"Would you let me take that?" Jed asked for the fortieth time as we stepped up to Jackson and Annette's door.
I nudged his hand away when he tried to free the basket from my grasp. The cellophane protested these movements with a crackle. "There's no need."
"You can't see over it. You're going to wind up falling on your ass." He reached for the basket again and I batted him away, nearly losing my hold on it in the process. "What do you have in there? It's the size of a commercial food processor, Bam."
"It's not a food processor. She already has one of those."
"Great. So, what the hell is it?" he asked.
Before I could respond, the door swept open and Annette cried, "Come in, come in, come in."
Jed glanced between me and Annette several times. "No one mentioned anything about a costume party."
Annette touched her fingertips to the wide swath of Pucci-inspired fabric covering her forehead and woven through her dark, curly hair. "It was optional," she replied. "I'm not surprised Brooke kept that tidbit to herself. You know how she hates these sorts of silliness."
"I do not hate silliness one bit. In fact, I love when sex accidents necessitate silliness," I argued, stepping inside the house. "Here." I pushed the gift toward her and nearly succeeded in knocking her down. "This is for you. And Jackson too, of course."
"Of course," Annette said over the crinkle of cellophane. "But what the hell is this and why are you giving it to me?"
At a volume not far from screeching, I replied, "It's a hostess gift. For hosting us."
"Bam," Jed murmured as he skimmed his knuckles down my back. "Take a breath."
Annette plopped down on the sofa, setting the basket beside her. "Let's see how to open this," she said, examining the basket for entry points. The cellophane squealed under her touch. It was taped and tied and ribboned to death. There was no entry. "Hmm. I wasn't prepared for a puzzle tonight."
I pressed a hand to my mouth becauseoh my freaking god, why didn't I opt for a bottle of relatively silent wine with an obvious opening?
"For fuck's sake," Jed breathed, reaching into his pocket as he crouched in front of the sofa. He took hold of the ribbon-tied top, flipped open a Swiss Army knife, and cut the wrappings off at the head. He drew the blade down the sides and front, peeling back the layers as he went. "There you go."
Annette ran her hands over the carefully displayed items, prying each from the mess of paper grass filling the bottom of the basket. Still staring at the gifts, she said, "You must be deep in the feels." She hefted the serving platter up, studied it, turned it over. "Oh, my friend. You'redeepin your feels, aren't you?"
Folding up his knife, Jed asked, "Do I want to know what that means?"
I blinked at her, my hand permanently fixed over my lips. Nodded once. Yeah, I was in my feelings. All of my feelings.
"This is silver," Annette announced, as if I didn't know.
As if I hadn't selected the most lovely, excessive gifts I could find because that was how I managed my deep feels. I bought ridiculous things and hoped I could store my conflicted emotions inside those objects as there was no room for them within me. That was the reason for most of the shoes in my closet and the Brooklyn townhouse I'd purchased a week after my mother's funeral.
"This is a silver platter that's big enough for a giant Thanksgiving turkey. I mean, a big ass turkey. I could feed the entire town off this platter. And it'ssilver." She set the tray aside and chose another item from the basket. "What do I do with this?"
"It's a wine canister," I said through my fingers. "You put, you know, a bottle of wine or champagne in there. Mineral water, maybe. To keep it chilled while it's on the table."
Jed chuckled as he ran a hand down his face. "You're somethin' special, Bam."
"Okay." Annette bobbed her head as she set the canister down.
It was the type of "okay" that also said "I'm going to let you think I agree with that" and "In case you didn't notice, this is ridiculous." My soul sister could get away with a packed "okay" and make it sound as pleasant as pie, but I knew what she was thinking.I knew.And I was relieved I'd talked myself out of adding an ice bucket to this purchase.
"These must be coasters. Silver coasters." She grinned up at me, saying, "I take it they were out of gold and platinum options."
Her snark snapped me back into this moment. "Nothing encrusted with jewels either. It was annoying. I wouldn't have this problem in New York."
She glanced back to the basket of silver, shaking her head. "No, probably not, though I appreciate the absence of monogramming. There's some next-level crazy at work here, but I admire your ability to draw the line at engraving 'Jackson and Annette' or some combination of initials. That's how I know this is from the heart."
"It is," I replied softly. Jed squeezed my shoulder. "From the heart, I mean."
"Get over here and hug me." Annette pushed to her feet and held her arms out as she crossed the room toward me. She gathered me up, folding me tight to her body. "Come into the kitchen. I made a cheese plate. We'll handle your feels tomorrow." Leaning away from me, she asked Jed, "Do you like cheese?"
