“Okay, listen, let me get some lemon.” She turns back toward the center island, where the reliable bowl of fruit is. She looks at Kate and smiles warmly, then digs a lemon out of the bowl before turning back toward Tristan. She’s essentially ignoring me, but that’s okay. Dani cuts the lemon, then squeezes some onto the oyster Tristan is holding. He starts to lift it to his mouth. “No, not yet!” He pulls it away. “I haven’t told you the trick yet.” He’s staring at it with disgust. “Watch me,” Dani says as she slides one out of the shell and into her mouth quickly like it’s second nature. She opens her mouth to show Tristan the oyster is gone. “The trick is, once you send it sliding off the bow of the boat, you chomp once, then down the hatch, Captain.”
“Just chew once?”
“Yep. Exactly. It’s the taste after you swallow the oyster that we’re trying to get to. If you can do that, you’ll be smooth sailing.”
Tristan does exactly what Dani told him to do. He still looks revolted for a second, but then opens his mouth to show Dani it’s gone. He smiles from ear to ear.
“You did it! Nice work. What did you think?”
“It was great!” I know for a fact Tristan didn’t think it was great, but he wanted to.
“Well done,” Kate says. I walk over to stand next to her. In a low, almost inaudible voice…for me anyway, Kate says, “I can’t believe he ate that.”
How is Dani being so normal right now? I don’t think I could handle going to Thanksgiving dinner with her new boyfriend, but this situation doesn’t seem to be fazing her. I’m guessing it’s because she’s already imagined it and prepared for it. That’s just how her brain works.
Later, right before dinner, my mom comes up to me and says, “You gonna get a little red Corvette next?”
“She’s thirty,” I say back.
My mom shrugs, then continues into the dining room.
Everyone finds a seat. It’s not an organized process and there’s no hierarchy. It’s sort of like throwing chess pieces into the air and seeing where they land. Except that Kate is clinging to my right and Tristan to my left. This part is awkward. I glance at Noah and open my eyes wide. He makes the exaggerated frown face, like he’s sucking air through his teeth. I think he’s empathizing with me.
Clockwise at the head of table sits Noah. The four chairs across from me, left to right, sit my mom, Dani, Amanda, and Ethan. Josh is at six o’clock. Then our side is my dad, Kate, me, and Tristan.
I’m directly across from Dani. I smile at her and she laughs. It’s probably the first time I’ve smiled at her in years.
There’s a little bit of conversation going on at both ends ofthe table. My mom seems to be engaging Noah next to her so she doesn’t have to talk to Tristan across from her. She keeps touching Noah’s hand. In a way, it seems like she’s trying to let him know that Tristan isn’t moving in on the boys. Food is getting passed around and everyone is talking either to the person next to them or across from them, except for me. I’m quietly taking it in. Amanda is making conversation with Kate, but it’s piecemeal and uncomfortable for Amanda, I can tell.
“So you live in old town Pasadena?” my sister says to Kate.
Kate is spooning mashed potatoes onto her plate, so it looks like she’s responding to the food. “Yeah, well, kind of. I live in the apartments across from that Jiffy Lube on Colorado. The last time I took my car in there, I think they messed it up somehow and now it’s leaking oil. The manager at my complex has been hassling me about the oil in my parking space for weeks.”
I’m looking at Amanda, who is dumbstruck. Everyone is quiet for a moment. I can tell Amanda doesn’t know how to respond. I don’t know if Kate gets nervous or what, but she does this thing where someone will bring up a topic and she’ll respond with something totally off subject. Then she continues on and on while the other person is left dumbfounded. Kate is not always like this when we’re one-on-one.
“How’s work going, Amanda?” I say to fill the space.
“It’s really good. I’m gonna be taking some time off—”
My mom clinks her glass with a fork. “Everyone have their food?” We say yes or nod. “Great, it’s time! Everybody’s favorite.”
“Oh no,” Amanda grumbles. My mom insists that before we start eating on Thanksgiving, we go around the room and say what we’re thankful for. Everyone dreads it, but if we try to get out of it, she will pout all the way through dinner.
“Noah, why don’t you start,” my mom says.
I can feel Tristan next to me bouncing in his seat. He wants it to be his turn.
“I’m thankful for the Xbox in Gram’s garage—”
“Hey, it’s my garage too,” my dad says teasingly.
Noah continues, “And in Gramp’s garage. And I’m thankful for my family…even Ethan.”
Ethan acts like he’s going to chuck a roll at Noah, but he puts his arm down, smiles, and says, “Thanks, bro.”
“Okay, my turn,” my mom says. “Of course, I’m thankful for having all my children and grandchildren at the table…” Dani looks up and over at her. I wonder in this moment if Dani’s thinking about her mom. “And I’m thankful for the winter garden, even though a certain someone won’t stop talking about it,” my mom says to my dad. “I’m thankful we all have our health.” She holds up her wineglass. “Cheers. I love you all.” After my mom takes a sip, she leans over and kisses Dani on the temple. “Dani, your turn,” she says.
Anything like this is difficult for Dani. It will go one of two ways. She’ll either turn it into a joke or she’ll get sentimental and start crying. I’m on the edge of my seat wondering which Dani we’ll get.
