DING-DONG.
The doorbell rings, and my eyebrows jump. Mom quickly goes to my door and answers it before I can stop her. There’s only one person it can be, but I’m too panicked to react.
“There he is!” Dad says as Mom opens the door.
“Reed, honey, come on in!” Mom chirps.
“Hi, everyone.” The monster man of my dreams gives a slight nod and bow before Mom pulls him in for a hug. He looks almost as uncomfortable as I feel. I’m so embarrassed I can barely appreciate how mighty fine he looks in an orange sweater vest and white shirt that hugs his muscly arms. The handsome dude exchanges a look with me and says, “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Reed. You’re here early!”
“Your sister texted me to come at this time,” he says as Mom finally lets go.
“What?” I yelp. I turn around and march up to the phone in Gramps’s hand. “Eartha!”
“Mom told me to.” My sister shrugs in the tiny screen.
“And I exchanged their numbers,” Gramps says with a proud grin. “I dropped it through the air. Who’s bad at technology, now?” He guffaws, and I frown.
“Don’t stop stirring, Skyler!” Dad hollers.
I return to the kitchen area, stirring the bowl in my hands, to stand next to Reed at the table. He’s putting down a large box on the only unoccupied surface.
“Hey, I was told to bring a dessert?” he says, like he’s asking for approval.
“What do you got, young man?” Dad beams at him as he stirs a pot of collard greens. “Someyaksiksticky rice? I looked up that Korean dessert!”
My face burns hot. “Dad,” I whine.
Reed chuckles. “No, it’s pumpkin pie.”
“Even better!” Dad chirps.
“Well, I think the turkey is almost done!” Mom takes off her frilly apron to reveal a sweater with a cartoon turkey on it. “Now, Reed and I can chat.”
“Chat?” I hope my tone conveys how mortified I am.
“Why do you think I invited him so early? I wanna get to know your boyfriend!” Mom takes him by the hand, and Reed seems both bewildered and amused.
“Wha-wha-what?” I stammer.
“Food’s almost done!” Mom says with a smile. She looks up at Reed and adds, “We would’ve been done sooner, but Sky wouldn’t let us sleep over. Instead, we’re at a smelly hotel.”
“I only have one room!” I retort. I look at Reed and cringe. “Sorry my place is so tiny. I’ve been meaning to move into a new apartment, but…”
“It’s cool,” my boyfriend replies. He looks up and adds, “It’s, like, cozy.”
I frown; cozy is just another, more polite way to say tiny.
“Can I show you baby pictures of my baby boy?” Mom sits Reed down on the couch next to Gramps.
“Um, sure.” Reed shoots me a cordial smile. Mom takes out a giant leatherbound tome I recognize as an album of my childhood photos. Meanwhile, I wonder if the floor of my apartment can swallow me whole.
“You brought that?” I squeak.
“But of course, I don’t go anywhere without it,” Mom says, opening to the first page. “Now here’s Sky’s baby butt in the bathtub.”
I groan and Dad takes the bowl from my hands. “If you’re not gonna stir it, it won’t be right. Why don’t you go get dressed?” Dad says with another finger wag.
