“Honey, he’s your guest. Leave him alone. Kaden, make yourself at home in the living room. We’ll let you know when the meal is ready.”
I gawked at my mom. “That is so not going to happen, he has two hands just like you and me, and I’m not in training to be some nineteen-fifties housewife.”
“Hush your mouth,” Mom said, but the slight grin didn’t escape me.
Kaden was laughing in the kitchen doorway. “Libby, I truly don’t mind helping. I just don’t know how to cook. When it’s my night to cook at school, I toss a pizza in the oven.”
“That’s true, he does,” I admitted, “—but he can peel potatoes. Kaden, here, use this,” I said as I handed him the potato peeler.
He looked at it, then at me, confused about how it worked. Mom laughed and moved me to the middle of the room as she took a potato and began showing him how to use it. “I could’ve shown him.” I pouted.
She chuckled and ignored me. I never did have patience for teaching people stuff. She knew that, and so did I. Luckily, Kaden took to the peeling easily enough, and before long, the three of us were working in the kitchen preparing the meal.
My Aunt Teresa was in charge of bringing the meats, which for us was always ham and turkey. We were in charge of the sides. It’d been that way since my grandparents had moved into the nursing home when I was still in middle school.
Her husband, my Uncle Chuck, was a master griller and smoker, so naturally, they took on the job.
Once Kaden was done with the potatoes, Mom handed him a bowl of boiled eggs to peel and patiently showed him how. I guessed I hadn’t noticed he didn’t even know the basics, like peeling an egg or potato. Again, I felt like a horrible boyfriend for not knowing these things about him.
He seemed to be enjoying himself, though, so I didn’t bring the party down by showing my guilt.
At three o'clock, Pete showed up, always the expert at avoiding most of the prep work. Aunt Teresa and Uncle Chuck followed shortly after carrying two big platters of smoked meats.
“So, you boys are superheroes now, huh?” Uncle Chuck asked as we were finishing our meal.
I laughed. “Not yet,” I admitted.
“So, what have you learned?” Mom asked.
I thought about it for a moment. “Control mostly. When I started, I was unsure what I had or what to do with it. Now, I’m learning to use my ability to absorb other students' powers, but let the elements around me absorb them, not my body.”
“That’s got to be weird,” Aunt Teresa chimed in.
My mother’s sister was… prudish, I thought was the best word. She disapproved of powers in general. She hadn’t even liked my dad because he was in the army, not a respectable job like Uncle Chuck’s accounting firm. So, she almost always said something rude or inappropriate.
“Oh, I don’t know that he’s all that weird, Teresa. I mean, you knit, turning the hair of a sheep into doilies and stuff.” Mom knew her sister well. Teresa was a well-known knitter, and her sweaters were sought after. So, she’d hit her where it mattered.
“There’s a big difference between skill and… magic!” she said, turning her face up.
“Teresa, stop being an ass,” Mom said, and immediately changed the subject. “So, Kaden, honey, how are you liking school?”
Kaden smiled. “It’s a bit overwhelming, but I like it.”
I squeezed his knee under the table, and he looked at me, his smile never leaving his face.
“So, what’s your magic?” Aunt Teresa asked, and I almost choked on my last bite of roll.
“I control the four elements,” he said, either not noticing or ignoring her derision.
“Control the four elements?” Uncle Chuck asked. “Like you can make it rain and stuff?”
Kaden nodded. “I can’t control the weather yet, but I’m told that’s something I’ll be able to do eventually.”
“Let’s have dessert,” Mom said, getting up before Aunt Teresa could say something rude. “Teresa, come help me!”
Aunt Teresa pursed her lips, but got up, putting her napkin on the table, and following Mom into the kitchen.
As soon as they were out of earshot, I whispered, “Sorry.”
