Chapter 17
seventeen
Tate
Ithought seeing my family this week would be the worst part of the break, but it turns out Casey Hill is. I haven’t stopped thinking about running into her since it happened, and I think Fletcher felt the awkwardness the whole way to my house.
“Am I coming in with you?” He looks at me as he turns off the car. This time, he parks in his own driveway since not everyone is here for Christmas.
“No, it’s okay. You’ll have to see them tomorrow; you don’t need to suffer right now, too.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” I rub my hands on my jeans, but I still feel his eyes on me. “What?”
“Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know, you’ve just seemed off since we ran into Casey at Jewel.”
“Do you think she was acting kind of passive toward me?” Part of me didn’t know if I even wanted to ask the question, but when she brought up my music, I don’t know, it seemed kind of condescending.
“No.” He shakes his head. “What do you mean? I thought she was nice. She just asked how the music was going.”
“She asked me how the music thing was working out.”
“And?”
“And the tone was kind of weird.”
“I think you’re just worried about seeing your parents because you know they’re going to ask you about it, and because of that, you felt like there was something more behind her question.”
I lick my lips and then look over at him.
“Maybe you’re right. It’s probably just in my head.”
I want to smack him in the face. If there was one flaw Fletcher had, aside from being annoyingly oblivious most of the time, it would be that he’s too quick to see the good in people.
Maybe because of how I grew up, I never learned to trust in the same way he did, but sometimes it’s annoying.
I guess when you have two moms who are always telling you to see the best in people because they were fostering kids who didn’t grow up the way you did, it’s kind of hard to not see the best in everyone.
“So, you’d be down to go out with Casey the night before we head back to campus?” He smiles. “I texted her while you ran to the bathroom and told her we were leaving on the 28th in the afternoon, and she suggested getting together on the 27th.”
“Um, I’m not sure. I’ll have to see what the plan is with my sister being in town and everything.”
“No problem. I’ll let her know you’re a maybe.”
“Thanks. Um, I should probably get inside before my mom blows a gasket.”
I unbuckle my seatbelt and grab my bag from the trunk. I don’t say anything else to Fletcher; I just wave as I head up the steps to the front door. I grab my key from the front pocket of my bag and let myself in, dropping my bag by the stairs.
“I’m home!” I yell out.
No one responds, but I hear voices in the kitchen, so I walk that way.
It’s strange how different it is walking into my house versus Fletcher’s house. His house was loud. Kids were running around, and pans were clanking together.
There was so much love.
My house seems cold. Everyone standing in the kitchen looks so put together, drinking white wine.
The conversations are happening at a mellow volume, with soft jazz music filling the silence.
I feel underdressed, like an outsider. I didn’t realize I had to wear my Sunday best to my own house.
“Tatum.” My mom smiles. She walks toward me and wraps her arms around me.
This is new.
My mom isn’t necessarily a bad person; she’s just never been one for affection.
“Mom.” She holds onto my shoulders as she steps back from the hug.
“Do you want to go get cleaned up?” she asks.
“I’m okay, thanks.”
“Alright.” I can tell from the look on her face that it’s anything but alright. “We’ve got company. You know Ethan. These are his parents, Arthur and Lucille.”
“Barely,” I mumble under my breath as I walk the rest of the way into the kitchen. “It’s nice to meet you guys.”
I give them each a handshake because I feel like that’s the proper thing to do in this situation.
“Nice to meet you.” Lucille squeezes my hand the way my grandmother used to. “You look just like your mother and sister. It’s uncanny.”
“Thank you.” I smile. “I get that all the time.”
“Hi, Tater-tot.” My dad’s arms swallow me, and I sink into them. This seems a little more natural. Although I don’t see them often, before my dad allowed himself to get sucked into his work, he was this affectionate and loving dad.
“Hi, Dad.” After he releases me, I look at Naomi, who is grinning ear to ear. “Hey, Nomes.”
