Page 94 of Hold Me Instead
“Am I the first one here?” Charlie asked as she took off her coat and smoothed her verdant shirt dress.
“Carl, stop testing the turkey. You’re going to eat it all!” Penelope’s voice rang through the house like a siren.
“Jesus, Pen, I’m not gonna eat an entire ten-pound turkey myself!” Carl yelled back.
“Never mind. The kids are bickering already, I hear,” Charlie said of her mom and uncle.
Amber rolled her eyes. “I got here with Dad right before your mom showed up. It’s been about twenty minutes of that while doing what Brooke asks of them.”
“Brooke hasn’t kicked them out of the kitchen yet?”
“She’s been surprisingly okay with the help.”
“Where are Elliot and Mina?”
“Right. So.” Amber glanced toward the kitchen and lowered her voice as if they could be heard over the sibling squabbles. “Brooke answered the door and said, ‘Elliot’s not coming today.’ Then she went back to the kitchen and kept making pie.”
“He’s not coming?”
“No explanation. Haven’t been able to get anything out of her either. Charlie, she made five pies. You heard right. Technically, a pie for each of us.”
“I mean, I like pie. But that’s not what you’re getting at,” Charlie said.
Amber shook her head. “Correct. Something’s wrong.”
Brooke bustled into the living room holding the baby monitor, sleeves of a lightweight black sweater shoved up her arms, hair smoothed back into a low bun. “Oh! Hey, Charlie. Happy Thanksgiving.” She pecked Charlie’s cheek. “Can one of you get Mina? She just woke up from her nap. I’d like her to wear the outfit I set on the rocking chair.”
“Sure, I’ve got her,” Amber said, raising her eyebrows at Charlie as she left the room.
“I’ve got those fancy carrots you requested.” Charlie held up her ceramic dish.
“Wonderful. Come on in.” Brooke headed to the kitchen before Charlie could say more.
“Charlotte, hi, sweetheart.” Penelope leaned over from her station at the counter to plant a kiss on her cheek, then smudged away the mauve lipstick print it left behind. Light pink painted the fair skin of her cheeks. Her golden-brown hair hung in loose curls to her shoulders, the way she’d styled it for years. “Carl, seriously, stop being an ass.”
Charlie grinned. The rare occasion when her mom cursed was toward her own brother.
Carl snickered at Penelope’s playful swat to the shoulder while savoring the bite of mashed potatoes he’d scooped from her bowl. The two stood side by side, similar in height, with Penelope’s low black pumps, in her classic look with black pants and a light blue button-down, whether she was going out or working at the department store. Carl, on the other hand, wore sneakers with jeans and a long-sleeved gray shirt with the Packers' emblem.
“Hey, Uncle Carl,” Charlie greeted, scooting into his side for the best bear hug.
“How are you, sweetie? How are the animals?”
Always the same question. “Good. How’s the team?”
He winked. “Good.”
“Can’t have one day without them, even if they aren’t playing,” Penelope muttered.
“Hey, I wore my dress tee today.” Carl pointed to the emblem, small over his pec. “See? Subtle.”
Charlie, and her mom with reluctance, laughed. Brooke, on the other hand, stayed focused on shuffling around the kitchen.
“So put me to work,Brooke—”
Brooke’s hands guided Charlie by the shoulders to a handful of apples on the counter. “Peel, slice. The rest is already mixed together. Crust is here.”
“Apple pie?” Charlie asked, remembering what Amber had said.
