by Raquel Belle
***
Oscar and I stared at Mom and Dad as they puttered around the kitchen making dinner together. I’d fully expected us to eat out somewhere public and not so intimate, like usual. But it was my mom’s idea to cook dinner at home, and Dad was all for it. What makes it even more interesting is that it didn’t take him close to two hours to get here, which meant he was already in the neighborhood.
Oscar handed me an open beer, and I took a swig. We sat at the breakfast bar like the peanut gallery, just watching. Dad handed Mom a knife to chop up onions, and Oscar nudged me. She smiled at him, as she took it and continued prepping the veggies. Her eyes were twinkling, and she acted like they were still married and hadn’t missed a day of cooking together.
“Did you guys have sex or something?” Oscar said. My eyes popped, and I smacked him on the arm.
“Watch your mouth!” Eliza said, though she wasn’t denying it. Dad shook his head at Oscar, but he was tight lipped, and I noticed a blush creeping up his neck and reddening his ears. My face lit up, as if it were Christmas, and I put my beer down too hard, spilling some out on the counter.
My mom cursed in Spanish and threw a dish towel at me. “Would you two relax, my goodness.”
“You guys totally did! When are you renewing your vows? Tell me, tell me.” I grinned and wiped up my mess without looking away from them.
“Relax, Beth. We’re not discussing this right now,” she said and turned away from me. Dad came to the sink and peeked at both of us, a small grin on his face. I could’ve kissed them both, but Mom was clearly being shy about everything. Oscar reached his hand out, and they silently fist bumped.
“Anyway, why’d you want to have dinner today?” Dad asked. He leaned on the counter, and Mom glanced over her shoulder.
“Because…Thanksgiving is coming up, and you all know that I’ve been dating Anthony for a little bit now…”
“A little bit? For, like a week, that’s how long you’ve been dating him,” Oscar said.
“That’s not true. It’s been like a month, but time doesn’t matter. It doesn’t feel like a month,” I said.
My mom stopped chopping and turned around, the knife still held loosely in her hand. “Beth, baby, you know we all love you right?” I sighed and braced myself for the lecture. “No, really, Beth. We know how you are with guys and at first you hated this one, right?”
“Yeah, but, Ma, you’re the one who told me to give him a chance,” I said.
“Well, I just didn’t want you to be lonely, that’s all. But if he’s like any of the other ones you’ve brought around—” She tilted her head to the side, her expression skeptical.
“Mom, he’s not. He’s not like anyone I’ve dated, ever. In fact, he’s been more honest with me than anyone I’ve dated before because of our weird work situation.”
“You invited him to Thanksgiving then,” Dad said.
I nodded.
“Interesting,” Oscar said, and rubbed his hands together like a super villain.
“Oscar, see, no. This is why I wanted to have dinner before the holiday. You guys aren’t going to interrogate him. You’re gonna be civil, and nice, and welcoming, and have normal conversations with him, okay?” I looked everyone in the eye.
Dad sighed and shrugged. “I’m cool with that. It seems like you really like him, huh?”
“Yes, I do…a lot,” I said.
“Clearly, since you guys have only been dating for a week, and already he’s coming to Thanksgiving,” Oscar said.
“Fine,” my mom said and turned around to keep cutting. “We’ll be nice, but I’ll be watching him.”
I snorted and took a swig of my beer. “Okay, Ma.”
She dropped the garlic and onions into the pot, and they started to sauté. Dad stepped around her to check on the chicken. “This guy, does he come from a good family?”
I took a deep breath and tilted my head to the side. “He doesn’t get along with his family, really. He’s more the type that his friends are his family.”
Oscar shifted in his seat and put his hand around his lemonade. “That’s not a great sign, right?”
“Not necessarily, it could be that his family is the type that are insufferable or something. He could still be a good guy,” Mom said, jumping back on Anthony’s side. Honestly, it was hard to tell with her. I was close to giving up on pep talking everyone. I’d just hope for the best.
