curtain off the rod, exposing so much awful, soapy flesh.Im rest in the tub. My hands are around his throat. Im between them now, the shower is sprinkle the back of my coat with hot spokes, weighing down my sweatpants, and he is in the air, begging me with his eyes, pleading for a breath of air. His hands are stressful to break my grip, but he is a tiny, weak man. Nikki is screaming Kenny G is playing Nikkis lover is turning purple. Hes s o small, I can hold him up against the tiles with one hand. I cock my elbow back, squeeze a tight, teeth-shattering fist, and take aim. His nose explodes like a packet of ketchup. His eyes are rolling into the back of his head his hands have fallen away from mine. When I cock back my fist a second time, the music stops playing, and then Im on my back in the tub and Nikkis natural lover has fallen out of the tub and naked Nikki is holding the CD player in her trembling hands. When I try to stand, she smashes the CD player over my head once more my knees give out, and I see the silver faucet rise like some fat, shiny snake in the grass to strike the hard spot just to a higher place my right eyebrow, and then I wake up in a hospital and promptly begin vomiting all over myself, until nurses arrive and tell me not to move my head. And Im crying and calling for Nikki, but she does not come to me. My head hurts so badly. When I touch my forehead, I feel some sort of bandage, but then my hands are being forced to my sides. The nurses are screaming and holding me down, and then doctors are restraining me too. I feel a prick in my arm, and When I blink, I see my reflection in the blank television screen. The video has ended. I look life-size on my fathers flat screen, and I can see my mother asleep on the couch, just over my right shoulder. As I continue to watch at myself, my little white scar begins to itch, but I do not really want to smash my forehead with my fist.I find my feet and crutch my way into the kitchen. The address book is still in the cabinet above the stove. I place a call to Jakes apartment. As the phone rings, I look at the microwave and see that it is 254 a.m., but I remember that Jake is at a swanky hotel party and wont be home until tomorrow, so I decide to leave a message.Hello, youve reached Jake and Caitlins machine. ravish leave a message after the beep. Beep.Jake, its your brother, Pat. I need a huge favor