She spends the entire night listening to Pat’s huge voice.
Pat Benatar has a rebel personality, and Nanette wonders if this means June does, too.
Nanette sings to herself in the mirror a little bit and that helps.
She likes singing “All Fired Up” best.
23
A “Purple Pleasure Bondage Kit”
When Nanette wakes up on Christmas morning, her parents are in her room grinning at her. “What’s going on?” she asks as she rubs her eyes.
“Merry Christmas!” they chime as they thrust a small wrapped box at her. She notices that their hands are touching, making a little nest for the matchbox-sized present, like it’s a small bird. The wrapping paper is white, and there is a sky-blue ribbon tied in a bow at the top. “Open it!” her parents yell, and she hasn’t seen them this happy in a long time, so she pulls the ribbon and peels off the paper and opens the box. Inside is a key. Written in silver on the key is the word Jeep.
“What is this?” Nanette says.
Her mother rushes to the window and pulls open the blinds.
“Look,” her father says, so Nanette rises from her bed and looks down through the window at a green two-door Jeep. The soft top is down. Nanette asks if it’s really for her, and her mom says, “We knew how much you liked riding around in Alex’s Jeep, so we got you your own. You’ll need a car next year, whatever you decide to do. This will give you a little more independence.”
Before she knows what’s happening, Nanette and her parents are bundling up in jackets, scarves, mittens, hats, and smiles. Nanette plugs her iPhone into the USB port, plays her new Pat Benatar mix, and then is driving her parents around in the Jeep, which is used and a bit more rugged than the one Alex had, but a lot of fun to drive. Nanette sees her father smiling in the rearview mirror, the ends of his scarf flapping in the wind. She looks over at her mother, who is also grinning ear to ear. Without really thinking about it, Nanette takes her parents to the field where she saw the hunter’s moon with Alex. She cues up “Invincible” and goes for it. The field’s covered by a few inches of snow, but that’s no problem for the Jeep, and so she blasts through the powder with four-wheel drive and feels a wonderful sense of power every time she pushes down on the gas pedal. Her parents apparently know Pat Benatar’s “Invincible”; they sing and laugh like teenagers themselves as Nanette circles around the field, fishtailing and spinning tires, occasionally sending dirt and grass flying up behind them.
A police car arrives with sirens and lights going, so Nanette turns down Pat Benatar, drives over to the road, and the O’Hares all get out of the Jeep. Nanette hopes that it might be Officer Damon, but instead it’s just a regular old mustache cop with a flabby belly.
“Christmas present,” Nanette’s father explains, pats the hood of the Jeep, and then shrugs.
“Neighbors called,” the officer says, and points to the houses nearby. “Maybe take it somewhere else?”
“Of course, Officer,” Nanette’s mother says. “No problem.”
“Happy Christmas,” the cop says, and then tips his hat.
When the cop pulls away, Nanette’s father says, “Just wait a second.”
Once the cop car is out of sight, her dad says, “One more lap around the field before we go. Whaddaya say?”
“Seriously?” Nanette says.
“Live a little,” her mom says. “And put on ‘All Fired Up’ again.” So Nanette hits the gas and they make tracks through the snow, laughing and singing and feeling free, before making their exit.
“So?” her parents say when Nanette pulls into the driveway.
“She loves it!” Nanette says.
“You don’t need a boy to have fun in a Jeep,” her father says.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with having a boyfriend,” her mom quickly adds.
Inside, they eat breakfast and exchange more gifts. For her parents, Nanette bought items from the local novelty sex store: naughty dice, massage oils, handcuffs wrapped in pink fuzzy material. She thought it would be funny, but she also thought maybe it would help them find a spark again. As her mom and dad open up a “purple pleasure bondage kit,” Nanette begins to regret her choice of presents, especially since the awkward in the room is now palpable.
“How did you know that we were sleeping together again?” Nanette’s mom asks. “Can you hear us through the walls?”
Nanette’s father must see the horrified look on Nanette’s face because he says, “She’s kidding.”
“The hell I am,” Nanette’s mom says as she attaches her wrist to Nanette’s dad’s with the pink fuzzy handcuffs, which simultaneously sickens and amuses Nanette to no end, especially when her dad squeezes her mom’s thigh.
“So,” Nanette says. “Does this mean you guys are sticking together?”
Nanette’s father puts his arm around her mom and says, “Your scare—or whatever you want to call it—you . . . being in need . . . it really brought us closer together. Gave us a common goal. Made us remember that we have something pretty great going on here. Our love made you, after all.”
Nanette has a moment of clarity—she realizes that she is indeed the product of her parents’ love and that is why she was so worried about that specific love failing.
“I’m over the open-mouth chewing, too,” Mom adds.
“I’ve been trying really hard to chew with my mouth closed,” Dad says. “Have you not noticed?”