“Like you won’t eat it.” She clicks her tongue. “You might not be a teenager anymore, Benson, but you still have enough appetite to eat your father and I out of house and home.”
When Mom isn’t looking at me, I nod to him in thanks. The edge of his mouth lifts.
I muster a reassuring smile. “Everything looks great, Mom.”
She lets it go for now. I’ll talk to her when I’m ready. Benson and Dad take their usual seats, leaving me sitting across from Cole when I find mine.
As much as I want to endure this family dinner by turning invisible, he won’t let me. He glances at me and makes attempts to include me in conversations the entire time.
Why does the universe hate me today?
THREE
COLE
It’sstrange to be back in Heston Lake after all the years I’ve been away. Some aspects of this small town are stuck in time, as if they’ve been waiting for me to pick things up right where I left them at eighteen. There’s also a sense of what I’ve missed out on now that I’ve returned at twenty-seven.
The familiarity of having dinner at the Lombard house feels exactly the same yet not.
“Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?” Mrs. Lombard asks from her seat at the kitchen table while I take care of loading the dishwasher for her after dinner.
She insisted that I didn’t have to, but she cooked dinner so I’m cleaning up after with Benson like old times. His dad refreshes her glass of wine and rubs her shoulders.
Eve disappeared as soon as she brought the stack of plates to the sink. Through dinner she was quieter than I’m used to. I wonder if it’s because of that look on her face when I ran into her earlier today. The thought of anything dimming the lively spark I’ve always admired in her makes something tighten in my chest.
“No. Getting called in for the assistant coaching position happened so out of the blue that I didn’t really think about it,” I say.
Mr. Lombard hired me to fill the open job for Heston University’s men’s ice hockey team on a trial basis after the previous defensive coach retired. Honestly, I’m still shocked I got the call.
For now, I’m here. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll float around again until I find something else to do. It’s how I’ve operated since I graduated five years ago.
Mrs. Lombard pats her husband’s hand affectionately. “Well, now you do. I’ll have plenty of food, so you should join us.”
I shoot her a grateful smile. “I’d never turn down one of your meals. Thank you, that sounds great.”
My relatives might be spread out across the country, but it’s nice to still have my best friend’s family feel like my own. They’ve always welcomed me.
“What about Christmas? Are you flying to visit your parents?”
“No. They booked a cruise, just the two of them. They like to get away a lot now.”
“Good for them. And that settles it. You know you’re welcome here.”
I finish loading the dishwasher and start it. A sense of nostalgia hits me for all the time I spent over at the Lombards’ growing up.
“If you’re sure you can squeeze me in,” I say.
“Of course.”
“She still cooks like she’s feeding an army,” Benson chimes in.
“I might as well have been serving a hungry army anytime you brought your teammates over for dinner. You and Cole could pass as one with how much you both put away,” she says.
Benson pats his stomach with a grin. “Hockey boys like to eat.” He turns his attention to me. “You should. Jess wants to catch up with you, too.”
“Yeah, okay,” I say.
He points at me. “Also, you’re joining the Brawling Bandits. No arguments.”
