Everyone at the table had been so lost in conversation, about one thing or the other, when Mia and Grandma came in the room and sat down, that no one noticed either of their eyes shining a bit brighter than they should be.
Once James sat back down, after helping his mother into the chair at the head of the table, Austin’s mom stuck her hands out, palms up, resting on the table awaiting the hands of those beside her to join hers in prayer.
“OK, whose saying Grace?”
Austin’s empty stomach sank, Crapola, I never know what to say, please have Dad do it, or Grandma she’s the-
“Austin?” His mom said nodding directly at him, finishing her request with “would you do us the pleasure?”, then bowed her head to show him it wasn’t up for discussion.
Brian then spoke up, “Actually, ma’am.”
The ma’am remark got him a glare from Austin’s mom, so he tried again, “I mean Mama K… sorry. But, if you don’t mind I would love to give Grace tonight.”
Austin snapped his head towards Brian so fast that he could hear internally fifty some odd tiny snaps and cracks going down his neck. He wondered just how many more times his gruff brute of a roommate was going to surprise him.
“Oh?” Mama K said pleasantly surprised, normally it was like pulling teeth even with her husband to get someone to say grace, never mind volunteer for it. Even though she only asked them to do it once or twice a year.
“Please, we’d be honored,” She said smiling graciously and bowed her head again, casting a sly glare towards Austin as she did so, with everyone else closing their eyes and following suit.
“Ok,” Brian cleared his throat, “Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this amazing feast you have provided and for the gorgeous cooks who have put in front of us. Please help us to not eat like pigs today, and to remember the ones around the world who aren’t as lucky as us. By his hands we are fed. Amen.” Brian finished and let go of Ashley’s hand with his left and Austin’s with his right.
Austin had enjoyed the prayer, but was sitting there wondering if his parents would enjoy the light heartedness of it or only be acutely aware of it. Not wanting to sneak a peek at his mother to see if she was boiling or still tepidly praying, he kept his head down, eyes closed and butt cheeks clinched.
“Well now, that was just perfect, thank you Brian,” Mama K said looking around the table, all of the faces pointing at her obediently waiting on the okay to start digging into the mashed potatoes and passing out rolls.
Whew, that really could’ve gone either way. Guess the part about gorgeous cooks was a crowd pleaser.
“Now, does everybody want to go around and say what exactly they’re thankful for this year before we eat?” Mom said with eyebrows raised expecting an eager response.
Everyone, including grandma, slightly rolled their eyes at this, even though some were smarter about it doing so behind closed lids.
Austin’s mom continued, “It’s ok, I’ll start, I’m-”
“Hun, I think the poor kids are starving,” James interrupted his wife as politely as he possibly could, treading lightly.
Yes, score one for pops.
“I think we can let that slide this year,” he added trying to deflect the lava coming out of his wife’s eyes directed at him, and began grasping for a decent reason, “ya know, on account of… there being so many of us, we’d be here until midnight.”
Good one dad, and good luck.
Not wanting to start any sort of argument at Thanksgiving dinner, especially in front of Austin’s friends, she conceded the point when no one else spoke up in contradiction.
“You’ve got a point dear,” she said taking the napkin next to her plate and fanning it out before placing it on her lap. “Maybe later then,” Mama K looked around and said casually “Well what is everyone waiting for? Dig in.”
The next twenty minutes or so went like most dinners did across the nation that day. A lot of mouths getting stuffed, numerous compliments to the cooks, nods in agreement. Short muffled conversations to the neighbors seated next to one another while a bigger discussion was being tossed back and forth about the table, about nothing serious, or nothing serious enough for anyone to have any real opinions out. A few stories told by the parents trying to embarrass one of the kids, but only had the effect of endearing them to their guests a little more.
Mia however, couldn’t help but feel Grandma Lucille’s eyes on her more than any of the other guests at the table. Whether she was addressing the room, or Grandma in reply, or just sitting there quietly spooning green beans into her mouth making sure she wasn’t making a mess, her eyes were seemingly pinned to Mia.
