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I could feel Mom melt at the same time as me. Booth was a massive guy who looked like he could take on the world but he was such a teddy bear inside. A teddy bear who missed his mom. Before I could get up to hug him, Mom did. She ended up squeezing his head against her chest and gently rocking it back and forth. I heard Vaughn try to stifle a laugh as we watched Booth try to figure out what to do with my mom’s boobs in his face.
“Mom. Boobs.” I saw Booth’s cheeks turn bright red and snorted the water I’d just taken a sip of up my nose. Choking and sputtering up water at the Thanksgiving table wasn’t exactly how I planned the day to go, but it fit in with everything else happening.
Mom let go of Booth and rolled her eyes. “They’re not boobs when a mom is hugging a kid.”
“They are when the kid isn’t your kid.” Paul grinned. “This is coming from a guy who had a lot of friends with hot moms.”
“I’m grateful for how bizarre today has been!” Fisher’s raised voice silenced the rest of the room, minus my random coughs. “Maybe it hasn’t been a traditional Thanksgiving, but it’s been real. My family dinners have always been so stiff and proper. No one would’ve ever dared to talk about boobs. And no one would’ve ever gotten into a fight with the neighbor and threatened to kick an old woman’s ass. I want to spend all my holidays here.”
Mom moved over to him and hugged his head the same way she had Booth’s. “You boys are just so sweet. I’m so glad you came to your senses and came crawling back to my daughter.”
Fisher’s voice was muffled as he spoke. “This also definitely wouldn’t happen at my family’s dinner. We don’t even hug, much less boob hug.”
I looked over at Vaughn. “Don’t say anything sweet or you’ll be next with the boobs.”
“Does it work on you?” He wagged his brows and then winced when Paul smacked the back of his head. “What? What’d I say?”
“I’m grateful that in just a few hours, I’m going to be with my girlfriend and away from this circus. Not that I don’t love you guys. I do. I just love my sanity, too.” Paul barely dodged a roll Mom tossed at his head.
“We get it. You have a girlfriend. We totally believe you.” Mom sat back down and picked up her fork, pointing with it as she spoke. “I’m pretty excited about my Charlie coming over tonight. He’s actually real.”
While Mom and Paul dissolved into an argument about who was more likely to create a fake partner, I reached over and took Mom’s wine glass. I took a long sip and looked around. Paul was right about it being a circus. It was my circus, though, and I’d never been happier.
“Think we could just sneak out and get on the road?” Vaughn scooted his chair closer to mine and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I’m also very, very grateful that I’m going to be buried inside you in just a few hours. Probably the most grateful out of anyone here. I’m just riddled with gratitude over it.”
I blushed and pushed him away. “You can’t say things like that at the same table as our parents. I think that’s probably illegal. At the least, it’s morally questionable.”
“You can sue me when you’re a big time lawyer.” He sat back in his chair when he noticed our parents coming to the end of their argument. “What time do we need to drop you off at the airport, Dad?”
A knock came from the front door and all of our heads turned to stare in the direction of it. I sank down in my chair as I assumed it was the cops coming to arrest us for threatening our neighbor. When no one else moved, Paul stood up.
He drained his wine and shook his head. “Nobody hurt yourself racing to get the door.”
Mom met my gaze. “If it’s the cops, we were never outside. We’re innocent and we’ve never even seen that lady next door.”
“I heard from a different neighbor that she’s not well.” Fisher nodded gravely. “It’s sad, really. She used to be such a presence in the neighborhood. Now she spends her days in imaginary fights with her neighbors.”
I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. “That’s terrifying. You’re bad. I mean, you’re amazing, but you’re bad.”
Vaughn grunted. “He’ll never lie to you but lying for you? He’s the best. He’s gotten us out of so much shit.”
“Um… April?” We all turned to look at the man standing next to Paul with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. “Did I get the time wrong?”
Mom stood up so fast that her chair fell over backwards. “Oh, Charlie! We were supposed to meet later today… You’re here, though. Which is great. Let me introduce you to everyone.”
I watched in awe as Mom blushed when Charlie hugged her and gave her the flowers. I couldn’t remember a time when a man made her blush.
“This is my daughter, Ella. These are her boyfriends. Booth, Fisher, and Vaughn.” Mom cleared her throat. “And this is my ex-husband, Paul. He’s only here because he’s Vaughn’s dad.”
Paul snorted. “And here I was thinking I was here for my charming personality.”
Charlie looked a little shell shocked but he recovered fairly quickly. “Nice to meet everyone. I’m really sorry for intruding. I can go and come back later. I don’t want to take time away from your daughter.”
I smiled at him, liking him already. “We’re leaving soon, anyway. I’d feel a lot better knowing I wasn’t leaving Mom here alone. Especially after she tried to fight the neighbor earlier.”
“Ella!” Mom groaned. “I didn’t try to fight her. She called Ella a terrible name, though.”
“She called you a terrible name.” I laughed, thoroughly enjoying getting to embarrass Mom for a change. “Stay for dinner, Charlie. I hope you don’t like green bean casserole. Mom burned it.”
