She preened in that way only a new mother could. “Thank you.” She turned the baby so I could see her better. “This is Kalyani, she’s been pretty mellow so far. I’m not sure if I want to do this a second time though.” We all laughed at her flustered expression.
After a second, Priya pointed at Teevrat and the guy who hadn’t said a word yet.
“Teevrat is my best friend from undergrad and the very quiet man with him is Marc. They’re one of our No-Turkey Thanksgiving success stories. They met at the very first one.”
Marc extended his hand to me, while Tom explained. “Marc was our classmate at MIT.”
“I’m Austrian, so was one of the lucky few who got invited to the first No-Turkey day.” He extended his hand to Teevrat whogripped it tight. The way they looked at each other made me ache. I wanted that, someone who would look at me like I was the only one in the room, even after years and years together.
Tom tightened his arm around my waist and I glanced up to find him looking at me in a way that made my maudlin thoughts evaporate. Ihadsomeone that was looking at me like that right now, and I needed to let myself enjoy it.
“This party is notorious for getting people together,” he told me proudly.
“Sounds like this potluck is quite the scene.”
Priya smiled mischievously. “Oh it’s the salsa dancing afterwards when things usually get interesting.”
“Salsa dancing?” I swiveled my head and stared at Tom.
He winked, obviously proud of himself for keeping me on my toes. “Oh did I forget to mention? After people sleep off the food, we usually put music on and dance a bit.”
Priya and Teevrat protested in unison. “A bit?”
“It’s a major part of the event,” Priya explained. “It started with Tom and Enrique, over there.” She pointed at a Latinx looking guy at the other end of the room. “Trying to teach us all salsa and merengue.”
I turned to Tom again and smiled. “So am I finally going to get a chance to dance with you since my mom got you all to herself last time?”
The way he ran his eyes up and down my body made it feel like the temperature in the room went up by twenty degrees.
“I’m dancing with you all night, mi amor.”
chapter twenty-one
camilo
Once again Tom managed to make something that should have been regular, like Thanksgiving dinner, and made it a totally special. When the food was finally brought out, it was like having dinner at the UN. There were dishes from all over the world either catered by different restaurants around the city or contributed by the guests. Everyone chatted about what they brought and shared memories about eating it with their families back home. It was a beautiful way to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Almost everyone in the room had either been born somewhere else or were the children of immigrants. It felt really special to be celebrating the most American of holidays hearing about different cultures and taking time to be thankful for the lives we had made here in the States. Ayako and I spent the meal exchanging looks as people offered their stories. Right now she was on the other side of the room talking to Priya, while picking desserts from the vast array set out on a table.
I was sitting on one of the sofas waiting for Tom who had offered to get some for us to share. I tried not to look too ridiculous as I stared at him, a plate full of desserts in one hand and two forks in the other. I smiled and patted the spot next to me on the couch. “Are you letting me have any of that?”
He sat down and pecked me on the cheek before handing me one of the forks.
“Of course. Here.” He pressed closer and moved the plate so it was right between us. “Which one do you want to try first?”
Everything on the plate looked delicious and delicate. There was a cake I recognized from Lady M’s. It was layered chocolate cake with a hazelnut filling.
I pointed to it with my fork. “That one.”
He immediately cut a piece of it and lifted it up to my mouth. “May I?”
As I chewed, I cut a piece of cake and offered it to him.
Tom kissed my temple and then accepted a bite of the cake from me.
“Mmm that’s pretty good,” he said appreciatively, and because my mind was in the gutter all the time when I was with Tom, I immediately thought of the last time I’d heard him moaning like that.
“You’re looking flustered, mi amor.”
