“A rich boyfriend?” Aunt Martha raised her eyebrows. “I guess we’ll see.”
“I have a date with him tonight.” Why had I just said that? Dear god, why had I said that? “As soon as we’re finished with dessert, I have to run.”
Jayden’s eyes settled on my face, but I refused to look at him. The entire year we’d dated, I’d never once been able to lie to him. He could read me like a book. A picture book. I felt the tips of my ears start to burn and shifted in my chair.
“Tonight? On Thanksgiving?” Mom dabbed at her lips with her napkin and frowned. “Oh, honey. Are you sure you have to go? I was hoping we could spend some time talking about Rosie’s wedding tonight.”
A wave of relief washed over me, and I smothered the smile that wanted to steal across my mouth. “I’m sure. I don’t want to cancel on him.”
“Lord, no.” Aunt Sue crossed her arms and smiled like the Cheshire Cat. “If you managed to snag him, you’d better be careful not to upset him. You haven’t exactly had men beating down your door.”
Jayden cleared his throat. “Maybe she moves around too much for men to find her door.”
I saw Anthony fist pump from the corner of my eye before meeting Jayden’s gaze. It was firm and unwavering, despite my entire family looking at him. Without realizing it, I repeated his throat clearing action and sat up a little straighter.
Whatever I was going to say was cut off by Aunt Martha’s sudden burst of laughter. “She hasn’t moved that many times!”
Mom stood up, waving her hands. “I’ll get dessert.”
I stood up too. “I’ll help.” Instead of going to the kitchen, though, I went straight to the bathroom and locked myself inside. I sat on the closed toilet lid and immediately searched my phone for one of my rarely-used dating apps. I’d deactivated my accounts months earlier, but desperate times called for desperate measures. I needed a boyfriend to take to Rose’s wedding, and I needed him immediately. I’d opened my big mouth, and I couldn’t show up to that wedding without a man, or I’d be forever immortalized as a laughingstock. More than I already was in my family.
After reactivating my account on the most popular app, I scrolled through potential men in the area, swiping right on every single one of them. Just as I was starting to get antsy about being in the bathroom for too long, knowing that someone would make a poop joke at my expense, a message popped up. Without looking at the guy’s profile, I agreed to go on a date that night and had a location and time shortly after.
Was it a terrible plan? Yes. Was I desperate enough to go through with it? Also, yes. It would get me out of the house and make my family shut up.
When I rejoined the table, Aunt Sue was in the middle of telling a story. I realized a little too late that it was one she loved to tell about me. Since getting up and running away might cause a scene, I had to sit there and listen as she finished.
“And then there was Violet, with these massive glasses and pimples, breathing through a mouth full of braces that made her slurp all the time. She was standing there, looking about as pitiful as a teenager could ever look, and she’d wet herself! Steve had scared her that bad! In front of all of Megan’s cool friends, too!”
“I went through an awkward phase myself, Vi. You’re not alone in that. If Rose had seen me as a teenager, she would’ve sprinted away from me.” Anthony pulled Rose closer and kissed the side of her head. “Thankfully, we don’t stay that way, right?”
Aunt Sue giggled and looked pointedly at my hair. “Right.”
My phone buzzed in my hand. I glanced down to see that I’d gotten a message from my date, suggesting we meet earlier because he had to be in line at a Black Friday sale as early as possible if he wanted to get first dibs on a brand-new video game that was on sale. Before agreeing to meet him earlier, I went to his profile to make sure I hadn’t accidentally set up a date with a guy much younger than me. Nope. Taylor Cook was three years older than me.
“Violet? You know we don’t use our phones at the table.” Mom smiled through what looked like a desire to scowl at me. “Especially on family holidays.”
I forced my own smile and scooted back from the table. “I amsosorry to run. My boyfriend messaged me. He needs me to meet him earlier than I thought. This was amazing, though. I’m so glad I got to see everyone.”
Mom scoffed, preparing herself for a fight, but I was already up and giving awkward side hugs to everyone around the table. I awkwardly patted Jayden’s shoulder, his very strong and broad shoulder, and then kissed Mom and Dad’s cheeks.
“I’m sure I’ll hear from you soon, with the wedding planning and all.” Hugging Rose tightly, I breathed in her familiar scent and exhaled strongly enough to ruffle her hair. I was almost free. “Love you, sis. Congratulations.”
“Your turn’s coming.” Anthony winked at me, unwittingly setting off another round of my family shit-talking me and my inability to find a man.
I said all the things I had to say and then hurried out of there as if I were running to meet my boyfriend. When I finally reached my car, I felt like I’d just run a marathon while having people shout at me the entire time. I was as emotionally drained as I was physically, but I was free. There was a lightness that came with that, no matter how horrible the dinner had been. I was free, and I could avoid everyone for a while again.
The sooner I got through my date that night, I’d be able to go home, take my bra off, and fall into my bed. There were no family dinners, judgmental aunts, and competitive cousins in my bed—just peace.
Sweet, sweet, family-free peace.
3.
***Jayden***
Itoldmyselfthatmy behavior had nothing to do with the woman herself, but just my curiosity about her. Of course, I hadn’t begged out of that nightmarish Thanksgiving dinner with Violet’s demon family to follow her to a bar because I wanted to see her again. It was just because I could tell she’d been lying about her rich, perfect boyfriend, and I wanted to know what she was up to. It would be insane for me to still find myself doing stupid shit solely for her, when I hadn’t seen a single hair on her head in nearly a fucking decade.
Jayden at twenty-five would’ve followed Violet, solely to watch her expressions change with her mood. Jayden at thirty-four wasn’t a lost puppy, obsessed with a crazy woman. Not at all.