My dad studied my expression. He sighed. “Don’t worry, Beth. We’ll be on our best behavior, and still see what he’s all about. That’s all.” He shrugged and turned the fire off under the pot.
“Alright, fine, that’s all I’m asking, I guess.” I sat back and took a long pull from my beer. Thanksgiving was less than a week away and usually the least stressful holiday for us, but already it felt like Thanksgiving was in a few hours and stressful as hell. My anxiety was steeped in wanting Anthony to make a good impression on everyone—and vice versa.
“He’s bringing wine, by the way, and he’s really good at picking it out, too,” I said.
“Good! I don’t have to drop hundreds on wine this year,” Eliza said, relieved. She was right though, since our dinner was so big, a few bottles were never enough for everyone, and not everyone brought a bottle with them. Every year we all shelled out a ton for booze.
“He’s okay buying enough wine for like thirty people?” Dad asked.
“Yeah he has it,” I said, not exactly wanting to share the fact that Anthony came from money. I wanted everyone to go in having as little judgement as possible, only because we’d had such a rocky start.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Anthony
Beth stared at all the wine I’d gotten. They were all laid out on the counter. Her eyes were wide, and she bit her lip, taking it all in.
“I might’ve gone overboard. But we don’t have to bring all of this.”
“Anthony, twenty bottles of wine is a lot, I was thinking five or so would be good enough.” She tilted one of the bottles back to read the label. “How much did you spend?”
“Beth, don’t ever ask me that.” I pulled her close and brushed my lips over hers. “You said bring wine, so I want to come prepared. This is all good stuff too. I got a couple of sweet wines, some dry ones, some in the middle. This way, there’ll be something for everyone.”
“Okay,” she said, and let the issue go quicker than I’d expected her to. She pulled away from me to check on her food. She was cooking for me this time, and the fish smelled really fucking good baking in the oven. The next morning, we were going to head to her mom’s house to help out before the crowd arrived. No lie, I was a little nervous. The last time I’d met a girlfriend’s parents was back in high school.
“How was work today?” I leaned against the counter and picked up my scotch to take a sip.
“A drag… My editor had me doing a bunch of clerical shit that I never do. It was just mindless busy work,” she said. “How about you? Did Naomi and Jess leave yet?”
“I didn’t work today. I was out collecting these,” I said, “and they did leave, yeah. Naomi is a wreck with nerves. She was texting me nonstop until the plane took off. She said to pray for her.”
Beth pulled her fried plantains out of the warming oven and the avocado salad out of the fridge. We brought them to the table and then she pulled the fish out of the oven.
“I can’t wait. This all looks fantastic,” I said. “Thanks for cooking, babe.” I kissed her before we sat down, and she watched me fill my plate with the salad, plantains, and a piece of the corvina. I laughed. “Eat!”
“No, I want you to taste it first, so I know whether or not to throw myself out of the window,” she said.
“I’ll dive after you and either save you, or we’d die together,” I said. She bit her lip while smiling. I took a bite of the fish. It was tender, well-seasoned, with the natural flavor of the fish still coming through, and it was fresh. Absolutely no complaints. I looked at her, serious.
&
nbsp; “What?” She said. “Tell me if it’s bad!”
“Babe, it’s so fucking good,” I said, and I saw the relief on her face.
“Would you tell me if it wasn’t though?” I noticed that she dipped her plantain into some of the sauce from the fish. I followed her lead and took a bite, and it was definitely a good move.
“I would still say it’s good, but my tone would be different,” I said.
She smirked. “I can live with that. Oh, I keep forgetting to ask, but when are we going to finish up that recording? I have to get my feature in soon, and so do you, right?”
“True, yeah. After the holiday we can bang it out.” I grinned at her suggestively, and she rolled her eyes but still smiled.
“I’ll have to get back in touch with Jonathan’s people to see if he’s free for a follow up interview,” she said to herself.
