Chapter 15- Skyler
MY TINY ONE-BEDROOM apartment has been overrun by the Dillingers.
With my folks on the stove and Gramps on the couch―my kitchen, dining area, and living room are all one long space―I don’t have room to breathe.
Usually, I enjoy the scent of Thanksgiving foods, but not when your parents insist on taking over every surface in your apartment.
Gramps is watching a dog show while chatting with my sister on his phone.
Between that, the pots and pans, and my parents reading online recipes out loud, the noise level here makes a drag brunch sound like a convent.
The only thing that concerns me is making the place look presentable. That means scrubbing every surface as my family makes little food-related messes everywhere. My boyfriend―the guy I’m rapidly falling for―will be over any minute for Thanksgiving dinner.
I’m tying my green tie as I walk out of my room. Turning to my left, I notice a heap of dirty dishes. “Mom, I just cleaned the sink,” I say with a frown.
“We need space for the stuffing to cool,” Mom remarks.
“And for our famous Dillinger holiday marble cake,” Dad adds. “Speaking of which, you got a spare set of hands―use ’em.”
He thrusts the bowl at me, smearing chocolate on my black button- down. Fortunately, I intend on wearing a sweater over it; otherwise, I’d be pissed. “Now don’t stop stirring!” Dad says with a finger wag.
Okay, now I’m annoyed. My small but quiet personal space has been taken over, and I’m forced to do my parents’ bidding. I stir as Mom recites another recipe aloud, and I try not to glower at my folks. All of this hubbub is exactly why I never moved back to Arizona. I love my family from a distance.
I would be furious if I were in the presence of―
DING-DONG.
The doorbell rings, and my eyebrows jump. Mom quickly goes to my door and answers it before I can stop her. There’s only one person it can be, but I’m too panicked to react.
“There he is!” Dad says as Mom opens the door.
“Reed, honey, come on in!” Mom chirps.
“Hi, everyone.” The monster man of my dreams gives a slight nod and bow before Mom pulls him in for a hug.
He looks almost as uncomfortable as I feel.
I’m so embarrassed I can barely appreciate how mighty fine he looks in an orange sweater vest and white shirt that hugs his muscly arms. The handsome dude exchanges a look with me and says, “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Reed. You’re here early!”
“Your sister texted me to come at this time,” he says as Mom finally lets go.
“What?” I yelp. I turn around and march up to the phone in Gramps’s hand. “Eartha!”
“Mom told me to.” My sister shrugs in the tiny screen.
“And I exchanged their numbers,” Gramps says with a proud grin. “I dropped it through the air. Who’s bad at technology, now?” He guffaws, and I frown.
“Don’t stop stirring, Skyler!” Dad hollers.
I return to the kitchen area, stirring the bowl in my hands, to stand next to Reed at the table. He’s putting down a large box on the only unoccupied surface.
“Hey, I was told to bring a dessert?” he says, like he’s asking for approval.
“What do you got, young man?” Dad beams at him as he stirs a pot of collard greens. “Some yaksik sticky rice? I looked up that Korean dessert!”
My face burns hot. “Dad,” I whine.
Reed chuckles. “No, it’s pumpkin pie.”
“Even better!” Dad chirps.
“Well, I think the turkey is almost done!” Mom takes off her frilly apron to reveal a sweater with a cartoon turkey on it. “Now, Reed and I can chat.”
“Chat?” I hope my tone conveys how mortified I am.
“Why do you think I invited him so early? I wanna get to know your boyfriend!” Mom takes him by the hand, and Reed seems both bewildered and amused.
“Wha-wha-what?” I stammer.
“Food’s almost done!” Mom says with a smile. She looks up at Reed and adds, “We would’ve been done sooner, but Sky wouldn’t let us sleep over. Instead, we’re at a smelly hotel.”
“I only have one room!” I retort. I look at Reed and cringe. “Sorry my place is so tiny. I’ve been meaning to move into a new apartment, but…”
“It’s cool,” my boyfriend replies. He looks up and adds, “It’s, like, cozy.”
I frown; cozy is just another, more polite way to say tiny.
