"Hey, sleepyhead," Vivie said, giving me a light punch on the shoulder.
"Remember, my internal clock is different. It's barely six A.M. in California.
"Like I said, California has made you soft,” she joked.
"Where's Kate?" my mother asked.
"She’s still resting. Like I said, it's early in California." I felt the need to defend her.
"I bet this is the first time she’s had any time off since she opened her place," Max said. I was grateful for his comment. It showed his support for her.
"I imagine so. I think she puts in at least ten, sometimes even twelve or fourteen hours in her day there."
"Well then, let her rest,” my mom said.
"Max? Want to come with me and we can get the leaves for the table and get it put together?" my dad said.
"I'll go get the tablecloth, table runner, and napkins," Vivie said.
When they left the kitchen, I went over to my mother. "So, what am I in charge of today?"
"Since you're the last one up, you got put in charge of making the mashed potatoes, including peeling all the potatoes."
Dammit. I'd forgotten that my siblings and I always wanted to be up and helping early so we could avoid potato peeling. Maybe when Kate got up, she would help me because I was going to be here for a while if the three bags of potatoes were any indication.
"Is an army coming too?" I asked.
My mom shook her head as she went through her Thanksgiving Day checklist. "No. The five of us, plus now we have Kate, and then Sandra and Chelsea."
"What?" My heart dropped to my stomach. "They moved to Boston.” I had helped them make the move, including packing here and unpacking in Boston. I even helped with the paperwork to enroll Chelsea in school.
Mother slanted a look at me. "They're still family."
Jesus fuck. I hadn't planned on this. If anything would snap Kate out of her mood, this would likely be it, but it wouldn’t be in a good way.
My mother gave me a disapproving frown. "Kate does know about Sandra and Chelsea, doesn't she?"
I rolled my eyes. "Of course, she does. I left her for them. Remember?"
My mom jabbed her fist on her hip and looked at me. "What I meant was, you told her that she and Chelsea were family to us."
"I thought she'd be in Boston."
"Sam. How do you expect to win back her trust if you're not being honest with her?"
"I do want to be honest with her," I snapped. "She doesn't want to hear it. Each time I tried to tell her, she'd shut me up. She’d tell me it doesn't matter. What's done is done."
"Well, I think you’d better warn her because they’ll be here anytime."
It was as if the universe was out to get me as the doorbell chimed.
My mother's brows rose. "It's probably them."
Fuck.
"Come with me to let them in. At least greet them, and then you can go up and prepare Kate."
"Does Sandra know that Kate is here?"