AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Excuse me?” Cheryl asks.
Vince, Abbie, and I make a show of placing the food in the middle of the table, but Allison is undeterred.
“All I’m saying is it makes sense that you only wanted to give Mark the time of day when he took you to a Michelin-star restaurant.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, come on, Cheryl,” my mom adds.
Cheryl rolls her shoulders back until her spine is ramrod straight, “I will admit that dating an older man comes with certain advantages. But I am with Mark because of his heart, not his Amex. Lyndsey knows,” Cheryl turns to me.
“I don’t know much about your and my dad’s relationship, Cheryl,” I admit.
“No, but you know that dating an older man comes with certain advantages that might not be available to… people our age.”
My face is frozen in a slack jawed expression. I look likeThe Scream.
Vince starts scooping green bean casserole onto plates, desperate for something to do with his hands. We can’t handle our combined nervous energy.
I’m disgusted that Cheryl would think to compare her relationship to mine. Cheryl took advantage of a lonelyaccountant who went to a spin class as part of his midlife crisis regime.
What Vince and I have is nothing like that! But then, I start to think of the actress’s look when she thought I was his dog walker and the stares we get when he pulls me into his arms backstage.
What if we’re just the touring version of my dad and Cheryl? What if people look at me, see a gold digger, and see Vince hanging onto his youth like one ofPeter Pan’slost boys?
If Vince and I stay together, I won’t need to tour from a financial perspective. What if I become a trophy wife, then, desperate for excitement, I get weirdly into Pilates or one of those vegan restaurants that operate as a front for a cult?
“Cheryl, with all due respect, Lyndsey and my relationship is a bit different than yours. For one thing, we met at work, and I didn’t pursue her. It just happened.”
“I always say that age is just a number!” my dad barks.
He dabs his forehead with a napkin, and it comes away brown. I realize that he’s coated in a thick layer of self-tanner. I look at my dad for the first time all day, and I realize that his forehead is placid, with his surprised expression. The bags under his eyes are gone. He must be getting Botox.
For a moment, I feel genuinely bad for him, chasing desperately after Cheryl’s youth and beauty. The other guys at his firm must have done a double take when he showed up with Cheryl at the company Halloween party.
“Yes, there’s that, and when I met Lyndsey, yes, I thought she was gorgeous, but I didn’t think it would turn into anything romantic.”
“But you’re a fucking catch!” Abbie hollers.
“Thank you, Abbie, but I also have my baggage to deal with. Now, I’ll admit my relationship with Lyndsey is unorthodox, but I love her deeply and plan on loving her for the rest of my life.” Vince says, his voice adopting a somber timbre.
My heart plummets into my stomach. No one’s ever publicly declared their love for me before my family. I can’t help myself. I kiss Vince in front of everyone.
Abbie and my mom hoot. “Get married already!”
Abbie fakes swooning, “Oh, Mikki, think of the bonafide arsenal of A-listers at that wedding! It’s our dream come true!”
“I bet we’ll get to dance with so many rockstars,” Abbie exclaims.
“No one’s getting married yet!” I say when I pull away from Vince. I look over at Cheryl and savor her shocked expression.
After dinner, Vince and I linger behind to help with the dishes. I load the plates into the dishwasher as Vince plops potatoes and green bean casserole portions into Tupperware containers.
“Would you believe that was only the second most hectic Thanksgiving I’ve attended?” Vince asks Abbie.
“Shit. Do I want to know what the first one was?” Abbie asks.
“1991. Back in Bristol. My brother brought home his first serious girlfriend, and my mum got all emotional about her youngest child growing up and cried into the casserole. Priya was there. She called it a colonizer’s holiday. My dad started going off about India. I got too drunk to cope and barfed in my mum’s garden.”