“Hi, Tate. Sorry, I missed you at Thanksgiving. If I had known Mom and Dad were going to be gone sooner, we would’ve come out this way. Or at least invited you to spend it with us.”
This surprises me. We’ve never been close.
I mean, we love each other and tolerate one another, but we’ve never been the type of sisters who do each other’s hair and makeup.
I don’t know if she’s just saying this because Ethan’s family is here, or if she actually would have tried to make it out here.
“It’s okay, I spent it with Fletcher and his family.”
“Is that your boyfriend?” Arthur looks at me, and I’m lucky I’m not already drinking some wine because I would’ve choked on it.
“Oh, no. He’s my best friend. We practically grew up together. He and his family live next door, so I basically lived there when I was younger and my parents were at work. You’ll meet him tomorrow.”
“They’re the really large family that was playing in the snow when you all arrived.” My mom’s voice is stoic as if their large family is a bad thing. Maybe it is for a woman who has two kids but probably should have had none.
“Oh.” Ethan’s minimal response doesn’t seem to give my mom the response she was hoping for.
“Their house won’t be as crazy as usual tomorrow since some of his older siblings won’t be there, but it’ll still be a pretty full house.”
“Will Chase and Stella be there?” Naomi reaches out for my hand. I’m honestly surprised she even knows their names. “If they are, honey, you’ll absolutely love Chase. You’ll get along great.”
“Yeah, they will be. Chase is the only older sibling who will be at dinner tomorrow.”
“How’re they doing?” I don’t know what’s happened to my sister, but she actually seems interested in my response to these questions. It's not like she’s just asking them to seem like a good person.
This is weird.
“They’re good. They’re actually having a baby. Oh, I’m not sure if I should have said that. I’m assuming both of their families know by now, but I don’t know if they want the news out yet.”
“I won’t say a thing.” She fakes zipping her lips shut and throws away the key. “I didn’t realize they got married.”
“They’re not.” I shake my head.
“Well, good for them. Chase always seemed like a good kid when he came home.” My dad pats my back.
“Yeah.” I rock back and forth, hoping for a change in conversation, but instead, the kitchen falls silent. “Oh, um, I meant to text you, but time just got away from me. Congratulations on your engagement. Your ring is beautiful.”
“Oh, thank you. We’re really happy, and I wasn’t expecting it at all, so.”
“Do you guys have any idea when the wedding will be?”
“No. We’re gonna soak this in for a little while and then probably start planning in the Spring or something like that.”
“Well, I’m really happy for you guys.” I give Naomi a hug, another thing I rarely do, but it feels like the moment calls for it. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go get settled in.”
“Oh, about that.” My mom stops me. “Naomi and Ethan are actually staying in your room while they’re here.”
“Why not Naomi’s old room?” I tilt my head.
“Arthur and Lucille are staying in Naomi’s old room.”
“And the guest room?”
“Well, Naomi’s room became the new guest room, and the guest room became my office. All of my files, cases, and everything are in there from when I work from home.”
“You work from home?” My eyebrows pop up. Has that always been an option for her? Probably something she should’ve done when I was a little kid, but, you know, to each their own.
“Not often, but sometimes I do. It’s mainly just for me to have a space to go to get work done after I get home.”
“So, where am I sleeping?”
“We just got a new couch in the basement. It’s quite comfortable; your dad’s fallen asleep on it a few times while watching movies down there.”
“Alright.”
I don’t argue. I know it won’t help, and honestly, maybe being in the basement will be better. I can hide out from everyone.
“I’m gonna go shower and then head to the basement and sleep, I guess.”
“Naomi will come grab you when dinner’s ready.”
“Sounds good, Mom.” I give everyone a small wave.
“Welcome home, Tater-tot!” My dad yells after me.
I wish I could say it felt like I was home.
Unfortunately, this place hasn’t felt like home since the day we moved in.
It’s the people that make a place a home… and it’s pretty hard for a six-year-old to do that by herself.