I rake my fingers through my hair, scraping my scalp with my nails. “Maybe Thanksgiving with Oliver won’t be so bad.”
Max and Celeste stare at me with varying degrees of sympathy and concern.
“Jude, honey,” Max says softly. “He’s ace. If you fall in love with him?—”
I feign annoyance at the accusation. “I’m not going to fall?—”
“I think that ship has sailed,” Celeste mutters.
My stomach sinks. Am I really that transparent? I guess the Halloween party fiasco and dumping Nikki right after kind of gave me away.
“I still can’t get over the fact that you want to play into your parents’ fucked up expectations,” Celeste continues. “Why would you give them what they want?”
“Because it will work. Oliver’s the perfect fake boyfriend, and nothing between us has to change. It’s the perfect way to keep my parents happy for five more years?—”
“You really think you can keep this up with Oliver for five years?” Max asks.
“Yeah, he’s my best friend.”
Max’s frown deepens, but he doesn’t respond.
We sit in silence for several long seconds before Celeste speaks. “We love you, Jude. We hate seeing you get hurt.”
I shake my head. “Oliver would never hurt me.”
“Not intentionally,” Max says. “But he can’t change who he is.”
“I would never want him to,” I insist. “He’s perfect exactly the way he is.”
We’re all quiet again for several moments. Eventually, Celeste places her hand on my shoulder. “Do whatever you need to do. We’re here to support you, no matter what happens.”
Max nods. “Always, honey.”
I try not to cry as they pull me into a group hug. “Thank you.”
Max sniffles as we pull away. “Just keep us posted on everything, okay? Especially if they force you into a ‘only one bed’ scenario. Those tropes usually go hand in hand.”
“Jesus,” Celeste mutters.
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Oliver
hey Dad, do we have official Thanksgiving plans yet?
Dad
Hi, Oliver. No, we have not made any official plans for Thanksgiving yet. Why do you ask?
Oliver
I was actually invited to join my new friend Jude’s family on Thanksgiving Day. I figured, since we don’t usually do much, it might be okay to have our Thanksgiving meal on Friday or something. is that cool?
Dad
Interesting. I’ll talk to Ashley and see if that would be okay with her parents.
Oliver
