“Trust me, you’ll work up quite the appetite.”
“My Frosty’s gonna melt.”
I grab the cup off the counter and carry her toward her bedroom.
I wink at her, “Then I guess we’re bringing it with us.”
twenty-four
Avalon
Idon’t know why I thought Thanksgiving would be different this year. I guess part of me thought that since my mom was sober, we might actually have a Thanksgiving meal together, but it was naïve of me to believe that. I don’t think we’ve had one since my dad.
But my mom’s been doing so much better. She’s been paying me back whatever she can after she pays the bills, and I haven’t seen her come home drunk or high in about a month. She’s really been sticking to her meetings. I think this is the longest she’s been sober since I was in middle school, which is why, instead of doing something for Thanksgiving, she’s at a meeting. And I’m home alone.
Like usual.
If Jay didn’t have a shift today, maybe we would’ve gone to his place. The three of us have been spending a lot of time together recently. It almost feels like I finally have the family I always craved.
The doorbell rings, forcing me to pause my homework and check who’s at the door.
“Hey.” My shoulders soften when I see Zeke standing on the other side. “Are these unplanned visits going to be a thing now? This is the second one this week.”
“I was in the neighborhood.”
I smile. “No, you weren’t.”
“Okay, maybe not this neighborhood perse, but I was inaneighborhood. And it got me thinking that I should stop by.”
“And if I wasn’t home?”
“I knew you would be.” He brushes past me, setting a paper bag on the kitchen counter and shaking his coat off his shoulders.
“Sure, come right in.”
“It’s cold out there today.” He ignores me, digging through the bag and pulling out one container after another. “I thought my car wasn’t going to start when I was heading down to see my mom. It kept making this sputtering noise when I tried starting her up. Thankfully, it got me there.”
“I can take a look at your car,” I begin. “See what’s going on.”
“The sputtering stopped,” he replies. “She does this every winter when it gets really cold because she’s such an old car.” He folds the bag and then turns his body toward me. “You’re full of surprises, though, you know that? You just know cars now, or?”
“I’ve known cars since I was fifteen.” I walk toward him, find an empty space on the counter, and hop onto it. “I worked in an autobody shop all of high school.”
“Just when I thought you couldn’t get any more attractive.” He shakes his head.
“So, why are you here?”
“I thought the food I just organized on your counter would be a dead giveaway.” He gestures toward the spread sitting in front of me.
“Why’d you bring me food?”
“When I was here the other day, you said you don’t do anything for Thanksgiving.”
“That wasn’t an invitation for you to come over.” I laugh.
“I just thought you might want a home-cooked meal,” he continues. “One of my best friends, Declan, his sister, is a phenomenal cook. She made this huge meal for our Friendsgiving and always makes extra, so I have some to bring to my mom.”
“That’s really nice,” I reply. “Sounds like you surround yourself with some good people.”