Page 66 of His Wilde Little
She laughed. “Come on then, let’s get these into there before people start complaining.”
Diane was singing when we walked through with the side dishes to place in the center of the table. It wasn’t any song I knew, probably an older song way before I was born. “What are you singing?”
“Dreams,” she scoffed. “By Fleetwood Mac.”
My father applauded at the head of the table. “I wasn’t sure how much more I could take of it,” he said. “It’s great rendition, Diane, but let’s leave it to Stevie Nicks.”
“It was lovely,” my mom added, while Lorenzo was staring at me, his eyes like two wide saucers, trying to communicate his need for immediate help.
Max pulled out his headphones. “Oh, are we eating?”
“Not yet,” mom said, “just wait until everything is brought out. Come on, Diane, come and help me. Jace can go sit down.”
Lorenzo immediately took my hand in his, squeezing gently as I sat. He was heavy breathing and his foot was bouncing, close to having his knee shake the table. I placed a hand on his knee and gave him the same squeeze he gave my hand. “You want me to tell you what I made for dessert?” I asked, hoping it would ease his nerves.
He leaned in. “Y’all don’t pray at these things, do you?” he asked. “Not that I have—”
“No, oh no, we’re not a religious family,” I said. “You would’ve remembered from the last family meal.”
He nodded, squeezing my hand again. “I didn’t know if that was a one off or not.”
“Besides, I’ve never prayed over a meal we’ve had together,” I whispered back to him. “Are you sure you’re ok?”
“It’s a lot sometimes,” he whispered back. “I’ll be fine.”
“I made your favorite,” I blurted in a quiet tone. “I wanted it to be a surprise, but I want you to feel at ease.”
“Pecan pie?”
I nodded, a big grin on my face. “Yup, and it’s good too. Plus, I made some smaller ones and kept them in the fridge at the house. In case you only get a small slice later.”
The knee stopped shaking, and his grip on my hand loosened. “Love you.”
He said it.
The words.
That one word.
Now my knee was shaking.
The window of saying it back was closing.
I had to say it back, to say those words, and that explosion on my tongue.
“Love you more,” I whispered, heat flushing up my face, fizzling in my cheeks.
We kissed and my sister groaned, but I didn’t care. He’d said he loved me, all that mattered right now was expressing it back to him, and a kiss was the perfect medium. The perfect way to show him, without of course, scarring everyone in the room.
As much as we didn’t say any prayers before eating, we did go around the table once all the food was out, saying what each of us were thankful for. I’d been saying I was thankful for a lot of things all morning, but when it came to my turn, I blanked.
All eyes on me, and I had so much to be thankful for. “I’m—” I began, just staring at the golden skin on the turkey in the center of the table. I let myself zone out slightly. “I’m thankfulfor the alpacas, they’re my best friends, and as lame as it sounds, they don’t spit at me as much as they do everyone else.” I took a deep inhale. “I’m thankful for my dad, who without I wouldn’t have been forced to meet Lorenzo, and I also wouldn’t have been annoyed at to the point where I was throwing all my rainbow pins at him whenever we were together, like not physically throwing, but just making sure they were in his face.” Everyone laughed. “I’m also thankful for seeing Lorenzo attempt to milk one of the billies, because without that, I might not have realized how much he was actually trying to impress me.”
His hand on my thigh, giving me morse code squeezes, if I could even understand it, or knew he used it, I would’ve put it down to him telling me he loved me, again.
To Lorenzo, who was quiet. “I’m thankful for this family, for the welcoming hospitality. I’m thankful for the work and the horses who have tested me at times, but they’re great, even if Coal is still a big grump. I’m thankful for all this food, for my first real Thanksgiving since—” he sighed. “Jeez, I can’t remember. It’s maybe the most food I’ve ever seen outside of a commercial on a TV. “
I started to clap once he was done. The last one to speak, he deserved the applause. And he was right, this family made a whole lot of food, and what wasn’t eaten tonight would’ve been split up and forced on the rest of us for days or weeks to come, especially the meats. There was a whole turkey there and a giant ham with pineapple rings covering it.
