Chapter 34 #2
Harper peeks around Taylor at me with her big blue eyes, then shakes her head.
“Aww, Bunny–”
“It’s fine,” I reassure Taylor. “I think this is like the fifth time we’ve ever met. I’d be shocked if she did remember me.”
“I know, but still,” Taylor says with a grunt as she straightens back up.
“Hi, Oliver,” Stephanie says as she approaches. Brooke follows close behind, still watching Oliver warily. “I’m Steph, DEADNAME’s sister.”
“Hi, Steph, nice to meet you,” Oliver shakes her hand.
“Mommy, that’s him,” Brooke whispers loudly. “See? You see his hair? It’s long.”
“Yes, honey, I see,” Steph says to Brooke, then shakes her head as she looks back to Oliver and me. “Apologies in advance for anything my little gremlins have to say. There are three of them—you’ve met Brooke, but Aiden and Cooper are mine, as well.”
Oliver nods. “Yes, I met Brooke and Aiden outside.”
“That’s Megan and our Aunt Lisa,” Steph continues, gesturing to my sister-in-law and aunt who are actively grilling over the stove. “And this is Ashlynn.”
“I hope you remember all those names—there will be a test later,” Ashlynn teases, swishing her glass of wine.
“Well, it’s a good thing I studied!” Oliver replies with a wink.
Ashlynn laughs. “I like this one, DEADNAME. You should keep him.”
“Right?” Taylor says. “So, Oliver, what is your major?”
Oliver hesitates. “Well, technically—”
“Psychology,” I blurt. “That’s how we met. We have a class together.”
Oliver clears his throat, then nods. “Yep.”
“It’s only his first semester,” I continue. “He’s a year behind me.”
“Ooh, you like ‘em young, huh, DEADNAME?” Ashlynn says with a chuckle.
“Aww, psych is fun!” Taylor exclaims. “When I first started college, I was a psych major, too! But at some point, I switched it to Elementary Education. I couldn’t imagine not being a teacher.”
“That’s cool,” Oliver replies.
“Do you know what you want to do yet?” Ashlynn asks.
Oliver glances at me before answering. “Honestly, not really,” he says. “But I feel like psychology is the right place to start. I want to help people, so I think learning how people tick would definitely help.”
“That sounds like DEADNAME,” Taylor says with a smile. “Aren’t you pursuing something similar?”
Oliver smirks at me, but I ignore him. “Kind of—I’m going for a social work degree.”
“That’s basically the same thing,” Ashlynn says.
My eye twitches. “Not exactly. Social work is actually—”
“Hey, Ash,” Austin’s deep voice rumbles from nearby, and then he appears in the doorframe of the kitchen. “Mason wants you, and no one else will do.”
“Of course,” Ashlynn says with a sigh. “But, hey, this is DEADNAME’s boyfriend, Oliver. Have you met yet?”
“No, not yet,” Austin replies, extending a large hand to Oliver. “I’m Austin. Nice to put a face to the name.”
“Likewise, man!” Oliver says, shaking his hand.
“Hey, do you want to come meet more of the kids?” Ashlynn asks. “And I think the rest of the guys are in the living room, too.”
Oliver turns to me, and I nod. “Sure!”
We follow Austin and Ashlynn into the living room, where the lighting is far less harsh than in the kitchen.
Seated on the floor, watching TV, are my oldest niece, Madison, who is holding three-year-old Cooper in her lap, Liam, Mason, and Mason’s older sister, Emma.
Dad is dozing in his recliner, and Uncle David is scrolling on his phone in Mom’s recliner.
The other three men are mid-conversation as we approach—Brian and Cody on the couch and Danny on a padded folding chair—but they look up as the four of us enter the room.
“Mama!” Mason cries in delight, breaking free from Liam’s hold and running towards Ashlynn.
“Hey, little man,” Ashlynn grunts as she bends down to pick Mason up.
“DEADNAME and her date are here,” Austin announces, which stirs Dad awake and draws Uncle David’s attention.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” I say, forcing a smile. “This is my boyfriend, Oliver.”
