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Annette walked over to Eva, who was waiting at the door to the kitchen, and threw her arms out as she said, “Eva, every time I see you, you get even more beautiful.”
Under his breath, Dwayne said to Rakell, “And a lot less dressed.”
Rakell smiled and whispered, “Maybe this is karma for how you spent your early adulthood.”
Dwayne huffed, “Shut up, I don’t believe in that shit."
Rakell chuckled. “Me either, or I’d be…well…”
Dwayne wiggled his eyebrows. “You’re dating Skyler, so there’s your karma.”
The chatter around the table continued to escalate as everyone tried talking over everyone else. Uncle Joe said grace, which ended with Georgia’s rousing “Amen,” kicking off the meal.
Rakell warmed when she glanced at Cameron in his noise-blocking headphones as he devoured the no-longer-secret stash of chicken nuggets she’d brought. Sitting next to him, Cassie put a roll on his plate. He looked at it, then moved it to the edge away from the nuggets and corn as if that were its assigned place. Cassie nodded as if she approved of the roll’s placement. Then her eyes caught Rakell’s focused stare, and she explained, “He just likes everything to be in its place. It makes him feel safer.”
Cassie was clearly Cameron’s ambassador in the world. Thinking about that made Rakell’s chest swell. “I totally get that,” Rakell murmured, hoping her face conveyed how impressed she was by Cassie.
Then Cassie leaned forward, her eyes darting around, her eyebrows up, her expression signaling that her next words were secretive and important. “Aunt K, did you know religion is for men who are trying to keep women down?”
Rakell grabbed her wine and took a big gulp, trying to suppress a laugh. “Is that so? I guess I hadn’t thought about that, but…” she said, searching her brain for the right answer.
She watched Tom twist in his chair, his face reddening. “Cassie…” he groaned. “What are you talking about?”
“I heard Mom say that on the phone,” Cassie said, setting her fork down, her hands going to her hips.
Melissa’s eyes circled the nearby people at the table, almost purposefully skimming over Tom, narrowing on her daughter. “Cassie, don’t repeat stuff you hear.” Melissa’s voice was clipped with reprimand. Then she altered her expression, sifting in a quick breath of air, infusing her next statement with earnestness, “We can talk about that later.”
Rakell noted that Melissa didn’t try to deny saying it, making Rakell internally thrust her fist up in solidarity. Her thoughts on religion weren’t concrete. But you’d have to be living under a rock not to see the gaslighting of women coming from religious circles.
Tom’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, is that what your mother is saying?”
It was hard to ignore his derisive tone and how Melissa shifted her gaze away from his face dismissively. Is it just a matter of time before Melissa leaves? That afternoon they’d spent by the pool had given Rakell a new view of Jake’s sister as she’d hinted at having walked away from her first love because, on paper, he couldn’t compare to Tom. She’d expounded by saying that people should pay attention to how you feel about yourself when you're with someone, that if you start doubting yourself, not thinking you're good enough, that’s probably a sign that you're with the wrong person. She’d said, “I’m going to drill that into Cassie when she gets older.”
“Aunt K, we want to see you in a movie.” Jasmine squealed, her face lit up with anticipation. “Please!!”
Rakell caught Delilah's amused expression as she took another bite of food, as if she needed time to process her daughter’s comment. Then she shrugged her shoulders to Rakell, gesturing an apology as she grimaced. “We told her you were working on a movie and would be a movie star.”
Cassie threw her hands up. “Yay, we can’t wait to see you in a movie. Uncle J, you are so lucky your girlfriend is a movie star.”
“I am,” Jake mused, pressing his shoulder gently into Rakell.
“I want to see you!” Jasmine persisted.
Jake cleared his throat. “Jasmine, you know how there are movies that your parents watch that you are not allowed to watch?”
Jasmine cut him off: “No, I watch everything my parents watch. Daddy loves, loves Disney movies.”
Jordan grumbled, “Yeah, parenthood brings out the wild in you. There may be a link between those movies and me spending two hours at the gym.”
Cassie stared at Rakell, then put her fork down on the table with a thud. “Wait, is there S-E-X in your movie, Aunt K?” Her eyebrows knitted together with concern.
Rakell raised her eyebrows at Melissa, intentionally not acknowledging Tom’s sour expression. “Well, I mean…”
Jake interrupted, trying to save her stumbling and weak explanation. “No, let’s just say it's not the kind of movie kids watch. It’s rated…”
Cassie jumped in, cutting Jake off. “Wait, it’s rated R, isn’t it?” she asked, her tone conspiratorial as her eyes jumped from Jake to Rakell.
“More like NC-17,” Jake mumbled before Rakell whacked his shoulder.
