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"That's my brother, Jesse, he's…" I laughed as I watched Jesse react to the car. "He's looking at this car."
Isaac parked and we both got out. Jesse and his two-year-old daughter, Eliza, came our way. "Whose Tesla?" Jesse asked from thirty feet away.
"It's a rental," Isaac answered, hollering at my brother from the open door. He got out of the car and closed his door. He came around the car, closer to my brother. "I'm Isaac," he said, reaching out to shake hands.
"Hey, Isaac, I’m Jesse, Ari's brother. Mom told us you were bringing someone home with you," Jesse said.
He was holding his daughter, and I leaned in to hug them both. "Isaac, this is my oldest brother, Jesse, and his little girl, Eliza. He's got a little boy, too, and a wife."
"Yeah, he's inside with his cousins. My wife's in there. I'm taking Eliza across the street to see Mister Norman's train set. Mom's inside cooking and Dad's in the garage frying the turkey. He said he's doing it in the oven next year."
"He says that every year," I said.
As we talked, I watched as Isaac made eye contact with my little niece. He waved at her and she smiled shyly and waved back at him. He was sweet, and I reached out and touched his arm because I wanted my brother to see how much I liked him. Jesse noticed the contact. I saw him look at the spot where I touched Isaac's arm. He was watching us with an appraising expression, but he didn't say anything.
We walked inside, and instantly we were hit with a wall of sound and activity.
"Get ready," I said to him.
All four of my siblings had beat us to the house, and they all had at least one person with them. My oldest brother and sister, Jesse and Jenny, both had families, and some of their children brought friends. My youngest brother always had two or three buddies with him, and today was no different. I saw a few young guys who weren't my brother talking to my dad in the living room.
The whole scene was chaotic but familiar. A group of three or four boys ran past us. They were doing their own thing but they clearly wanted us to notice them.
"Hello. Goodbye." I spoke in a silly matter-of-fact tone as they whizzed past. "Heyyy!" I added, seeing several people notice us and wave in the distance.
My mom left the kitchen to head toward us, and so did my older sister. But it was my brother, Nick, who made it to us first. He noticed us from the living room, and he jumped over an ottoman and a couch before running to meet us.
"Oh, my gosh, Nick, calm down."
"Who's this?" he asked, rushing up to us and raising an eyebrow dramatically, and staring at Isaac. He was being physically imposing. That was how my family was. They were pushy, but in a loveable, playful way. It did not surprise me that Nick would run up and stare Isaac over, but I reacted by being pushy right back.
I reached in and vigorously hugged Nick, distracting him. "This is my friend, Isaac, from Seattle. I already told Mom about it. Hey, Mom," I added, as a few of the women made their way up to us.
My mom reached out and hugged me. She made a conspiratorial face that wasn't discreet at all. I knew Isaac had seen her. "He's so handsome," she said in my ear when she hugged me.
I just squeezed her instead of responding. "This is Isaac," I said to everyone as I broke the hug.
"Mom said Ari was bringing a dude over here, but I didn't believe her."
"Nicholas John!" Mom warned.
"What? I didn't."
I reached up and popped Nick on the back of his head.
"Welcome to our home, Isaac, and happy Thanksgiving," my mom said.
"Thank you, Mrs. Moreno. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too."
"This is my sister Jenny. Her boys were the ones that came by us when we first walked in."
Isaac smiled and reached out to shake my sister's hand, but she hugged him.
There were a few minutes of introductions at the door, and then I started pushing my way through. "We're going to put our things away," I said. "We'll meet you back out here in just a minute."
"I have Jesse's old room set up for Isaac," Mom said.
"Thank you!"
