Page 8 of Thankful
“Just say what you gon’ say so I can go, Brix.”
Another deep sigh comes. She drives a hard bargain, but that’s to be expected. I have to remember that I’m at her mercy here. I need her, not the other way around.
I clear my throat and say, “So, I did something this year that I haven’t done in years – I took Thanksgiving week off work. My parents are flying in, and I would like for us to have dinner together–you know, as a family.”
“Okay…? What does that have to do with me?”
“Family includes you, Cyn.”
The line is eerily quiet before I hear an outburst of laughter. I mean, she’s straight belly laughing, too. She’s probably laughing so hard, she has tears in her eyes.
“You—you think—” She can hardly talk for laughing. “Brix, have you been exposed to them anesthesia fumes or something?”
“Cyn–”
“Because Iknowyou done sniffed something if you think I’m stepping either one of these size eights into your house.”
Frustrated by her lack of concern, I sigh and ask, “Can you see past your disdain for me for five minutes and hear me out?”
“Um, that would be aheck no. Bye, Brix.”
“Cyn, come on. I need this.”
“Why?”
I don’t want to tell her, but I fear that if I don’t offer her some kind of explanation, she won’t consider my request.
I respond, “My parents—they, uh—”
“Spit it out, Brix.”
“They don’t know we’re not together anymore.”
“Wait–what? You didn’t tell them?”
“No.”
“Really, Brix. So, you’ve been lying to them all this time?”
“I haven’t been lying—just not telling the truth.”
“What the—? Why wouldn’t you tell them?”
“I didn’t want them to see me as a failure. I don’t fail at anything.”
“But you did. You failed. They should know we’re not together anymore. This is crazy.”
“Look, I’ll tell them at the end of the year, after the holidays, but for right now, I don’t want to ruin their time here. I want everything to be perfect, so could you please—just thisonetime—do this favor for me? I hate to sound like I’m begging, but I am. And I’m desperate. I wouldn’t reach out to you like this if I wasn’t.”
A deep sigh comes through the line, along with something she grumbled that I couldn’t quite make out. “And what exactly are you asking me to do, Brix?”
“Well, they’re flying in the day before Thanksgiving and flying out that Sunday. I need you to stay with me for that time and act as if we’re still together.”
“Nope. No, sir. Not going to happen.”
“Cyn, it’s less than a week.”
“I cannot pretend I’m in love with you in front of them and front like everything is okay between us when it’s not. No. No way.”
