Page 16 of Autumn & Woods
Taj’s face dropped. “Oh hell nah,” she muttered. “I know this hoe ain’t just pop up.”
And in that one second, I saw the look Woods and Taj exchanged. It was subtle but enough for me to put it together. She was there for Woods. The tightness in my chest hit fast, and I hated that it did. I turned back to my drink, masking everything behind a smile. Then one of the uncles yelled from the dining room, “FOOD’S READY!”
And just like that, everyone scattered. I just sat there for a moment, wondering what the hell I’d just gotten myself into.
Ig o ta n n o y e das hell the second the front door closed and my ex appeared. Like I said, there was no issues between us, but it’s like, why the fuck are you even here? I’d forgotten about Ty saying she might pop up until we locked eyes. He gave me that ‘I told you so look’ and I glanced across the room just in time to catch Autumn’s reaction.
She didn’t say anything. She just sipped her drink and remained cool, but I could tell she knew something in the air had changed. Luckily, that’s when Uncle?Boom saved the moment, yelling from the dining room, “FOOD’S READY!”
Everybody started moving. All you heard was chairs scraping, feet moving, and music turning down. Then Ma appeared out of nowhere with a glass of something light in her hand when she was just sipping on something dark. “Yohana, baby! Look at you. So pretty! I’m glad you made it.”
I exhaled deeply and quickly moved to her side. “Ma,” I said under my breath, catching her sleeve before she could float off. “What you doin’?”
She frowned. “What you mean?”
“You already know we ain’t—”
“Well, hello, Qua,” Yohana snaked her neck and fluttered her eyelashes at me. “You can’t speak?”
“It ain’t even like that. What’s good?”
“Listen, she was by herself for the holiday,” Ma cut in, firm but soft. “I wasn’t about to let nobody eat a TV dinner on Thanksgivin’. Be nice, Quamaine.” Then she patted my chest and disappeared toward the kitchen, pulling Yohana with her.
I exhaled through my nose, rubbing the back of my neck as Taj, Autumn, and everybody else started walking towards the kitchen. I finished my drink then poured up another before joining everybody else. Taj and Ty were already moving chairs, loud and half-drunk.
“Aye, cuz, sit right here,” Taj spoke. “Autumn, boo, come on, you next to him. We keepin’ all the good vibes on this side of the table.”
I smirked to myself. And like fate wanted to see how messy shit could get, Yohana ended up across from us, hazel eyes all on me. Big?Mama said the prayer, and when we all said amen, plates started moving like clockwork. Thanksgiving at its finest.
Autumn sat beside me smelling like vanilla, coconut, and trouble, leaning in every now and then to whisper something to Taj. Her laughter made my dick jump. And across the table,Yohana watched it all. I could feel Autumn trying not to react, and I couldn’t help myself.
I leaned over, voice low. “You good?”
“Peachy,” she said, smiling without looking at me.
I let my hand rest on her thigh under the table, and she didn’t move it. She kept talking to Taj like nothing was happening, but her breath hitched just enough for me to notice. Across from us, Yohana finally broke the silence.
“So, Quamaine,” she said, sipping from her red cup, eyes cutting from me to Autumn, “who’s yourfriend?”
I felt Taj pause beside Autumn, ready for drama. Ty looked up, grinning like this might get good. I didn’t even flinch. “Who, her?” I said easily, wrapping my arm around Autumn’s chair. “This my baby right here.”
The table went silent, and Taj screamed, “OOP! Now, hold up!”
Ty whistled. “Ain't waste no time, huh?”
Big?Mama laughed from down the table. “Well, alright now! Y’all make a cute couple.”
Autumn smiled, but I felt the pulse in her thigh under my palm. I kissed her cheek, still smirking. “Gotta keep somethin’ sweet around,” I said.
Laughter rolled around the table, the moment dissolving into overlapping conversations about sports, pie, and who cheated at Spades last year. Beneath all that noise, Autumn leaned just slightly toward me and whispered, “You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe,” I said, hand giving one lazy squeeze. “But you like this shit.”
She tried to fight her smile, biting her lip, and shaking her head. I leaned back, watching the room, the noise, and the chaos as all of it blurred together. Yohana was pretending to be focused on the plate she was piling food on, but I could feel her eyes. Autumn was pretending to be cool, but her body was humming under my touch. I was just trying to enjoy my Thanksgivin’.
T h a n k s g i v i n gat Big Mama’s was everything. The spread on that table looked like a magazine cover if the magazine were Black-owned, seasoned, and passed down through generations.
Turkey with extra crispy skin, glazed ham with pineapples and cherries, pans of mac and cheese bubbling on the edges, dressing thick and golden, sweet potatoes soft enough to make you tear up. Every kind of pie you could think of. Greens. Green beans. Cornbread. Fried cabbage. It was loud, and my edges were sweating, but it was everything.
