“Miss Picasso?” Taylor echoes. “That’s adorable.”
“She asked for a nickname,” Jude explains. “You should hear her try to repeat it.”
“Whose nickname is Jude?” Danny asks.
Jude and I exchange a glance. “It’s mine,” Jude answers. “It’s my favorite Beatles song, so Oliver calls me that sometimes.”
“Aww, that’s so cute!” Taylor exclaims. “I like that name for you! Feels right.”
Jude’s face lights up. “Thanks.”
Once our plates are full, Jude leads me to the kids’ table, where Brooke is impatiently sprawled across three chairs. As we approach, she shifts to the chair on the right, then pats the middle chair. “Oliver, this is your seat.”
“I guess you’re the new favorite,” Jude teases.
We settle in next to Brooke and greet the other kids at the table. Just as I’m about to finally stuff my face, I make eye contact with Jude’s brother-in-law, Cody, across the room. I try to offer him a polite smile, but his expression hardens when he notices where I’m sitting. Or, more accurately, who I’m sitting next to.
“Hey, shouldn’t DEADNAME and her date sit at the adult table for once?” Cody blurts to no one in particular. “She’s in college now, right? Why’s she still stuck at the kids’ table?”
The room grows quiet as several adults turn to look at us. Mrs. Cohen nods emphatically and waves us over. “Cody’s right—come, come sit.”
Jude frowns. “Mom, there’s no room over there. Besides, Brooke asked us to sit here.”
“I saved them seats!” Brooke adds.
Cody whispers something in his wife’s ear, and her eyes fill with horror before she leans in to share the secret with Megan. Megan isn’t subtle either, staring at Jude and me with what I can only interpret as contempt. Did we break a rule without realizing it?
“Well,” Uncle David says. “If Brooke wants them to sit there, I don’t see anything wrong–”
“Look, it’s nothing personal,” Cody declares. “But I think we’d all be more comfortable if we didn’t have the strange young man none of us know sitting alone with our kids.”
An uncomfortable silence settles over the room. Oh,that’swhat this is about. Yikes.
“Seriously?” Jude asks.
“Cody, dude, come on,” Danny mutters to Cody. “We’re all right here. Nothing’s going to–”
“Come on, DEADNAME,” Mr. Cohen commands firmly. “You and Oliver come sit over here.”
Without hesitation, I gather my plate and cup and head toward the already crowded adults' table. Jude reluctantly follows, hands shaking and eyes downcast. Taylor ushers us over to where she, Danny, and Harper sit, and I eagerly comply. With a little adjusting, they squeeze Jude and me between Taylor and Austin.
Soon, conversation picks back up among the older family members, while those of us at the far end of the table try to recover. I do my best to soothe Jude, gently caressing their knee under the table as they stare at their plate without eating. Fortunately, Taylor seems to sense Jude’s discomfort as well as I do and occasionally gives them a reassuring back rub. Eventually, Jude starts picking at their food, so I follow their lead and happily polish off every morsel on my plate.
I’m able to dissociate into my meal until I hear my name.
“So, Oliver, are you a Georgia native?” an unfamiliar voice asks. Following the direction the voice originated, I’m shocked to see Jude’s brother Brian watching me expectantly.
I clear my throat. “I’m originally from Raleigh, actually. Spent most of my childhood there, and then my dad and I moved to Georgia when I was twelve, to a little town called Specter.”
Brian nods, chewing on a piece of turkey. “I’m familiar with Specter. Nice town. Any siblings?”
“Two younger stepsisters.”
“Oh, how old?” Brian’s wife, Megan, interjects. “I have a friend who teaches at Specter Middle.”
“Thirteen and fifteen.”
“How neat! DEADNAME, have you met his family yet?”