Lucille stared with different faces coming in phases as they ate. Started with a kind, gentle face of a grandmother watching her family gathered round for the first time in awhile. Then moved to a somewhat happy face like she was wishing nothing but good things for their future. Then being overcome finally by an almost pitiful stare, mentally urging whatever that was causing Mia grief to go away.
Then returning to the look that Mia received from her at the end of their talk in the living room just before dinner. Lucile made the point hit home that she was serious about her needing to tell Austin, or tell somebody at the very least.
Mia was more than ready for the dinner to be over with even though she was enjoying the feast with Austin’s family. She feared her fatigue was starting to show more now that she knew someone was aware of it, it became forefront in her mind to do more to hide it. Couple this with the huge meal, decent portions of turkey and two small pieces of pie, one chocolate, one pumpkin, it was as if her energy was hitting a wall and her body felt it wholly.
She was truly having a splendid time just being around a family like Austin’s, with their inside jokes, and their feelings of love for one another that was almost palpable beating all around them. She had never been around such a joyous family in her life, every hour was full of rounds of deep hearty laughs that never seemed to end. It was a family vibe that she genuinely never had, considering her Grandfather raised her on his own after her mom died and her weak ass Grandmother that couldn’t handle it anymore split. Even though he was technically her Granddad, he was still her Daddy.
God, what I wouldn’t give to have a Grandma like Lucille growing up, hell even now.
Sometimes Mia wondered on what end of the spectrum Ashley’s own family sat. Were they closer to the Rockefeller paintings or the splattered mess of Jackson Pollack. She figured it had to be the latter considering she never once let Mia meet her family or even talk about them more than a passing generic word or two. Mia guessed that kind of made it a perfect fit for Ashley and Brian, neither one for bringing up anything about their family life before running off to college.
Still she was relieved when Austin stood up, grabbing his and her dishes, taking them to the kitchen saying “After us boys clean up after you womenfolk, think I might take the squad here to checkout the LD, ya know… if you don’t mind.” He directed this statement at his mom, checking her out with one eye as he passed her to make sure she was cool with it.
On one hand he felt bad because he basically slept most of the time he had been here so far, then watched a game and ate, which didn’t leave a lot of room for visiting with his family. On the other hand however, he had promised good food and good times to Mia and the rest, and that didn’t mean spending the rest of the night looking at family albums of buck teeth and bad hair cuts.
His mom was wise enough to understand though, who much to her kids disbelief was a teenager at one time that came home to visit. So she didn’t let the disappointment, that was sucking like a vacuum at the inside of her chest making tiny airless voids where her hope for the evening once resided, brim to the surface and show outright on her face. The same disappointment she was sure now that her own mother felt twenty some odd years ago when she was around the same age of Austin.
“That sounds like a great idea, hun,” his mom replied not letting the dis
couragement crack through. She then threw a subtle but reverberating grenade on to the table with what she had to say next. As she stood up, her chair made a Godzilla type noise from scooting across the battered hardwood floor, while waiting for the coming explosion.
“Why don’t you take Brookie with you, she won’t come right out and say it but she misses you.” She pushed the chair back in and began walking into the living room, letting the flash-bang do it’s job of stunning the inhabitants of the room.
Austin had to think quick on his feet to get out of this one, it may have seemed like an afterthought the way he brought it up after dinner, but this was a planned outing since the minute Mia said she would come. He definitely didn’t need his baby sis there fudging up his plans before they even got started.
Ok, what’s the most practical, believable excuse?
“Uh, I would Mom but…”
Hurry up Oz,
“you see…”
see what?
“Ashley’s Jeep is a pretty tight fit already, I don’t think there’s even an extra buckle in the back.”
You’re a genius, safety first, right mom?
“Nonsense, take the suburban. Your dad and I aren’t going anywhere tonight.”
