Page 94 of Let's Get Textual

Figures—men and their automobiles.

As I approach the car, he rolls down the window and out pops Marshmallow’s head.

“Psst. Hey, we have candy in here,” Zach says, grinning.

“Um, excuse me, you have a goat in there. I’ll get in for a goatwaybefore I get in for candy.”

Zach mocks offense while Marshmallow makes a loud high-pitched noise and does that cute sloppy goat grin he does.

I slide into the passenger seat and take Marshy off Zach’s hands.

“I can’t believe you brought him.”

“I didn’t want him to miss out on pizza. Plus, he missed you.”

“He missed me? Or you did?”

“Okay, it was me. I can’t believe we haven’t seen each other in a week,again. Our schedules are shit,” he complains.

“They are, but Thanksgiving is coming up and I’m sure we’ll be—” I clamp my mouth shut.

I almost made plans with Zach—holidayplans. That’s getting serious, and I don’t know about getting serious.

I bury my nose in Marshmallow’s fur, snuggling him close as a distraction.

Zach doesn’t let me get away with it.

“Were you trying to say we’ll be spending Thanksgiving together, Delia?”

I give the goat another hug.

“Stop hugging the goat.” Zach plucks him from my arms and sets him in the back seat on the dog pillow he has back there.

“But he’s so soft,” I whine.

“What were you saying about Thanksgiving?”

“I…hell, Zach, I don’t know. I guess I was unintentionally making holiday plans with you. We haven’t been dating long and we’re nowhere near the meet-the-family stage, so I’m not sure why I said anything at all.”

“I see. And what if I were to ask you to spend Thanksgiving with me and my family? Would you turn me down?”

My eyes shoot to his. He’s being serious. He wants me to spend Thanksgiving with him.

“No.”

The word falls out of my mouth, and I can’t take it back.

But I don’t want to. I mean it—Idowant to spend Thanksgiving with him. Call me nuts, call me stupid, call me whatever the hell you want, but spending time with Zach has quickly become my favorite thing to do. There’s no way I’ll say no to him.

“Delia, would you like to spend Thanksgiving with me? Meet my parents, my brother?”

The family. I have to meet the family.Fuck.

“It’s only my stepmom, dad, and younger brother, no one else. We keep Thanksgiving small. It’s close to the anniversary of my mom’s death, so we don’t go all out.”

That breaks my heart. After all these years, after another marriage, they still pay their respects to his mom.

“I don’t want to intrude.”

---