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“You’re not having turkey?” she asks.

Dustin and Tess trade a glance.

Mom gets there first. “Nick and Dustin have food allergies. Runs in the family, unfortunately.”

Ellery looks at my bowl, then Dustin’s. “You really can’t eat anything else on the table? Both of you?”

“It’s a very specific allergy,” Mom says.

Luca muffles a snort into his napkin, and I let him live.

Tess says something to Ellery about lunch service at the cafe, and the two of them have their heads together, Tess laughing hard enough that she has to put her fork down. Ellery does an impression of somebody, chin up, one hand flat on the table, and Tess loses it again.

I don’t know what’s so funny because she’s barely acknowledged me in a week. And being cut from those small parts of her day makes me all the more aware of how much I miss her.

“Have you called your folks, honey?” Mom asks, passing the potatoes.

“I’ll call them tonight.” She says it easily, taking the bowl with both hands, then asks Tess about the baby.

After dessert, we all pile out into the backyard for Valzeraball. A game Luca, Dustin, and I made up as kids, a cross between lacrosse, baseball, and Alaskan High Kick.

“Rules?” Ellery asks from the porch step.

“There’s thirteen,” Luca says.

“There’s five,” Dustin says.

“There were thirteen.” Luca points the stick at him. “Sebastian wrote them down.”

Nobody says anything for a second. Then Mom asks if anyone wants more pie, and Dustin throws the ball at my head.

Dustin and I run rings around Luca, teasing him, until he starts whining that we’re unfairly matched. Mom watches from the sidelines next to a gas heater, drinking a glass of wine and chastising us for tormenting him. I hear Ellery ask Tess how we run so fast and make sure I tone it down a notch.

Tess brushes off her question. “They both ran track in high school.”

When Luca’s bent over double and can’t get a sentence out, we call it a day. Tess goes into the spare room to wake Isaac while Dustin packs up his toys.

Mom loads a container with leftovers for Ellery, then follows us to the front door. I kiss Mom goodbye, thanking her for lunch, and Ellery lets me help her into her coat.

“This was honestly the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had. Thank you for including me.” Ellery hugs my mom tight.

I wonder what her past holidays were like with what she’s told me of her parents.

“My pleasure, honey. You’re always welcome.”

Mom’s watching me over Ellery’s shoulder and I turn away. She might want this more than I do, which is saying something.

Once we’re outside, Ellery marches across the driveway. With my family firmly out of earshot, I jog to catch up.

“Wait…”

She turns on me halfway to the truck. “Let’s not ruin this day, Nick. I’ve had a really nice time.”

I pull up short. Despite all her politeness and pretending for the sake of everyone else, she’s still furious, and I don’t blame her.

“It’s fine, Nick. We don’t have to talk about it. In fact, I’d prefer we didn’t, so let’s just go.”

She’s walking away, and I can’t bear another minute of what we’ve become.