Shit.
@ the LD
The LD, as Austin and almost everyone in this part of West Texas liked to call it, stood for The Luckwell Dunes. It was only a five minute trip down a back country road from the Kyle house to a secluded entrance that only people from Luckwell knew about.
The Luckwell Dunes were ran by the State as a park, tourists would come and camp at RV sites situated on a small portion of the dunes. The park encapsulated, however, only about twenty percent of the actual sand dunes that ran for about ten miles east to west, and close to another four north to south.
Through this back road though, the locals could get in and out without paying a fee, while also not having to worry about running into any sunburned, ragged tourists that got tired of playing in the desert after the first 45 minutes. It wasn’t necessarily the most fun place to be on foot, especially on a blazing hot day in the middle of summer. Still, people flocked to it year after year, finding sand in places it had no right to be in, while kids clamored for more and parents made mental notes of not ever returning.
If you had an ATV or dirt bike that made it better than dragging a big plastic disk up the biggest dunes you could find and sliding down it at 5 miles an hour, if you’re lucky. But, not too many folks around here have toys like that to play with anymore. Not since the price of oil tanked faster and harder than the Texas Rangers in the playoffs of pretty much any year they made it.
The LD was a perfect location to do some stargazing, though, barely any light pollution at all seeping into the sky once you got a few dunes in. This might have been a major factor along with all the videos Austin watched on YouTube, on why he was so into astronomy.
Since Austin and his friends became old enough, and allowed to ride their bikes farther than a block from their house, they had been coming here, staking out a spot not too far out or too close in and just hang out. Some nights he would come out here by himself with a cheap telescope his dad got him at a pawnshop, and see how many of the objects he could find on the Messier list. So far he was 63 objects into a list of 110 galaxies, nebulae and other celestial destinations.
The three months Austin had been away at college not only was the longest he had spent away from his home and family, but also away from his spot at LD looking up. This spot is where he planned on taking Mia tonight, to tell her that he loves her for the first time. He just hoped Ashley and Brian would do what they normally do and dip off to find a spot of their own to continue their pubic displays of affection in a more private setting.
Now he thought his plan was about to go up in smoke before it even started thanks to his sister crashing the night’s event. Apparently though, his sister wasn’t as enthused to be tagging along as their mom might think and begged for her best friend from across the street to be allowed to come too, which of course Austin jumped at instantly, preferring there be as may distractions there for her as possible.
Austin probably could have handled driving the old behemoth of a suburban his mom had been running around in for a decade now. It was a slow steady drive on familiar, nearly empty streets, still, Mia drove while Austin pointed out the turns she needed to take.
The group of six pretty much stayed together as a group on the trek to Austin’s spot. Every now and then one of the pairs would straggle behind a bit wondering inwardly just how far back Austin was planning on taking them. Once they arrived at his destination there were a few moments of silence, but mostly the air was filled with light banter and comments on where they were.
“Wow, I can’t believe how many stars I can see right now,” said Mia.
“Pretty fuckin’ awesome dude,” said Brian.
“I totes agree… it’s pretty awesome bubba” said his sister, Brooke, that didn’t sound too forced.
“I cant believe how cold it is, I’m freezing,” said Ashley.
Three outta four ain’t bad, Austin thought.
Although he appreciated it, Austin hoped no one heard the bubba part of his sister’s somewhat compliment, knowing most likely Brian, or any of them for that matter, would never let it slide without picking it up and throwing it in the rotation.
3.5 seconds passed before Brian was able to use it in a sentence.
“Hey, Bubba, it really is cool and all, but like the lady said, she’s a lil chilly. I think were gonna go find a place to warm up,” Brian said throwing in an unneeded wink and an even less subtle “If ya know whadda mean.”
This earned a hushed giggle and a blushed face from both his younger sister and her friend.
“Yeah, yeah I think we get it, thanks,” Austin replied.
