Three months later
Thanksgiving
Galveston Island, TX
For the last few years, Tess and Billy had been hosting Thanksgiving at their house in Galveston. Our mom always wanted us to be in Starks for Christmas, but Thanksgiving was the holiday that Tess and Billy could share with some of their close friends in Galveston. Marvin Jones was one of them. He was a famous boxer from the forties and also Billy's head coach, mentor, and friend. There were always others from the gym, too. It had become a tradition in the last couple of years, and now we all just assumed we were having Thanksgiving with Billy and Tess.
I had the entire week off school, so I went a day early to help Tess plan, buy groceries, and prepare the dishes. Everything took longer nowadays since she had a three-month-old baby.
Billy had been right. She gave birth to a daughter—a beautiful black-haired girl named Tara Grace. I called her Tara-bo-bara and things like that. She was the most precious thing ever, and Billy and Tess were in love.
Counting family, we were expecting to feed thirteen to fifteen people. Matty and Tony, two of Billy's friends from way back, said they'd just be stopping by. But we knew from experience that they wouldn't turn down a plate of food. Quentin from the gym was coming, and he might or might not be bringing his girlfriend and her sister.
All these guests were fine by us because Tess, our mother, and I all loved Thanksgiving. We loved cooking the traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, ham, veggies and casseroles. We enjoyed serving a holiday feast, and Tess and Billy's friends always seemed eager to eat with us.
Our mother would start cooking her share of the meal back home in Louisiana before dawn on Thursday. Then she'd transport the hot dishes to Galveston Thursday morning. Tess and I would take care of everything else except the rolls, which Marvin would make from scratch and bring over when he came.
We planned on eating a late lunch so that everyone had enough time to arrive and get nice and hungry. I loved Thanksgiving, and I had been looking forward to this meal and this fellowship for months. It was almost 1pm, and most of the guests had already arrived. We were missing Dizzy and his wife, but they were on their way. We were also missing Matty and Tony, but we didn't expect them to be there before we got started.
In general, I wore a lot of skirts and dresses. I wore pants, too, but I liked how skirts looked on me and I felt comfortable in them. I had on a denim skirt with red tights and a striped sweater. I was wearing the colors of fall, and I felt festive and in good spirits.
I was feeling that way right up until 1pm on the dot when Billy came up to us in the kitchen and said, "Daniel's here."
Panic.
Instant panic.
"Daniel King?" I asked, my head whipping around to face Billy when he said it. "Daniel King?" I repeated when he didn't answer right away. I would have never dreamed Billy would say that. I didn't even know Daniel was in Galveston. I looked at Billy who was now nodding in answer to my question.
"I wasn't going to say anything," Billy said. "I invited him last week, and he said he'd come. I was just gonna let him come in and surprise everybody. But he called a few minutes ago to see if we needed anything, and he told me he's got his lady friend with him."
"He's bringing a date?" Tess asked.
I glanced at her to find that she was looking at Billy with wide eyes. She blinked.
Billy nodded. "His friend from Georgia. Kelly. I figured we had plenty for one more. I mean, it's not like we'll run out of food."
"I know we won't run out of food, but…" Tess trailed off and looked at me, asking me without saying a word if I was okay. Billy had other things to do, so he wasn't paying attention to our facial expressions. Marvin was across the room, in the middle of telling a story, and he was yelling over to Billy for confirmation on something.
I was stirring the gravy. It was the final thing I was working on, and I needed to concentrate to get it right.
But how was I supposed to concentrate?
How could Daniel bring a woman over here?
What was I supposed to do?
Should I stay?
Could I stay?
I wasn't even sure if I could muster up the will to stay and sit through lunch with him sitting next to another girl.
Of course I would stay.
There was no other choice but to stay.
I had been in a good mood all morning, and it would be weird and completely obvious if I up-and-left right after Billy gave me that bit of information. I knew I had to stay, and at the same time, I just didn't know if I could. I felt compelled to leave before they got there. I wanted to be gone and not have to see either of them.
Why would he do that?
Why would he come here with another girl?
Why did I care?
I had no right to care. I stirred the gravy non-stop, my thoughts swimming as I stared at the swirling liquid. A few minutes ago, I was starving, and now I didn't feel like eating at all.
I had to get out of there. I would make up an excuse and leave. I had a good friend named Evelyn who was spending Thanksgiving with her family. I usually went by there later in the afternoon. I would simply bump up my plans and go now. I knew I'd be welcome over there.
"I might leave," I said, turning to speak directly to my sister who was standing beside me.
She had just taken the ham out of the oven, and she was in the process of taking off her oven mitts. Our mom was standing across the way holding the baby. Dad was looking over her shoulder. People were having conversations. No one was paying attention to me. No one would have really even noticed if I slipped out.
"Why?" Tess asked. "Because of Daniel? I didn't know you were so broken up about it. Did you try talking to him?"
"Yes," I whispered. "And I'm too nervous to stay."
"No, you're not," Tess said. "It's just Daniel."
"Yeah," I said, nodding casually even though I didn't feel casual at all. Tess didn't know how much I had been thinking about him, and I didn't plan on telling her. She knew I had talked to Daniel a few months ago when I apologized, but she had no idea how much he had been on my mind or that I was still plagued by regret. No one did.
I hadn't seen him in so long that I had no idea what to expect. He could have scars or a beard and I would know nothing of it. It was possible that I wouldn’t recognize him at all. I pictured him walking in with his Army uniform on.
"I think it's ready," Tess said, leaning in front of me to turn off the stove. I glanced at her to find that she was looking at my gravy.
My head was swimming.
I was normally a rational, resilient human being.
I had no idea why I was reacting like this.
I was out-of-my-mind with nerves.
"Listen, I'm going to stay as long as I can, but if I sneak out, just please don't make a big deal about it."
"Why would you sneak out, Abigail? Where would you go?"
"Evelyn's. Her parents have a lot of people over every year."
Tess already knew that, so she nodded, but she was looking at me like she didn't quite understand. "Are you mad that Daniel's bringing his girlfriend?"
"I'm not mad, I'm just… I don't know what I'm going to feel. I don't know what to expect. I haven't seen him in a long time."