“Yeah, shouldn’t be hard,” I said. Just being on the topic was making my fucking armpits sweat. “Have you gotten your next feature assignment yet?”
“No, he doesn’t usually assign them back-to-back. I know I’ll be writing tons of columns before he gives me the next major article though.” Beth took a sip of her wine, a look of curiosity on her face. “Do you get back-to-back features?”
“For the most part, if not then it’s other front-page material. I’m not doing columns as much, unless it’s for The New Yorker or something like that,” I said.
“Big shot, huh? I forgot who I was sleeping with for a second,” she said.
“Oh, we’re just sleeping together?”
She pushed her hair behind her ear and bit her lip, probably hiding a smile, I knew she had to be joking. She cleared her throat. “I mean…it’s a large portion of what we do together.”
“Well, when it’s the best sex you’ve ever had, why wouldn’t you want a large portion of this…large portion?” I flashed my teeth at her in a grin, and she burst into laughter.
“You did not just say that!” she said, still laughing. “You’re the worst. Don’t ever talk to me again.”
“Seriously, though, if you want to get away from the petty columns in the paper, I can recommend you to The New Yorker or The Atlantic. It’d force The Post to put your name out there more prominently,” I said.
Beth blinked at me, and her smile slowly disappeared. “Anthony, be serious. It took everything I had to convince myself to ask you for that one favor. Asking favors is not usually how I operate.”
“Shit, I’m sorry. Forget I mentioned it,” I said. “But…”
“I know the odds and how writing works in this city. I’ve gotten this far pushing my own name, and I’ll get even farther with the work I put out, so don’t worry,” she said.
I nodded, studying the serious determination on her face. I’d respected Beth before I fell in love with her, and that was even more true right then. She didn’t need any favors from me or anyone, and that was what initially drove our rivalry.
“For tomorrow, how casual is casual? Should I still wear something nice?”
“Yeah and warm. It’ll be inside and outside. A nice sweater or a long-sleeved shirt is good, and you can wear jeans.”
“Cool.” We didn’t talk much over dinner—the food was that good. Afterwards, I drew us a bath and lit some candles around the tub. Beth let me undress her, and we got in together with a couple glasses of dessert wine. Her feet settled between mine in the warm water, and the bubbles came just above her breasts. I held onto the sides of the tub to keep myself in check. Anytime Beth was naked around me, I just wanted to be inside her.
“The bath is nice. This was a good idea,” she said after sipping the wine and placing it on the ledge beside the tub.
“What’s stressing you out?” I couldn’t help but to take her leg and start massaging her calf and foot. Her head fell to the side, and her eyelids fluttered, a small smile on her lips capped off the expression of bliss on her face. Again, I had to consciously force myself not to cross the distance between us and spill water all over the place.
“Tomorrow…” she said.
I smiled. “Why? You’ll be around all your friends and family and me.”
“I know, but I’m just worried about everyone liking you.”
I picked up her other leg and started to massage it. “No one has to like me. All I care about is you liking me.”
“Yeah, but I want my friends and my family to like you,” she said. Again, it was evident how important family was to her. I lifted her foot just a bit out of the water, so she wouldn’t drown, and kissed her instep. She shivered and I reached for her hands, pulling her slowly into my lap. She turned around, and I kissed her shoulder.
“Then I’ll try to be as charming and irresistible as possible. Or I can have a spell put on everyone, so you don’t have to worry,” I said, making her giggle.
“That sounds good. Who would we go to?”
“I’m pretty sure Harlem has a fair bit of witches or maybe we could look up a spell and perform it ourselves.” I kissed her neck and shoulder. Beth tilted to the side and kissed me—her lips were soft and cool from the wine. I tasted the sweetness on her tongue and cupped her breasts under the water. I pinched her nipples, and she moaned into my mouth. She turned around to straddle my hips and some water splashed onto the floor.
“You don’t get tired of me?” I said and kissed her taut nipples, pink with the cold.
