cannon. “Relax, I’m not going to hit you, Leroy. Can you just not do the fact thing right now?”
Leroy relaxes a little and shrugs. “Well, I could say what I really think.”
I cock an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
He serves himself food as he speaks. “That you’re sweating because you were nervous around Cherie.”
“Are you kidding? I wanted to strangle her!” I guffaw.
Leroy laughs at me. “Could’ve fooled me. It’s okay; she is a pretty girl.” He passes the tray of turkey meat. “I think you’ve been asking for this.”
I take the platter, but I set it to the side. “Hold on a sec –you were reading. You don’t even know what just took place here.”
He smirks at me and shakes his head. “I notice a lot more than you think, Jack.”
I feel my cheeks grow hot, and I force myself to take a deep breath. “Well, you noticed wrong.”
Leroy and I spend the next twenty minutes in silence. He eats and reads. I eat a little here and there; I’m only human. There was no way I’d sit at that table for all that time without touching any of the amazing food I’d been lusting after all day.
A soundtrack of clinking glasses and forks scraping plays in the other room, accompanied by belly laughter and cheer. How do adults manage to go a whole night without arguing over anything? Well, these adults at least. Mom never had that kind of luck with my dad.
Still, Mom and Dad got to choose to live together. Dad got to choose when he’d had enough of living together. Dad didn’t just get up from the table when he needed a way out; he left the house. No one lumped Mom and Dad and their relatives into one home and said,
“Here, deal with it.”
“Wanna go for a drive?” I ask, suddenly claustrophobic and anxious for fresh air. I love my car. It’s my space, the one place where I have total control, and no one else gets to share it unless I ask them to jump in. Right now, I just want to get in and drive.
Leroy seems game, and we are about to leave the table when Aunt Darla, Mom and Jim come down the stairs with the rest of the brood, marching each of my siblings back to the kid table with resignation.
“Where do you think you’re going?” my mom asks me, perturbed.
I look back at Leroy. “We were going for a drive. We finished eating.”
She shakes her head. “Oh, no, mister, this holiday dinner is happening. Sit down. Besides, it’s snowing, and the roads are bad.”
I sit down with a heavy sigh, looking at the disgruntled faces around me. No one looks happy to be at this table. I think of how hard my mom worked to make this dinner for them, and I feel like none of them deserves to be here.
Not even me.
“Where’s Cherie?” Brenton asks.
“She went back to her hotel,” Aunt Darla says softly, patting his shoulder when his face drops. “Her driver will come back for Aunt Camille and Uncle Mark later.”
The table is full of scowls and folded arms and upturned noses.
“Look guys, I know not everybody gets along,” Jim begins, and I watch his eyes rest on me.
What did I do
? “But if you can just try – at least for tonight, for our sake – we really would appreciate it. Look, it’s snowing outside, how many times is there a true white Christmas? And look at this table – we can’t let all this good food go to waste! Besides, you may actually have a good time tonight if we just forgive each other for our differences for a few hours. Whaddya say?”
The twins shrug. Brenton pouts and sighs dramatically, and Britney holds up her half-eaten cookie to me.
“No, thanks.” Jim shoots me a look, and I have to recover quickly. “I was talking to Britney. She tried to give me a cookie.”
But also no to your whole
“we can be a cookie-cutter family, too”
speech
, I grumble inside my head.
“I know you kids will make the best of it,” Mom says at last, putting her hand over Jim’s. “As for Cherie, well, we will just have to talk about how to treat guests at
Leroy relaxes a little and shrugs. “Well, I could say what I really think.”
I cock an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
He serves himself food as he speaks. “That you’re sweating because you were nervous around Cherie.”
“Are you kidding? I wanted to strangle her!” I guffaw.
Leroy laughs at me. “Could’ve fooled me. It’s okay; she is a pretty girl.” He passes the tray of turkey meat. “I think you’ve been asking for this.”
I take the platter, but I set it to the side. “Hold on a sec –you were reading. You don’t even know what just took place here.”
He smirks at me and shakes his head. “I notice a lot more than you think, Jack.”
I feel my cheeks grow hot, and I force myself to take a deep breath. “Well, you noticed wrong.”
Leroy and I spend the next twenty minutes in silence. He eats and reads. I eat a little here and there; I’m only human. There was no way I’d sit at that table for all that time without touching any of the amazing food I’d been lusting after all day.
A soundtrack of clinking glasses and forks scraping plays in the other room, accompanied by belly laughter and cheer. How do adults manage to go a whole night without arguing over anything? Well, these adults at least. Mom never had that kind of luck with my dad.
Still, Mom and Dad got to choose to live together. Dad got to choose when he’d had enough of living together. Dad didn’t just get up from the table when he needed a way out; he left the house. No one lumped Mom and Dad and their relatives into one home and said,
“Here, deal with it.”
“Wanna go for a drive?” I ask, suddenly claustrophobic and anxious for fresh air. I love my car. It’s my space, the one place where I have total control, and no one else gets to share it unless I ask them to jump in. Right now, I just want to get in and drive.
Leroy seems game, and we are about to leave the table when Aunt Darla, Mom and Jim come down the stairs with the rest of the brood, marching each of my siblings back to the kid table with resignation.
“Where do you think you’re going?” my mom asks me, perturbed.
I look back at Leroy. “We were going for a drive. We finished eating.”
She shakes her head. “Oh, no, mister, this holiday dinner is happening. Sit down. Besides, it’s snowing, and the roads are bad.”
I sit down with a heavy sigh, looking at the disgruntled faces around me. No one looks happy to be at this table. I think of how hard my mom worked to make this dinner for them, and I feel like none of them deserves to be here.
Not even me.
“Where’s Cherie?” Brenton asks.
“She went back to her hotel,” Aunt Darla says softly, patting his shoulder when his face drops. “Her driver will come back for Aunt Camille and Uncle Mark later.”
The table is full of scowls and folded arms and upturned noses.
“Look guys, I know not everybody gets along,” Jim begins, and I watch his eyes rest on me.
What did I do
? “But if you can just try – at least for tonight, for our sake – we really would appreciate it. Look, it’s snowing outside, how many times is there a true white Christmas? And look at this table – we can’t let all this good food go to waste! Besides, you may actually have a good time tonight if we just forgive each other for our differences for a few hours. Whaddya say?”
The twins shrug. Brenton pouts and sighs dramatically, and Britney holds up her half-eaten cookie to me.
“No, thanks.” Jim shoots me a look, and I have to recover quickly. “I was talking to Britney. She tried to give me a cookie.”
But also no to your whole
“we can be a cookie-cutter family, too”
speech
, I grumble inside my head.
“I know you kids will make the best of it,” Mom says at last, putting her hand over Jim’s. “As for Cherie, well, we will just have to talk about how to treat guests at
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