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"Yeah." I nod. "I know, as scary as it is, it's definitely real relationship stuff."
"I'll be there." She answers. "I don't enjoy spending the holidays with my family and I've avoided it since I moved down here."
"You'll be there?" I need to make sure I heard her correctly.
"I will. It's weird, I haven't lived here my whole life, haven't known the crew for longer than a couple of years, but this place? It feels like home to me in ways my real home never did. I can't explain that to my family, but maybe you get it?"
"I do." I push her hair out of her face. "Although I was born here, it took me a while to feel at home after my parents split and I had to shuttle back and forth between them." My phone rings, and I look down, seeing my mom's name on the screen. "Speaking of. Hey, Mom!" My heart pounds as we exchange pleasantries. She's supposed to have found out if her cancer had spread or not, and I haven't wanted to bother her.
Kara's fingers grip my shirt. She knows what I'm waiting on. She mouths.‘I wish she'd hurry up.’
I nod, because I do too. "Have you heard anything?"
"Sorry," she laughs. "I did get my results back. They got everything, I'm clear, and I won't have to have any chemo or radiation. I'll need to have scans for the next couple of years. But for now, there's no reason to assume I have anything to worry about in the future."
I can't wipe the smile off my face as we continue talking. When she hangs up, I drop the phone and throw my arms around Kara. She holds me as I let the tears fall. I've been terrified that something would happen to my mom and there was no way I'd be able to stop it. I'm so thankful that she's clear, I can't say anything.
"I know Abel." Kara rubs my back. "Let it out. You've been holding it together. You can let it go now."
And I do, because there's finally someone I can trust to put it back together when I let everything fall apart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Kara
I’m nervous as I pull up to Boone’s house sitting in the passenger seat of Abel’s truck. This is the first time I’ve ever been to a boyfriend’s house for a holiday. I never had a boyfriend around the holidays in high school. In college, I had one long-term, but we didn’t introduce each other to our parents. I think it’s because we both knew it wasn’t a forever type of relationship. With Abel, it’s felt different from the beginning.
“Don’t get all nervous on me. You know everyone who’s going to be at this dinner.” Abel glances over. “I knew I should’ve invited you to a family dinner before I asked you to come to this.”
He’s so sweet. “Let’s face it. This is moving a lot quicker than either of us anticipated. I didn’t think I’d be spending Thanksgiving with your family, after just getting together a little after Halloween. I’m happy to be here with you all though, just a little nervous. It helps Lex is here, and she and I were friends before either of us started dating Wilson men."
"You're going to be fine," Abel laughs. "I've never seen you be so self-conscious before. You always seem to be in control of everything."
"Yeah, I fake it until I make it with every single thing I do. I can't believe you haven't seen through my bullshit yet."
He throws his head back laughing. "I have my own bullshit. Enough so that I'm not looking at anyone else's and dissecting it. That's bad juju and I don't wanna fuck with the juju."
"Alright." I unbuckle and start to get out of the truck. "Let's get this party started. I made a Tres Leches, and I don't do that for just anybody."
"Did I hear you say you made Tres Leches?” Jasper asks as he walks over toward us. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but I hear that tasty cake, and I'm listening."
The group of us are heading into Boone’s, still talking about it a couple minutes later. When we walk in, I'm immediately hit with the scent of Thanksgiving. It's my favorite, and I'm so excited to be here with my friends and family.
“Hey, welcome everybody," Boone yells from where he stands by the stove. He's carving into a turkey that looks like he fried it not long ago. "We're gonna eat here in a little bit, first thing so we don't have to wait on it. Then we've got some games to play, and I've got stuff to make a bonfire if y'all wanna."
This all sounds amazing. The type of holiday get together I wanted to have, but my family is so formal. They wouldn't even begin to know how to have fun like this. It's all about getting dressed up and sitting at a table with place settings that look like they're straight out of Southern Living. There's no laughing or cutting up. I'd felt so stifled all the time.
Lex tilts her head over at me. "Wanna help me get the sides set out?"
"Sure." I walk quickly over to help her. Whistling, I take a look at everything. "Did you do all this yourself?"
"Most of it." She shrugs as if it's no big deal. "What I didn't do, I ordered from Get Baked. She offered sides, along with dessert this year. Mom and Dad decided to go to Florida, and Justin went with them, so I went all out."
My eyes bug as I look over at her. "I've never seen you this domestic before. It's disconcerting."
"Yeah, I know. I never expected I'd be this person, but here I am. Funny how a year can change things, huh?"
She hands me an aluminum foil covered container, and I think about what she's just said. Last Thanksgiving I'd spent it alone, in my apartment, wondering if I'd made the right decision in coming here. I’d been invited to join Alexis, but I’d denied, telling her I was going home. That was a lie. The truck was doing well, but I was exhausted. We were just getting our footing on social media, and I was still working twelve-hour days. It'd all been hard, but I knew it would be worth it. Now I'm starting to see the fruits of those labors, and I'm beyond glad I stuck with it. "A year can completely change your life. I mean a few months, look at us now."