“What?” She said, and ran her fingers through my hair, tilting my head back in the process. Her eyes searched mine. “You’re my match, so how could I get tired of you?”
“I love you,” I said, not wanting to hold it back anymore. It felt good to say, and it was the fucking truth, and I wanted to be open with her. I always did.
Beth’s lips parted just slightly, and her eyes widened. She hadn’t expected me to say that, perhaps not at all or anytime this soon. Then her eyes watered, but she blinked away the tears before they could fall.
“You’re stupid,” she said, and we both laughed. She kissed me hard and wrapped her arms around me tight. I held her just as securely. She didn’t have to say the words back because I knew she had feelings for me just by her reaction, and that shit made me feel like the king of the world. There wasn’t any way I’d let her go.
***
Honestly, I didn’t know what I was expecting, but Beth’s mom had a nice house in the Bronx. It was on a corner lot, and it was definitely big enough inside to hold the thirty people who’d be there, and the backyard was huge for a house in the boroughs. We’d just gotten there with all the wine and a macaroni dish that Beth had made. I stood idly in the kitchen, looking around and wondering what Beth’s mom did for a living.
“Where is everyone?” I said, while looking through the open double doors at the deck out back. A buffet table was already set up and decorated, just waiting for food to be laid out on it. There were tables set up all over the deck and in the yard, too. The bar was set up for people who wanted to eat inside as well as the dining room’s huge table.
“Um, my mom and brother went out last minute to get something from my aunt’s house, and my dad is on the way from Jersey, I think. He could be with my mom though, to be honest.”
“What?” I smiled at her in pleasant surprise. “So that’s happening? Your parent trapping is working?” Beth put the macaroni in the oven to stay warm and as much wine as she could into the fridge.
“Here’s hoping. They’re at least boning again, which is progress,” Beth said, in a matter of fact way.
I laughed. “Well if they still have that spark, then I think they’re on track.” Beth laced her fingers with mine and walked me out back. The weather was holding up. There weren’t any clouds in the sky although it was pretty chilly. I noticed heating lamps placed around the deck and a couple between the tables on the grass.
“I’d give you a proper tour of the house, but Ma would kill both of us if she walked inside the house and we were upstairs,” she said.
“Hey, no complaints
from me if there are rules. I definitely don’t want to get on your mom’s bad side.” I kissed her lightly on the lips, and we sat down on the deck’s swinging bench.
A moment later, we both heard voices inside and turned around. A woman who looked a lot like Beth but shorter and with brown eyes, was holding a tin container of something while a tall kid had three trays in his arms behind her.
“Oh, they’re here, come on,” Beth said. The nerves she’d had last night had been thoroughly fucked out of her, so she was definitely relaxed about me meeting everyone. She took my hand again and led me inside.
“Beth, you’re here already?” Her mom said.
The closer I got to her, the more of Beth I saw in her face. It was almost uncanny how much they looked alike.
“Yeah, we got here like five or ten minutes ago,” she said.
Her brother, Oscar, put down his trays and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Oscar.”
“Anthony, and it’s nice to meet you, too. Beth talks about you all the time.”
“Oh, yeah, well does she talk about me?” Her mom said.
Beth laughed. “Ma, this is Anthony, and Anthony, my mom, Eliza.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Eliza,” I said.
She seemed impressed. She smiled. “Likewise. Beth has told us a lot about you, Anthony.”
I glanced at Beth, who grinned innocently. “I hope it’s about how much I spoil her and come to her beck and call.”
“Something like that, yeah,” Eliza said. Oscar laughed, shaking his head, as he helped put the trays in the oven.
Beth rubbed my back and looked at me apologetically. “I may have told them about our earlier days…”
“Oh, right, Beth was so mean to me, that I had to defend myself every time she saw me,” I said.
“What?” Beth laughed and hit my stomach.
“You raised a smart woman, Miss Eliza. She’s got a quick wit…beat me out of a source,” I said.
