“Dr. Morrow, it’s so nice to see you. I’m so glad you could come.“ She wraps Reed in a huge hug, and I see the smile cross his face as he hugs her back. Feeling some of my own tension wash away when I see him relax, I take a breath and head toward the kitchen to put the pies and other things in there.
Mom catches up to me as I’m putting a bottle of wine in the fridge, giving my arm a squeeze. Knowing I find hugging uncomfortable, she almost never hugs me. Instead, she’ll squeeze my arm or shoulder or sometimes even ruffle my hair (even though I’m about a foot taller than she is, meaning she has to reach way up to do it).
“I’m so glad Reed was able to come,” she says. “I hate thinking of people alone on the holidays.” She nudges me in the direction of the living room. “Go introduce him to Greg and Alanna.”
“Okay, thank you, Mom.” I lean in to give her a kiss on the cheek, something I rarely do. Her face lights up as she gives me a surprised look.
“Wow, he must be very good for you if you’re handing out affection so easily,” she teases, and I roll my eyes.
“Okay then, I won’t kiss you again,” I tease her back, and she giggles, giving me another push.
“Go take care of your guest.”
In the living room, I find Reed chatting easily with my dad, aunt, and uncle. He’s sitting on the love seat, holding a drink my dad must have poured him and looking way too much like he belongs there. Seeing how comfortable he seems to be, my heart skips a beat as I settle in beside him, and then it nearly stops entirely when he throws his arm casually around my shoulders. Not crowding me, just letting me know he’s there.
Mason, Jackson, and Sam arrive a few minutes later, all three of them greeting Reed with enthusiasm, teasing and joking like they’ve known him their whole lives.
We all sit around laughing and watching football until Mom comes into the room a little while later, looking worried.
“I just tried calling Grace and Derek, but they aren’t answering. I thought they would be here by now since I was planning on eating soon, but everything is nearly done, and I haven’t heard a word.”
“Mom, I’m sure they’re fine,” Mason says, standing up to put an arm around her. “Baby Kellan’s only a couple of months old. Even I know that no matter how organized you are, when you have a baby, shit can go sideways real fast and throw everything out of whack.”
“Mason, watch your language,” she scolds, and he gives her a ridiculously goofy grin.
“See, now you’re mad at me instead of being worried about them.”
“Oh, for crying out loud.” She rolls her eyes at him as he plants a kiss on her cheek. “I can hold dinner for a while. I’d hate to start without them.” She frets.
“There you go, Mom. Relax and have a drink before we eat,” Mason says, steering her over to the couch and plunking her down beside Dad and then going to pour her a drink.
Finally, after holding dinner for nearly an hour, Grace and Derek show up with baby Kellan.
I’m stunned at Grace’s appearance. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my sister so… un-put together. Her clothes don’t fit right—they’re too tight for her, and she’s kind of squeezed into them. Normally, I would never notice her clothes, but she’s clearly uncomfortable, constantly tugging on and shifting her outfit around. Her curly, blonde hair is wild—not unusual, but it looks pretty greasy, which is weird. She’s trying to cover the intense dark circles under her eyes with makeup, but unfortunately, it’s not doing the job. She looks like hell. Derek looks no better; his face pale and his eyes watery and bloodshot, he looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks. There’s a wet patch on one shoulder of his shirt that’s pretty clearly baby spit-up, and I don’t think he’s even noticed.
Kellan is screaming and has probably been screaming since they left their house because I could hear him as soon as they pulled into the driveway. Now he’s only five feet away from me, screeching at the top of his lungs, and the sound is deafening.
I reach into my pocket for my earplugs, and my stomach drops when I realize they aren’t there; I must have forgotten to stick them in my pocket.Shit, shit, shit.
“Hi, everyone, happy Thanksgiving,” Grace says brightly. “Sorry we’re a little late. We’re all still figuring each other out!“ She’s smiling, but it doesn’t look right. Her expression reminds me more of the Joker fromBatmanthan my sister.
The baby continues to scream like his eyes are being gouged out, and I can feel myself shifting off-balance. I need to find some earplugs right away.
My mom appears, taking the baby out of Grace’s arms, a big smile on her face. “How’s Grammy’s little baby boy?” she coos to the screaming bundle. Murmuring a quick hello to Grace and Derek, she snags the diaper bag off Derek’s shoulder and heads toward the den, howling baby in her arms. I don’t even think she noticed how awful they look.
“Bob,” she says on her way down the hallway, “can you start getting the turkey ready, please? I’m going to feed the baby. Everything else is in the warming oven and ready to go on the table.”
My dad heads into the kitchen, stopping en route to give Grace a hug, but he doesn’t seem to notice their appearance either.
Grace gets a smile on her face, a regular one as opposed to that creepy supervillain one. “Reed! How are you?”
She gives me a quick hug before giving Reed her full hug treatment consisting of a long, tight squeeze. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispers to him.
“It’s great to see you too, Grace,” Reed says, hugging her back.
As we sit and chat for a few minutes, the cacophony of noises starts to wear on me. I can still hear Kellan screaming from the den down the hall, but now it’s complemented by the crashing of pots and pans as my father messes around in the kitchen, trying to get everything set up. I need my earplugs right now.
“I’m just going to run to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” I whisper to Reed before making a break for the bathroom.