Just as I was about to see if my mom needed help in the kitchen, the doorbell rang again. I turned around and answered it. A guy holding a bottle of sparkling cider stood on the porch. His dark hair was a mess, but his clothes were wrinkle-free and dressy so I assumed the hair thing was purposeful. Considering my own hair on most days, I really should’ve been more forgiving of unruly hair.
“Hi,” I said.
“I’m Mark.”
Ashley’s friend … boyfriend? “Oh, right, food teeth guy.”
His brow furrowed. “Excuse me?”
“Nothing. Come in. I’m Lily.”
“Ah,” he said as if he now understood some mystery. What had my sister told him about me and how could I already have proven whatever that was in two sentences?
“Ash!” I yelled, stepping inside. “Your … boy is here!”
Ashley came sweeping into the room in a cloud of perfume and hairspray. I wasn’t even sure what about her hairstyle required hairspray, but she’d used a lot of it. “Mark! Hi! Oh is that for us?” She gestured toward the bottle he held. “Thank you.” She threaded her fingers between his and led him away.
When had our house become the destination for Thanksgiving visitors? The type that brought gifts? This was going to be the strangest Thanksgiving ever.
Just because our visitors had some form of etiquette training didn’t change my family’s manners. The second my father uttered the word amen, my brothers and little cousins dive-bombed the counter where all the food was laid out. They were digging through turkey pieces before anyone had a chance to move.
The kitchen became a flurry of activity—my mom taking lids and foil off of everything, my dad calling out for the dark meat, my sister pouring drinks, my grandparents directing from their places at the table, my aunt wrestling her daughter into a high chair while the baby screamed bloody murder and her other two kids ran circles around the counter, my uncle barking orders at his kids. Cade stood as if frozen to the tile, unsure of what to do. Visits to my house needed to come with a training manual.
I looked at the clock on the stove. It was 2:05 in the afternoon. One hour—that’s how long Cade would last before he made an excuse to leave. I’d bet my broken guitar on it.
I gave him a smirk. “I warned you. And if you want any food, you’ll have to take the plunge.”
He did just that. In two steps he had a plate and was filling it expertly. He wound in and out of bodies until he arrived at the end of the counter, where Ashley held up a drink for him. I was the only one frozen to the tile now. The empty roll basket mocked my amateur move of waiting too long. Wyatt’s plate had three rolls precariously stacked and I snagged one as I walked by.
“Hey!”
I patted his head and took a bite, then grabbed a plate. The table was already full as were the bar stools at the counter. So after I filled my plate, I went outside to the picnic table where it was possible to eat comfortably in November, because it was Arizona—the state that tried to kill its inhabitants every summer but made them forget about its attempt by being exceptionally kind every winter.
I dropped a green bean into the rabbit cage as I walked by. Then I sat down. Soon I was joined by Ashley (and her boy). And then Cade came out. My stomach dropped. He was Wyatt’s guest. Shouldn’t he have stayed inside with him?
Mark looked a little deflated, his wild hair flatter than it had been upon arrival. “It’s much quieter out here,” he noted, looking around in relief.
“Not for long,” I said.
“Well, I can’t stay too long, anyway,” he said.
Wow, ten minutes and Mark was already laying down the exit strategy.
“You can’t?” Ashley asked.
“I told you, right? My grandparents are expecting me soon.”
I waited for Cade to say something similar, jump on the easy excuse, but he was too busy eating.
“I don’t think we’ve officially met,” Ashley said to Cade. “You’re Wyatt’s coach, right?”
Cade looked up, and swallowed. “And Lily’s friend,” he said, winking at me.
“You two are friends?” Ashley asked, the surprise in her voice a little insulting.
“More like acquaintances,” I said coolly. Who hate each other, I almost added but stopped myself in time. “We hang out in completely different groups.”
The back door flew open and Jonah and two of my cousins came running out. The two little ones went straight for the grass but Jonah went to the rabbit cage.
“Hey, Coach!” Jonah called. “Do you want to see Bugs Rabbit?”
“You mean Bugs Bunny?” Cade said.
“No, it’s a rabbit.”
Cade looked at me and I smiled. “It’s a rabbit,” I echoed.
“Of course it is.” Cade nodded to Jonah. “Yes, I see him. Very cool.”
Jonah opened the cage and both Ashley and I said, “Leave him inside.”
“I’m just holding him.” Jonah brought the rabbit out and over to show Mark and Cade.
“Have you ever eaten rabbit?” Mark asked. “It’s actually pretty good.”
Jonah’s mouth fell open and Ashley shoved Mark’s shoulder with a laugh. “He’s just kidding, Jonah,” she said.
A second too late, Mark nodded his head. “Yes. Just a joke. We won’t eat Bugs Bunny.”
“Bugs Rabbit,” Cade said before Jonah could. Cade scratched the rabbit behind the ears and Jonah must’ve taken that to mean he wanted to hold him because he dropped the rabbit in Cade’s lap. Cade let out a grunt, obviously surprised, and couldn’t wrap his arms around the rabbit in time. It hopped up onto the table and somehow managed to step in every plate in under five seconds, each one of us reaching for but missing it.
Finally, I stood and picked it up. This was my first time picking up the evil pet, though, and apparently I didn’t know how because its back legs became like mini saw blades, its nails chewing into my arms. I let out a shriek and dropped the rabbit and it took off across the yard.
I studied my arms. Most of the cuts were surface scratches, but one longer one beaded with a few drops of blood. When I looked up, Cade was chasing Bugs with Jonah on his heels.
“Seriously, rabbit is tasty,” Mark said then chuckled at his own joke. “Just sayin’.”
Cade dove, arms outstretched, and managed to land perfectly, capturing the little pest. Jonah cheered and my two cousins who had joined in the chase jumped up and down, clapping. Cade, on the ground, rolled onto his back, bringing the rabbit onto his chest. The rabbit now looked like a docile kitten as Cade stroked its fur.
“He’s going to pee on you,” I called.
Cade laughed as if this was a joke, now with all three of the kids sitting in the grass at his sides and petting the rabbit. No, it wasn’t the cutest thing ever. I refused to admit that.
Cade picked a few strands of grass and was trying to feed them to the rabbit.
“He doesn’t like grass. He eats carrots and lettuce and pellets,” Jonah informed him.
“What are pellets?” Cade asked.
“I don’t know but they smell gross.”
Cade laughed again, a deep genuine laugh, and all the kids joined in. I was glad he was enjoying himself. The letter about his normal family Thanksgivings was not a happy one. I guess I could be glad for him today. Tomorrow, all bets were off.