\u201cI hope there\u2019s room on the street for him to park,\u201d said his mom. She stirred the milk slowly, making sure it wouldn\u2019t stick to the pan as it warmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll be a little surprised to see Kelvin, I\u2019d think.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can move my car if you want,\u201d said Kelvin.<\/p>\n
The front door opened and a tall man, blond with glasses, a round face like Kelvin\u2019s, but not as grotesquely big as Mattie. He looked in and his eyes lit on Kelvin.<\/p>\n
He grinned, and ran in, hugging Kelvin. \u201cHow are you? How\u2019s it been? What are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood, it\u2019s been fine, and it\u2019s Thanksgiving!\u201d Kelvin laughed. \u201cLet me introduce you to my boyfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelvin\u2019s father came into the kitchen as Mattie shut the door. \u201cAnd hello, dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelvin\u2019s dad waved a hand at Mattie. \u201cI see you all the time.\u201d He chuckled, put an arm around Kelvin\u2019s shoulders. Andy was standing behind his chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this is the famous Andy,\u201d said his father, holding out his hand. \u201cKelvin told me about you in his emails.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, sir,\u201d said Andy, shaking his hand firmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad to finally meet you. Layla, you being nice to Kelvin\u2019s boyfriend?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he can play music later after dinner!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood! Serenade us while we fall asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m gonna dance!\u201d<\/p>\n
His father laughed, went over to Mattie. He shook his hand and pulled him into a hug. \u201cHow\u2019s it going? Where\u2019s Nancy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHome sick,\u201d he said, rolling his eyes.<\/p>\n
Kelvin\u2019s mom put out four mugs of hot chocolate. Layla grabbed one. Kelvin took another, and pushed one to Andy. \u201cYou\u2019ll never have hot chocolate like this again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Layla got up from the table and returned with a plastic bag of marshmallows. She plopped a big marshmallow into her mug and offered one to Andy. \u201cWant one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure,\u201d Andy said, and offered his cup. She dropped one in.<\/p>\n
Andy sipped, and it was warm heaven. \u201cOh. My. God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelvin smiled. \u201cSee?\u201d<\/p>\n
His mother smiled, and poured more milk into the pan. She grated chocolate into two mugs. His father took the other mug and handed it to Mattie. His father said, \u201cYou\u2019ll be staying for a couple of days, right, Kelvin?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI plan on it,\u201d said Kelvin.<\/p>\n
\u201cDownstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded. He got out a jar of instant coffee and put some in one of the mugs. \u201cYou\u2019re ruining it,\u201d said his mother, slapping his arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you rather I put some whiskey in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it that bad?\u201d asked Kelvin.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a holiday. I figured I\u2019d get caught up on a few things. Your mother is going to put me in the poorhouse tomorrow on Black Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have someone new to buy for,\u201d she said, smiling at Andy. Andy blushed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe careful,\u201d said Kelvin\u2019s father to Andy. \u201cShe\u2019s memorized your body type and already knows your sizes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can send me some more of this hot cocoa,\u201d said Andy, raising his near-empty cup.<\/p>\n
Mattie sat down at the table, his knees banging the bottom of it. \u201cStill got the kids\u2019 tables?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll be sitting at the counter, like usual,\u201d said his father. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a stool.\u201d He leaned back on the counter and got his now-full mug of mocha. He sipped it, sighed contentedly.<\/p>\n
There was a knock at the door. \u201cCome in!\u201d called Kelvin\u2019s mom.<\/p>\n
The door opened, and a young woman with black hair and blue eyes, pale and thin-faced, peered around the door. \u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJuliet!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we late?\u201d She stepped inside, holding hands with another tall, thin man with seemingly empty black eyes and bangs that were in his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurkey\u2019s almost done,\u201d said his mother, as Juliet came into the kitchen. She hugged her parents. Then she saw Kelvin.<\/p>\n
\u201cKelvin!\u201d She hugged him. \u201cWhen did you get here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEarlier,\u201d he said, and turned her to face Andy. \u201cThis is my boyfriend, Andy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andy put his mug down and went to shake her hand. She gave it to him, shaking his hand daintily. She wiped her hand on her pants. \u201cThis is, um, Brian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHello,\u201d said Brian with a deep voice that Andy didn\u2019t expect him to have. He also shook his hand like a limp fish.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we eat dinner now?\u201d asked Layla. \u201cI want to show you my dancing!\u201d<\/p>\n
Andy saw that his mug had disappeared. He felt a little sad. \u201cLayla, help set the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
They made the table bigger by adding two large leaves into it, grabbed three more chairs from places in the house, and set the table. It was a little cramped, even with Mattie sitting at the counter. Kelvin\u2019s father pulled out the turkey, letting it rest on the counter while everyone took their seats. Food came out one by one: mashed potatoes, sauteed fall squashes, brussel sprouts in bacon, cornbread stuffing, meat stuffing, gravy, multi-colored corn, peas in their pods, string bean almondine\u2026Andy was overwhelmed and the table was quickly full of plates. Champagne and wine were the beverages\u2014and another steaming mug of hot cocoa for Andy.<\/p>\n
Layla ate quickly, not eating much because she was in a hurry to dance. \u201cAunt Juliet and Andy are going to play a song for me to dance to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat song do you want us to play?\u201d asked Andy.<\/p>\n
Juliet looked pained. She sniffed and looked at Andy. \u201cWhat school did you go to?\u201d<\/p>\n
Andy blanched.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cI hope there\u2019s room on the street for him to park,\u201d said his mom. She stirred the milk slowly, making sure it wouldn\u2019t stick to the pan as it warmed. \u201cHe\u2019ll be a little surprised to see Kelvin, I\u2019d think.\u201d \u201cI can move my car if you want,\u201d said Kelvin…. Continue reading