“Can I show you baby pictures of my baby boy?” Mom sits Reed down on the couch next to Gramps.
“Um, sure.” Reed shoots me a cordial smile. Mom takes out a giant leatherbound tome I recognize as an album of my childhood photos. Meanwhile, I wonder if the floor of my apartment can swallow me whole.
“You brought that?” I squeak.
“But of course, I don’t go anywhere without it,” Mom says, opening to the first page. “Now here’s Sky’s baby butt in the bathtub.”
I groan and Dad takes the bowl from my hands. “If you’re not gonna stir it, it won’t be right. Why don’t you go get dressed?” Dad says with another finger wag.
Glancing down, I’m unpleased to say that my shirt is wrinkled now. “I should…probably get a new shirt.”
“It’s cool,” Reed says. “Take your time.” His precious smile calms me down. I can almost ignore Gramps yelling at the TV and the loud stove exhaust. Mom flipping to more pages of me as a baby, however, makes me irritated again. So, I dash into my small bedroom before I get even more aggravated.
Fifteen minutes and several wardrobe changes later, I reappear in the living area in a gold-and-black plaid shirt.
My self-consciousness evaporates when Reed turns his attention to me.
The pleasant surprise on his face is flattering, and a small part of me wants to spend every Thanksgiving with him.
“Wow, you look great,” Reed says from the couch.
“Why thank you,” I purr. I saddle up onto the couch armrest and touch his shoulder. He taps my hand, then Mom turns a page in the book in Reed’s lap.
“And here’s my baby boy at senior prom with the fellow he was dating at the time,” she says with glee.
Reed laughs, and even I have to titter seeing my teenage self, golden side-bangs and all. “Wow,” Reed says. “You were too cute.”
“Long hair, didn’t care,” I say, and we all laugh.
“You were the only gay couple to go to prom that year, right?” Mom asks with a smile.
“Of course. In case the two boys holding hands wasn’t a giveaway, the rainbow stickers are a nice touch.” I point at the decorations in the scrapbook, and Mom chuckles.
“You didn’t care that he was gay?” Reed asks.
“Of course not. We love our Sky Baby, and we always want him to be his authentic self.”
“Aw, Mom.” My voice is only mildly chiding, mostly proud. As far as parents go, it could have been worse.
“And now he has you, a cute Asian man,” Mom remarks, patting Reed on the cheek.
I clear my throat while my face burns. “I don’t…see race,” I mutter. We don’t need to remind Reed of how White and loud my family is. “Besides, we’ve only been dating for a few weeks.”
“But I know you’re not gonna let this one go, Sky Baby.” Mom cuddles closer to Reed. “Look how handsome he is!”
A pained laugh escapes my lips. Reed, meanwhile, keeps glancing between me and Mom. Before I can say more, Gramps leans forward with the phone.
“I’m surprised you didn’t end up dating a monster shifter, or whatever you call them,” Gramps says.
“Gramps!” I whine.
“What? You love sea monsters,” he says.
“It’s true,” my sister adds on the screen. “You were like, always obsessed with tentacle men.”
“Eartha!” I yelp. “Don’t you have a husband to attend to?”
“Oh yeah, I do! Bye, everyone.”
The call shuts off, and Mom leans forward. “Don’t you worry, Reed. Our Sky Baby won’t hold it against you just because you’re not one of them monster men.”
Reed glances at me and shifts in the seat. “Um, as a matter of fact…well, I am.” He looks at each of my family members. “I’m a sea monster.”
After a long, quiet pause, Mom asks, “Really?”
“That makes sense,” Gramps murmurs.
Before I can chastise them more, the sound of the oven door closing grabs our attention. “Thanksgiving dinner is served! Come on down! Gobble gobble!” Dad hollers.
Gramps shuts off the TV, and he and Mom join Dad in the kitchen.
“I’m so sorry about them,” I whisper to Reed.
“It’s cool,” he replies, dripping in discomfort. Great. The Dillinger family is scaring away my dream man in record time.
Dinner is uneventful, thank monster god.
Dad talks about his job and asks Reed about life as a hospital administrator.
The turkey is delicious, and the marble cake and pumpkin pie are the perfect way to end the meal.
