Page 31 of Thanksgiving With Dad's Best Friend

“Flynn? Any thoughts?” Eddie asks, his eyes boring into mine. I take a deep breath, hoping I can manage to keep this situation from boiling over.

“Well…I’m glad for the good company on my first Thanksgiving at home,” I say carefully, trying not to look directly at Lexi. “And I’m thankful that I could ease the load for Lexi with the meal…I’m thankful to spend my first Thanksgiving with my best friend…and his wonderful daughter. I’m thankful that after a difficult year, I can be host to your family and make things a little easier for you.”

Damn, that was quick thinking. I see Eddie’s expression soften a little, and Lexi looks more than a little relieved. I think I’ve managed to salvage this dinner, at least partially.

Now we just have to survive the rest of the day together.

Lexi

This is one of the most tense meals I’ve ever attended. Watching my lover and my father fight over carving a turkey was something I never expected to do. And now that things have calmed down a little, I can still feel the awkwardness hanging in the air. I don’t know what got into my Dad. He’s acting pretty rude for someone who’s supposed to be a guest. Now, I can see that he’s more interested in making things awkward for everyone.

Does he know what’s going on behind his back? Is that why he’s so bitter? I can’t tell. Of course, I have no way of finding out, so I’m trying extra hard to act normal. But now that my father seems to be in the mood for trouble, it’s going to make matters much more difficult.

“So…it feels like forever since I talked to you properly, Little Lex,” he says to me. I cringe. He hasn’t called me that since I was a kid. Why is he bringing it up now? To remind everyone here that I’m younger than them, perhaps?

“We talk every day, Dad…even when I’m in classes,” I say irritably. I don’t want to make things worse, but the way he’s behaved has bothered me. Now, I’m struggling to have sympathy for him, even despite everything he’s going through with Mom.

“Well, I just feel like so much of your life is off-limits to me…like for example, you never mention anything about your love life! Come on honey, tell all!”

“There’s nothing to tell,” I say quietly, trying to keep the frostiness from my tone. He’s never once asked about my love life before. I look up and catch Flynn’s eye across the table. He knows something’s going on too, I can tell by the look on his face. But we have to play this cool, just until this is over. Then we can think about how to proceed.

“I don’t believe it for a second! My beautiful young daughter doesn’t have a man?” my father says cheerily, reaching over to pinch my cheeks. I almost slap his hand away in annoyance.

“Dad, are you for real? Stop it.”

“Sorry, pumpkin. I guess I’m just feeling a little strange about watching you grow up. Hey, you know, if you’re interested, Phil’s son was talking about you last week…he was saying how he’d love to take you out some time.”

“I’m sure he was just being polite.”

“No, he was saying how you bumped into each other at the store a while back…he mentioned how beautiful you are! And then I told him you’d be happy to go out with him some time.”

I can see Flynn’s jaw clenching in anger. I know how territorial he can be. Even from that moment in the market where he defended me, I knew he was going to be protective. I’ll bet hearing my father talking about me being with another man has boiled his blood.

“Why would you tell him that, Dad? Did you ever consider that I don’t want to date? And especially not someone I barely know. I was just being polite when I saw him.”

“Well, I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to date him, honey! He’s well-off, good looking, hard-working…what more could you want?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Dad…maybe a real connection? Or a choice in who I date? I can’t believe you spoke to a stranger about me.”

“He’s not a stranger! You’ve known him for years…you used to play together as kids.”

“I don’t know him anymore, Dad. That was a long time ago. And I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t want you picking my men for me…as though it’s your place to say who I date!”

The table goes quiet. Everyone has stopped eating. I can’t believe he’s wound me up this much. I’ve never found a reason to be cross with my father. He’s usually such a reasonable man, but this whole thing has gone too far. I know the game he’s playing, but it’s not going to work on me. He’s not going to get me to admit my feelings for Flynn, and he’s sure as hell not going to entice me into someone else’s arms. He might have backed me into a corner, but I’m not going to go down without a fight.

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