Half of My Heart ✔️

23 | big happy family

I enter the kitchen, where my aunts and Archer are helping my Mom finish up the food for our early dinner. After a week of keeping Levi and Jack from killing each other, Thanksgiving is finally here. My dad and Uncle Tommy are outside grilling. And the last I saw of Dani, she was at the piano.

Aunt Pey and Aunt Sadie's daughter, Sienna, is sticking boogers on every available surface of our house.

And Levi and Jack are most likely planning ways to assassinate one another. They haven't talked to or even acknowledged each other since the campfire the other night, and I can't tell if that's a good or a bad thing.

Aunt Violet slides up beside me as I get out the plates and forks. "Scar, listen to me," she says. "That Jack boy has grown quite a bit since I last saw him. He's quite a man, if I've ever seen one."

"Violet," Aunt Pey cuts in, "I estimated at least another five years before you entered your cougar stage. I didn't expect you to be drooling over college boys so soon."

Aunt Violet draws back from me, staring down her friend. She raises her voice from a whisper. "I am not a cougar. I was just pointing out the obvious. And for your information, Tommy and I maintain a very vigorous sex li—"

"Vi," Mom says, "two of my children are present. Matter of fact, I'm present. Don't make me vomit all over the turkey."

Aunt Violet ignores her and turns back to me. "Whatever. What's stopping you from climbing that boy like a squirrel on a tree? I know there are some valuable nuts to be found."

I laugh despite trying to keep a straight face. My eyes stray to Archer across the kitchen and Aunt Violet's face lights up. "Oh, I see," she whispers. "The forbidden fruit. Brother's best friend. Your love life is so exciting."

It's weird that everyone has figured this out except Archer. I shush her desperately, looking toward Archer to make sure he didn't hear anything. Aunt Violet catches my drift and presses her finger to her lips secretively, then goes to bring the mashed potatoes to the table.

I'm about to leave the kitchen, to get far away from Archer, when Aunt Pey catches my arm and pulls me close to her. "If Vi is Team Jack, mark me down as Team Levi. He seems like a nice boy. And he's pretty handsome, don't you agree?"

I'm about to protest, but we hear a voice calling for her from the living room, right on cue. Aunt Pey gives me a smile, then goes to join her wife watching football. Archer follows after her, snacking on a few chips and none the wiser.

I stand in the kitchen for a few more seconds, wondering how much longer I can keep up this act in front of my family before Archer figures it out. Judging from the number of comments I've received from others, I'm not exactly making it difficult to see what's really going on.

I go into the pantry to get some napkins and clear my mind away from my mom, who's standing in front of the sink right now.

I hear my Dad enter the kitchen. I'm guessing he's coming behind my mom and wrapping his arms around her waist, like I've seen him do a million times. "Almost done?" He asks. "I've got my meat ready for you."

There's a sound of my mom gasping and smacking him away. "You pervert. Get out of my kitchen," she says, laughing and swatting him with what sounds like a kitchen towel.

"What?" He asks woundedly. "I was talking about the ribs I finished grilling for dinner. Baby, it's Thanksgiving. Get your head out of the gutter."

My mom laughs, then I hear them kiss. More than kiss. Tongues, a scandalized laugh, a quiet moan. It's the most disgusting thing I've ever heard in my life.