Brian made a point as he picked Ashley up awkwardly yet effortlessly, to raise his eyebrows quickly in an ooh la la gesture at Brooke and her friend, then gave a couple nods towards Mia and Austin. Brooke returned a glare in confusion, but her friend got the hint and said “Hey Brooke, didn’t you say there was a thing back there over that next dune you wanted to show me?”
“Huh? What are-”
Before she was able to foil the plot, her friend pinched her on the elbow, and pulled at her shirt forcing the point home. Finally, Austin’s little sister caught on, getting it much later than she probably should have she covered it with a not so believable “Oh yeah, nah der, It’s right over here. Come on.”
Austin had been busy thinking about the words he needed to say as he slung the backpack he had brought with him off his shoulders and into the sand next to where Mia was already sitting, casting up a small cloud of beige dust.
Just like that, Austin and Mia were alone, sort of. It took a few minutes for them to be completely alone, seemingly an eternity to Austin, who watched the silhouettes fade in opposite directions until they were completely absorbed into the horizons on either side of them.
Once assured they were truly gone, Austin rifled through the bag and pulled out a blanket from the biggest zippered section. He billowed it out with a bit of a helping hand from a gust of cold wind and he laid it on the flattest piece of ground he could find closest to them. He then turned back to the bag and knelt beside it to dig for something else.
He hadn’t been able to lift any bottles out of the cabinet above the fridge, where his parents kept the liquor, before they left. So a couple of jostled cans of Sprite would have to suffice for this evening’s refreshments.
Austin couldn’t remember a time before tonight when he was as nervous as he was now. If the sprite wasn’t going to spew out of the can from the short expedition to his spot, it surely would now just from the quaking in his hands. He tapped the top of the first can before cracking the tab on it hoping it didn’t explode all over himself, that was the last thing he needed right now. With a soft ka’chish, the lemon-lime liquid decided that indeed it was the last thing Austi
n needed right then and decided not to throw itself all down his front.
Well that’s a good start at least.
He sent his hand back into the middle pocket and came out with a Starbuck’s cup, hoping this would make Mia think of the first time they saw each other. When she swooshed by, all legs and hair, while he wrestled Brian’s mouth shut. It wasn’t one of the actual cups from that day, he’s not crazy. It was a carbon copy of the normal cup you get from there filled with coffee with the Mermaid logo except it was entirely made out of hard plastic, removable lid and all. Austin poured the drink from the open can into this and turned around to hand it to Mia.
She was already laying on her back on top of the blanket looking at the glitter filled night sky, when Austin turned from the bag in a half-standing, half-squatting position with cans in hand. His butt plop on to the blanket next to Mia was more jarring than smooth, but it was better than what he pictured happening when he started the landing.
Austin thought of a thousand different ways to start the conversation he so badly wanted over with, but was too uncertain to pick one. Instead of using any of the ones that were racing through his mind, he took a deep breath and got lost in the stars.
Before Austin knew it, he realized he had been going on about the stars and constellations for a few minutes now, regurgitating stuff he was sure he already told her at one point or another. His brain was seemingly willing to talk about anything but what needed to be said, just to stall for more time.
It wasn’t the first time that he told a girl he loved her, but it was the first time he was going to be the first in the relationship to say it. To Austin, this didn’t necessarily mean that much, who said it first. He figured if you feel it, might as well say it. What did mean a lot to him was this uncanny feeling he had that this would be the first time he said the three words, and actually, unequivocally felt it.
Not that it had been an out and out lie when he said it to those two previous times to girlfriends in high school. What he knew of love at those particular times, or what he thought he knew anyway, just paled greatly in comparison to what Mia was able to show him. He knew that right now, what he had with Mia, wasn’t what those paper thin loves were before. A wisp of a high school infatuation that seemed to devour every thought for a fiery week or so that could be torn away by a stiff breeze of a problem.
The Heart of It All (HeartSick Series Book 1) Page 20