We go around saying what we’re thankful for, and Reed declares that he’s thankful to meet everyone at the table since we’re so generous.
As sweet as that is, I can tell when my boyfriend is uncomfortable.
I’m afraid I’ve overwhelmed him with the people who raised me.
After the family leaves that night, Reed volunteers to help me wash the dishes. Perfect, this is my chance to apologize for how loud and abrasive the Dillingers are. Hopefully he believes that I’m the cool, chill one, and I’ll stay that way.
“Are you okay?” I ask as he scrubs a pan.
“Yup.” He quietly continues cleaning, and I try not to freak out. He’s uncharacteristically withdrawn, and I hate it.
We spend a couple more minutes cleaning up. He washes while I dry and put away leftovers. It’s eerily silent after the long day of noise. I refuse to let this cold shoulder go on.
“Listen, we never have to see them again,” I blurt.
Reed puts away the last dish and raises an eyebrow at me. “Pardon?”
I wave my hands around. “I know my family is…a lot. They’re the reason I left Arizona and never looked back.”
“Huh?” He snaps off the rubber gloves and continues to give me a perplexed look.
“I just don’t think you should hold it against me. I swear, we only minimally have to interact with them.” I put my hands on his shoulders. “Or better yet, pretend today never happened.”
“Why would I wanna do that?”
Shrugging, I look around. “You’re clearly freaking out. Understandable, because my family is so loud. Unless this is about my shithole of an apartment. I promise, we don’t have to hang out here anymore.”
“I don’t care about your apartment.” He looks up at the kitchen exhaust one foot above him. “It seems fine to me.”
“It’s too small. And the Dillingers occupying it made it even smaller.”
“How so?” he asks.
“They can be annoying.”
“Skyler, I like your apartment and your family.”
“Really? Then why are you so tense?”
Reed sighs and sits down at the kitchen table. “My parents barely talk to me.”
“What?” I slide a chair next to him as he stares at his hands.
“Skyler, my parents would rather return to Korea and never look back than talk to their monster son.”
“Monster son?”
He shakes his head. “They don’t like monsters.
It was always so awkward when Ryan and I talked about our shifting growing up.
The Halloween Wave fractured an already cold family.
And they particularly don’t like that their only grandson is a shifter.
And worst of all, I’m gay, so they think I’m the biggest failure of all. ”
My heart breaks as sorrow drips from his words. “Reed.”
He closes his eyes. “My parents don’t like Ryan or Aisen, but they especially don’t want to see me.” His fists clench, and I put my hand on his back. “You’re so lucky, Sky. I don’t have a family who will ever be thankful for me,” he rasps.
Oh.
This whole time, I wanted my folks to tone it down, when in actuality, Reed wishes his parents were like mine.
“Baby.” I rub his back. “It’s okay.”
“I’m sorry.” He sniffs and wipes his face. “I just miss celebrating a proper Thanksgiving. I would be honored to have half the family and love you have, Sky. A big house doesn’t mean anything without people who love you in it.”
I’m falling in love with you. The words almost leave my mouth, but I hold back. Instead, I wipe his tears and kiss his cheek. Holding him close, I say, “You, Reed Sung, are the one I’m thankful for the most.”
“Really?”
I snicker as my eyes burn with tears. “Yeah. I want you to have all the family love you want, okay?”
He nods and rubs my hand. “If you don’t mind dating a guy who keeps crying.”
We both laugh. “I’ll see your occasional displays of sadness and raise you one family that doesn’t have any boundaries.”
“Deal,” he replies.
And that’s how we spend the next two hours.
We cuddle close on the couch, watching random old TV shows and giving each other all the affirmations we need.
We build each other up, and it’s the healthiest I’ve ever felt with a guy.
He has to work in the morning, so when we’re done, I reluctantly bid him goodnight.
As he’s leaving right before midnight, we share a long, lingering kiss at my doorway.
There’s still so much to learn about each other. But if this kraken already accepts my family, I can’t see a future where I don’t want to include him. I pray he’s taking this as seriously as I am, because I’m certainly falling in love with Reed Sung, little by little.