Page 55 of Talk to Me

“My sister’s family is in upstate New York,” Theo clarified.

“Oof,” I said.

“Yeah.”

Grabbing a few pairs of underwear from my supply of clothes and a few pairs of socks, I added them to the bundle in my bag. Theo held the flaps open as I stuffed my things inside. Not going home had never even crossed my mind as Thanksgiving approached. Like clockwork, every summer, vacation, and long holiday, I went home to see my family. Not seeing my mother, father, and siblings whenever I had the chance made my heart ache. Thinking about someone not only uninterested in going home for the holidays, but actually forcefully against it, was a foreign concept.

Growing up on a farm in rural Iowa hadn’t been ideal for my little gay self, but that hadn’t been my family’s fault. Even though the outside world could be cruel at times, no one in my family had ever made me feel like I didn’t belong or that they didn’t love me. Helping my dad around the place before and after school, on weekends, and every chance I could go home during college, was one of the things I looked forward to most.

The thought of eating open-face turkey sandwiches in a cavernous room that smelled of disinfectant and hot dog water on a major holiday made me cringe. If I were to consider the quality of food during a regular day in the dining hall, I could only imagine how underwhelming their Thanksgiving offerings would be. No one should spend a holiday like that.

“Well,” I said, turning to Theo, “pack a bag. You can come to my house.”

He laughed and sat back further in the bed, ignoring me.

“I’m serious,” I said, reaching down to grab his knee and shake his leg. “Get packed. I’m leaving at seven tomorrow morning and I wait for no man. So, get your shit together.”

Theo cocked his head to the side, rolling it against the beige cinderblock.

“You’re serious?” he asked as one eyebrow rose slightly.

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Why not? It’s not as fancy as upstate New York, but it’s not bad.”

Theo chuckled. “Nah. I don’t think your parents would appreciate a stranger imposing on them at Thanksgiving.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “They’re pretty strange. Wait until you meet ‘em.”

“I can’t go,” Theo said, shaking his head, though he looked unsure.

“Why not?” I asked, moving my bag to sit down next to him on the bed. “I think the dining hall will survive if you’re not here to eat their sandwiches.”

“You haven’t even asked your parents,” Theo said, sitting up. “If you just show up with an extra person in tow—”

“They’ll put another chair at the table on Thanksgiving,” I said. “Well, we might be relegated to the kids’ table, but you get the idea.”

Theo’s eyes seemed to light up, but he didn’t move.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It seems rude. Just showing up like that. They don’t even know me.”

Laughing, I stood from the bed and headed back over to my closet to find all of my toiletries.

“They will get to know you,” I said. “Besides, any friend of mine is a friend of theirs. So, are you going to get your shit and get ready, or are you going to stay here and eat sandwiches in the dining hall alone for the rest of the week?”

“Are you sure?” Theo asked.

“Positive,” I said. “But if you ask me one more time, I’ll rescind the invitation.”

Theo gave me a small grin and slowly began easing towards the edge of the bed.

“Will you at least call and let them know you’re bringing me?” he asked. “Just in case it’s not cool? I don’t want to have to catch a bus back to campus.”

“A bus?” I scoffed. “Where do you think you are? I’d have to drive you back.”

Theo laughed. “Seriously, Josh. Will you make sure it’s cool?”

“Yes, yes,” I said, waving him off as I pulled my phone from my pocket. “I’ll text my mom right this very second ya’ big wuss.”

I unlocked my phone and tapped out a quick message to my mom.