Oliver waves. “Happy Thanksgiving!”
Uncle David approaches first, matching Oliver’s height and friendly demeanor. “Happy Thanksgiving, DEADNAME,” he says, pulling me into a hug, then shaking Oliver’s hand. “Oliver, nice to meet ya. I’m David.”
“Hey, sweet girl,” Dad says, embracing me and kissing the top of my head. As he lets go, he turns to Oliver, forced to look up at him. “Welcome, Oliver. I’m Bill Cohen.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Oliver says, extending his hand to my Dad, who gives it a firm shake. “Thank you for having me.”
Brian and Cody don’t bother to get up or introduce themselves, so I gesture toward them. “That’s my brother Brian, and that’s my brother-in-law, Cody. And Danny, of course, whom we already met.”
Danny gives us another friendly wave. Brian offers a single, manly nod as a greeting. Cody doesn’t even try to be subtle as he assesses Oliver with his arms crossed.
“Gentlemen,” Oliver says, nodding at Brian and Cody.
I notice Madison ogling Oliver from the floor, and I have to suppress my smirk. “Last but not least, the kids on the floor you haven’t met yet are Madison, who is holding Cooper, and Emma.”
At the sound of her name, Emma peels her eyes from the TV for the first time since we’ve walked in the room. She gives Oliver and me a once-over, scrambles to her feet, and makes her way over to us. “Hi.”
“Hi, Emma,” I greet her. “Do you remember me?”
“I think so,” Emma replies. “You played hide-and-seek with me last time.”
I smile widely. “I did! You were much better at it than me.”
She nods. “Yeah, but it’s not your fault. I’m smaller, so I fit in more hiding spots.” She looks up at Oliver. “I don’t remember you.”
“This is Oliver,” I say, squeezing Oliver’s hand.
“Hey, Emma,” Oliver says, crouching down to his knees to match her height. “Do you still play hide-and-seek?”
Emma scrunches her nose. “You’re too big to play hide-and-seek.”
Oliver chuckles. “Yeah, maybe. Do you want to try to play something else?”
Emma considers it, then looks at me. “Hey, have you ever made a blanket fort?”
That piques my interest. “I used to when I was your age, but I haven’t in a long time. That sounds fun!”
Emma’s face lights up. “We should build a giant pillow fort that takes up the whole room.”
Aiden appears beside her. “I want to help. I’m really good at building stuff.”
“Can I help, too?” Oliver asks.
Emma nods. “We have to work together to build it big.” She turns to me again. “Do you know where all the pillows and blankets are?”
“I do,” I answer eagerly. “I’ll go see what I can find. Then maybe we can meet in the den to build it?” I point to the next room over. “That way we’re out of the way of the grown-ups.”
“Hang on,” Cody interjects, standing up from the couch. “What are we trying to build?”
“A blanket fort,” I say. “You know, like, we get some blankets to prop up over some chairs to create—”
“I know what a blanket fort is,” Cody snaps, narrowing his eyes at Oliver and me. “Let’s think of something else to do.”
Aiden frowns. “But Dad, we want to—”
“You can build a blanket fort at home,” Cody interrupts.
“Hey, man,” Austin chimes in quietly. “Why not? That could be a fun thing for them to do.”
“Yeah, bud,” Uncle David interjects. “I don’t see a problem.”
Cody’s jaw flexes. “Let’s wait until after we eat.”
I squint, trying to figure out what Cody’s hesitation is. It’s a blanket fort. It’s safe, age-appropriate, and easy to clean up. It’s not something that could possibly be politicized. Right?
“Until then, how about y’all color or something?” He looks at me. “Don’t you have some paper, crayons, stuff like that somewhere?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’ve got some stuff in my room.” I give Emma and Aiden an apologetic smile. “We’ll be right back with some art supplies, okay?”
Both kids look distraught, so I rush to the basement stairs, pulling Oliver behind me.