Page 106 of Stuck With You
He glares underneath his hat as he hands Frankie over.
I take Frankie, helping her with the mashed potatoes while she shoves pieces of roll into her mouth. Voices and laughter fill the house, and I listen, trying to remember a Thanksgiving like this.
Growing up, my mom and I ate in the community building of the trailer park. When I married Miles, he was always working, so I never cooked a meal, and it was just Ollie and me.
But this is nice—the teasing and laughter. Being here is easy and comfortable, and I haven’t felt that before.
We eat, and when the kids are done, I hand Frankie off to Roxie, then help Millie and Wind store food and clean the kitchen.
When we’re finished, we join the group in the living room. I sit on the floor with Roxie as Frankie walks along the edge of the couch.
As promised, the games begin. Krissy stands in the middle of the floor, drumming and marching, and the whole room starts to shout.
“Marching band,” Trig yells, and Krissy circles her finger in the air.
“Parade,” Carson guesses, and she throws her hands in the air.
Millie draws next and takes her spot front and center.
Slade sits quietly in the recliner with Ollie, watching the football game. He said he wasn’t playing, and he wasn’t kidding. I expect nothing less of the man who seems to do exactly what he says.
When Millie’s turn is over, Roxie scoots closer. “I have to get going.”
I nod. “Ok. Let me get our—”
“No, all my stuff is in the car. You should stay.”
She stands and kisses the kids goodbye, thanking everyone. I walk her outside and hug her tight, not wanting her to go.
I hold onto her, forcing out the thing that’s been on the tip of my tongue since last night. “You can’t marry Leonard, Rox. I know you’retrying to do the right thing, and it’s important to retain part of your family’s legacy, but you can’t marry him. It’s the rest of your life.”
She squeezes me and then pulls away. “I don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, you do.” I inhale the cool, brisk air. “But, you’ve got to stop running and trying to punish your parents long enough to figure out what you really want. Spontaneously marrying Leonard is just another way to lash out.”
She laughs, but there’s a tinge of ridicule in it. “Actually, Leo is exactly who they’d want me to marry.”
“But it gives you additional ammunition to despise them and lots of opportunity to throw your unhappiness in their face. Is that worth what it will cost you?”
Her eyes flick between mine, and she scoffs.
“Isn’t that what you’ve been doing?” Her tone is like a punch in the gut.
“What?”
“Running and hiding.” She gestures toward the house with her chin. “In there. Here.” She holds out her arms. “Seems to me you ran, and you’re still hiding. First, it was behind Miles and his loud-ass ego, while that man did nothing but take from you. Shit, he still is.”
“Rox, that’s not fair. I have Ollie and Frankie to think about.”
“But now you’re here. New home, new job, new life, and you’re still hiding. You won’t tell Miles to pay up or fuck off. You continue to let him string you along and play into his manipulative hand while he flounces around pretending to be the next bachelor.”
I pull in air, not knowing what to say.
“You don’t even want those people inside, your new friends, to know who you are. Do they know about Miles? Who he is? What he did? It was clear you didn’t want them to know anything about you—who you are and what you accomplished before he stripped it from you. Everything you fought sohard to achieve.”
She pauses, and my heart pounds to each beat of silence. “I’m not the only one running, Sarah. You’re scared to actually move on and let people in.”
My lungs ache, moving in and out quickly, making it difficult to breathe. “It’s embarrassing.” I squeeze my eyes shut tight, choking it out. “All of it. You think this is what I wanted? Who I want to be?”
