He rolled his eyes but didn’t respond.He knew she was right.It didn’t matter.She loved to cook, and if she could make meals for him at the same time, all the better.
Closer to noon, they packed up the deviled eggs and his liter of Mountain Dew and drove to his parents’ house.Deanna and Brian were already there.
Hugs and kisses were doled out as they caught up on life events.The fact she and Evan were in a romantic relationship had been shared right after Carli and Blake’s wedding weeks ago.The warmth and acceptance of the Jameson family meant the world to her.She’d grown up with this family, both parents and kids, and always felt like part of them.Having her be with Evan made it more real.Now all she had to do was make sure it stayed that way.
Carli and Blake showed up shortly after and brought in gifts they’d bought on their honeymoon.
“You didn’t have to get us anything,” his mom said, waving away the gift.
“We already did,” Carli said, laughing.“So you have to accept it.They’re only little trinkets from the island.Not much.”
“Little trinket?You should have brought a big gift back for your favorite brother,” Evan teased.
Carli’s eyes twinkled.“Brian is getting a little trinket, too.Just like the rest of you.”
Evan made a show of being gutted by the insult, and everyone laughed.This family had such a great rapport with each other and showed their love in non-traditional ways.Lots of times with laughter.
Cheryl bustled around and enlisted the help of everyone to get the food on the table.Once they were all seated and into their meal, she said, “I’m always thrilled to have you here, Mercedes, but it’s especially nice now that you and Evan are together.”She pointed at her youngest son.“Don’t do anything to mess this up.”
Evan made a face and saluted his mom.“Yes, ma’am.”Mercedes could tell he wasn’t taking it as a joke.A little bit of anxiety circled his eyes.
Brian laughed.“Knowing my brother, he’ll mess it up big time, because that’s what he does.”
“Stop,” Carli yelled, though only Blake, Brian, and Mercedes could hear her.“This is the first time I’ve seen Evan serious about someone, and I’m happy it’s someone we know and love.He should be congratulated.Mercedes actually knows him well and still wants to be with him.”
“It’s probably because she wants to be with all of you,” Evan teased, even though they were joking about him.“I better not do anything wrong.I have a feeling my family will disown me and keep you.”He smiled in her direction.
“Don’t you forget it,” Deanna jumped into the conversation.
As much as everyone was having a good laugh, it was kind of at Evan’s expense, so she attempted to change the subject.Glancing toward Deanna, she asked, “How’s the army unit?Still teaching them sign?”
Funny how Deanna’s cheeks turned pink.“Yes, the guys are great.We send a video every week, and they try to send one back showing us what they learned.We’ve been doing this for almost a year now with this unit, and some of the men are getting really good.Others just like hearing from the kids to distract them.They were deployed overseas a few months back.”
“Do they know how long their deployment is?”Brian asked.
“They don’t know exact dates, but one of them mentioned it shouldn’t be too much longer.I’d love for some of them to come into the classroom and meet the kids in person.I teased them and said they had to pass an ASL test first.”
Evan made a face at his youngest sister.“And do they all want to study harder to meet the pretty teacher in person?”
Deanna rolled her eyes, but her face flushed.
“That guy who was being razzed in the video you shared a while back,” Carli asked, “is he one of the ones to head home?What was his name?”
Deanna shrugged.“Rafe, and he might be.I’m not sure.”
Brian chuckled.“Rafe.On a first name basis and you didn’t ask?”
Deanna huffed.“When we send videos, we don’t always know who’ll see them.They’re for the whole group, not individuals.The videos they send back have smaller groups signing to us with what they’ve learned.”
“You said Rafe was one of the ones who was really good, huh?”Evan grinned at his sister.“Guess he’ll get to visit the classroom.”
Rolling her eyes, Deanna said, “I don’t know.Hey, Mercedes, what are you doing for Thanksgiving.Are you heading to the Cape to see your parents or coming over here?”
Way to change the subject.“I’m not sure yet.I’d love to see my parents and brother, and they invited Evan to come with me.We haven’t had a chance to talk about it yet.”
Brian pumped his fist in the air.“Yes, take Evan with you.That way he won’t hog all the gravy and mashed potatoes.”
The teasing was back to Evan, but at least this time it wasn’t something embarrassing.Mercedes didn’t think he minded being teased about food, so she played along with his family, ragging on him about his ferocious appetite.
