Life Happens | ONC 2024

Chapter 9

❅ Thanksgiving.

LEX

When I let Olivia know that I was going to Thanksgiving at Blanche's, she basically auto-invited herself.

After having a cup of coffee together, and chatting a couple times through the app, she glued herself to me. Sometimes she was a welcome distraction from all the shit going on with Blanche, but at work, she was beginning to get on my nerves.

She sauntered over to me in the office and tried to hug me, then she brought me a coffee from the break room without preamble. I know she's just trying to be nice, but it's going too fast. The other guys are starting to look at me strangely, and I don't like the attention it draws.

There is a reason my walls are sky high and I keep people at a distance. I can deal with socializing, but only in little doses, and I normally have Blanche as my buffer between them and me.

And so I find myself on Thanksgiving evening on the Sawyers' doorstep. Bringing a date to dinner, and I haven't let Blanche know beforehand. Recipe for disaster, but I'm just rolling with the punches at this point.

"Lex." Blanche smiles at me as she opens the door. Her eyes widen when she takes in Olivia and, in a softer tone, greets her. "Olivia."

This is going to be awkward.

She's wearing a wide skirt with a Thanksgiving inspired print. Turkeys, cranberries, fall colors splashed all over and she paired it with a white blouse. The apron over the ensemble is one of Hotcakes. To be honest, she looks incredible.

I feel guilty for not even acknowledging the dress Olivia wears, as I'm still annoyed at the whole stunt she pulled on me.

"Is there a place for an extra one at the table?" I ask, burying my hands in the front pockets of my jeans and averting my eyes.

Olivia immediately stares daggers at me, while Blanche has visibly paled in the entryway to her house.

Yup. Can't get one right lately, heh?

"Who's there, pumpkin?" Joe yells from inside.

"Lex." Blanche responds. "He brought someone."

"Well," Joe appears behind her. "What are you waiting for? Invite them in. What's one extra mouth to feed?" He winks at Olivia and outstretches his arms in welcoming.

Joe has always been a great person. It took him some time after losing his wife to cancer to deal with his grief and raising a teenage daughter on his own. He's done a marvelous job and I envy sometimes the relationship they have. I've never known what it is to have a warm and welcoming family to come home to until I met Blanche.

"I'm Olivia." She seems more content when greeting Blanche's father and follows him inside while Blanche and I are frozen in the hallway.

"You could have let me know," Blanche finally mutters.

"Sorry, I completely forgot." I mumble back. I shrug my shoulders together and contain the urge to start fiddling with my hands and keep them stiff into my pockets.

She responds to me with a saddened nod and turns around on her heel before making her way back to the kitchen.

It takes me a second to inhale and exhale deeply before I follow everyone into the house. I keep fucking up, as blundering isn't the word to describe all the disastrous decisions I've been making lately.

The smell of incredible cooking is the first thing that I notice as I reach the living room through the archway from the hallway. It's divided into two sections, the dining area where the table is set in fall colors and candles are lit to give a cozy feel, and a seated area where Marisol and Olivia are being served appetizers and bubbly. Even with everything out of balance, there is a serenity about coming together and enjoying a festive meal.