“Everyone get some food!”Uncle Tom exclaimed.
None of us needed to be told twice. We started piling things onto our plates, including macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, greens, biscuits, turkey, and like a million other things. Once we were all finished getting food, it quieted down.
“Should we pray?”Uncle Tom asked.
“No,”I blurted. Everyone looked at me and I started laughing.“Sorry, it was a reflex. We can if you want to?”
“How about we each say something we’re thankful for instead? I know we’re not much of a praying family. I’ll go first.”He paused to think, then smiled at me.“I’m thankful that my niece came to live with us, and that you’re doing so much better.”
“Aw, thanks Uncle Tom.”I smiled brightly. That was super sweet.
“My turn,”Ari said.“Can I copy my dad?I’m thankful for you being with us, Emy. You’re my best friend and one of my favorite people in the universe, andI’m so glad you came to live with us.”
“Aw, Ari.”I almost teared up at her heartfelt words.“Okay, I’m gonna go next.I’m thankful for every single person at this table. You guys all mean a lot to me, and I dunno what I’d do without you. Thank you for letting me come live with you, Uncle Tom. And thank you Ari for being my best friend and always putting up with me. Thanks Sean for being a great friend and always looking out for us, and thank you Aunt Helen for taking me in for as long as you did. And Dennis,”I turned to him, trying to find words without getting sentimental,“thanks. For everything. You’re the best bind I could’ve asked for. I mean, I never asked for one, but now I can’t imagine things without you.”I smiled at his expression. I could tell he wasn’t expecting that at all.“You wanna go next?”I asked him.
“Sure.”He thought for a moment.“Thank you all for letting me join you today. I don’t have a family, so this is nice.”
“Of course.”Uncle Tom smiled at him.“We wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“I’ll go,”Sean offered after a few seconds of silence.“I do have a family, but I don’t really get along with them. So thank you all for letting me join, too. I really appreciate it. And thanks Ari for putting up with how annoying I can be.”
“You are annoying,”Ari agreed. He chuckled as Aunt Helen cleared her throat.
“Okay. Disclaimer,”Aunt Helen started,“I’m gonna get emotional, so here goes. First, I’ll say thank you, Tommy, for being such a great brother when things got so hard for the longest time. Thank you for looking out for Emy when I couldn’t. Or chose not to.”Her eyes cast down as her voice began to quiver.“Ari, thank you for being the wonderful niece that you are. And Emy, thank you for still loving me even though I chose not to help you for so long. It broke my heart yesterday when you thought I wouldn’t miss you or didn’t want you anymore. You’re always wanted and you always have been. I’m sorry. Thank you for not hating me.”
“Aunt Helen,”I got up as she started to quietly cry,“why’re you crying?”I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her cheek.“I love you. Don’t apologize, it’s okay. You were trying to help my mom.”
“Thank you, Emy.”She kissed my cheek and smiled. She wiped her tears as I returned to my seat.“Sorry everyone. I had to get that off my chest. Anyway, who’s ready to eat?”
“I am!”I took the first bite of the table, followed by a sip of delicious blood.
Everyone followed suit and we all fell into a comfortable silence, only broken every couple of minutes by someone saying how scrumptious the food was. And then Aunt Helen’s phone began to ring. She picked it up and stared at the screen.
“Who is it?”Uncle Tom asked.
“Debbie.”
My stomach twisted into a knot. Was she serious?
“Who’s Debbie?”Sean whispered to Ari.
“Emy’s mom,”she responded quietly.
Dennis heard, too. He shot me a worried glance as Aunt Helen answered the phone.
“Hello?”She waited a few seconds.“I’m good,”she said, her voice somewhat cold.“How’re you?”Several more seconds. Alotof seconds. And then she lowered the phone.“She wants to talk to you,”she told me.
“I don’t want to.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded.
“You haven’t talked to her in four years,”Ari said gently.“Are you sure you don’t want to?”She was right: my mom had called the day of my high school graduation, and that was the last time I’d spoken to her. Needless to say, it hadn’t gone well.
“I don’t wanna talk.”
“Okay.”Aunt Helen put the phone back to her ear.“Debbie? Yeah, she—”
