Page 17 of Stay With Me

CHAPTER8

CHARLIE

The frigid November air bites at my exposed skin while I stand on Trina’s front porch, taking a few deep breaths before I go in. I need to shake the negative vibes from Thanksgiving lunch at my parents’ house before I see Trina and Emily.

No one from my mom’s side of the family came to my parents’ today—they rarely have. Her parents have been gone for a few years and her only sibling, my aunt Sylvia, lives in Arizona and doesn’t get along with my dad. Go figure.

So, it was me, my parents, my dad’s parents, my two uncles and their wives, and my cousin Carl and his fiancée. And it was miserable. Theonlyreason I even went was because it was important to my mom.

Just as I’m about to reach for the door handle to go in, the door swings open and I’m greeted by a smiling Emily. Damn, she looks pretty today with her long honey blond locks pulled up into a high ponytail, minimal makeup, and wearing anElladine Fire Departmentsweatshirt. I like the look of that on her more than I should.

“What are you doing standing out here? It’s twenty-nine degrees. You’re gonna freeze.” Emily’s smile is radiant as she steps back so I can walk in.

As soon as I step over the threshold, mouth-watering aromas of roasted turkey and spices tease my sense of smell. The welcoming heat of the house warms my cool skin, and the familiar crackling sound of burning wood draws my attention to Trina’s family room on my left, where she has a toasty fire roaring in the fireplace.

“It smells divine in here, Emily. Damn.” I remove my boots and winter jacket and slide on the slippers I keep here.

“Thanks. You’re a little earlier than we expected, so you’re in time for dinner. I hope you saved some room.”

As if on cue, my stomach lets out a growl and Emily chuckles.

“I guess I did.”

I force a laugh, but I don’t tell her I hardly ate anything at my parents’ because my appetite was almost non-existent there. It started with irritation and an exchange of angry words with my dad for how he was treating my mom—dismissive, subservient. But as my uncles and my grandparents arrived, I realized every Fitzgerald man present has, over time, diminished the woman they supposedly love. And the women weren’t always this way. It’s nauseating.

My mom and my aunts are intelligent, talented women, and they were once vibrant beings. But, over the years, they’ve all become smaller for the sake of keeping the peace in their marriages.

When my cousin, Carl, and his fiancée, a successful medical researcher, arrived and we were chatting, it was obvious it’s happening to her as well.

I literally had to excuse myself and go to the restroom because I thought I was going to vomit and I needed a moment to tamp down the anger I felt at witnessing the misogyny.

Carl proved it’s not just a generational thing. It’s a familial—hell, maybe even a genetic—thing. Fitzgerald men destroy the women who love them. And I’m a Fitzgerald man…

“Hello? Earth to Charlie.” Emily waves her hand in front of my face and draws me out of my stupor. Her mouth turns down at the corners and she tilts her head, concern filling her gorgeous blue eyes. “Where’s your head at today? You’re not being yourself.”

I clear my throat.

“Sorry. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” I smile to reassure her everything is okay. “Now, lead me to the food. I’m dying for an Emily Flynn Thanksgiving meal.”

She narrows her eyes at me for several drawn out seconds, then says, “C’mon, then. Let’s fill that belly.” When she says “belly,” she pokes me in my abdomen and her eyes widen when her finger meets my muscles and there’s no give. I’m secretly pleased. Recovering quickly, she spins around and heads out of the room.

When I get to the dining room, Trina is just finishing setting the table and looks up.

“Hey, you made it early. How was your lunch at your parents’?” She raises her brow and gives me a knowing look.

“Eh. I survived. But a good best friend would have gone with me.” It’s clear from my tone that I’m teasing her.

“Hell no. And risk running into that jerk cousin of yours you fixed me up with. No thanks.”

I can’t help but laugh out loud. “Well, he was there. So, maybe it’s better you weren’t. And, in my defense, I didn’t realize he was such a jerk when I set you up.”

“How come you never set me up with anyone? I’m single now,” Emily says as she takes her seat at the table.

I glance up at her, a little dumbfounded and unable to speak. The thought of setting her up with someone doesn’t sit well with me. I remain speechless while I try to figure out what this is I’m feeling. Hell, who am I kidding? I know exactly what it is, it’s jealousy thinking about her being with someone else when she’s off limits to me.

Thankfully, Trina chimes in. “Um, maybe because neither of us would let any of the single guys he knows within ten feet of you.”

Emily huffs and drops it as she reaches for the turkey, taking some before passing the platter along.

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