Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Kola looked at his sister for backup.
“No, I don’t,” she railed at me, crossing her arms. “And Kola says that you do something crazy with the neck of the turkey to make gravy. What the hell is that about?”
“You both need to stay in here when I start to make the turkey,” I told them. “Apparently you need an education.”
“And what is a giblet?” Hannah wanted to know.
Kola retched for her benefit.
Two days before Thanksgiving, Harper came over—not that he hadn’t been there already, all of them played Call of Duty on Saturday and Sunday—with his new boyfriend. Tighe Williams was very nice, he brought a great bottle of wine, and Harper explained that he lived in New York, in Manhattan, and was on his way there home for the holiday from California when he stopped to visit Harper and meet his parents. It was very nice, but behind his back, I saw Jake roll his eyes a lot. Kola forced a smile, gave Tighe a head tip, and then announced that he, Hannah, and Jake were going to her favorite secondhand consignment store to look for Christmas decorations.
“I wanted to show Tighe some sights before he has to leave on Wednesday morning,” Harper told his best friends.
“But you guys probably want to be alone,” Jake said in this sickeningly sweet tone that I had never heard before in my life. Hannah hadn’t either if her horrified expression was any indication. “And going downtown to see The Bean is more romantic that way.”
Harper glared at him, but Jake only smiled back.
Once they were gone—they would be back for dinner, as I was making Swiss steak, which was Harper’s favorite—I turned on Kola and Jake.
“What?” my son deadpanned.
“What?” Hannah repeated. “You hate shopping with me.”
“Yeah, but if you fall off scaffolding, it would ruin Thanksgiving, so I’ll go to watch out for you.”
“She never falls off anything,” Jake defended my daughter.
“Thank you,” she praised him.
He gave her a real smile, and she gave him a pat before he turned back to my son. “You just wanna see if there’s any old Nintendo systems there.”
Kola nodded. “That’s true. I want to play Super Mario 3 on the original platform, so I’m on the lookout for one.”
“That’s fine, but what’s with you not liking Tighe? He was all great last month.”
Kola tipped his head back. “He’s there all the time.”
She nodded sagely. “You’re jealous because Harper has no time for you.”
“No,” Jake corrected her. “You’re not getting it. He’s there all the time, like, we can’t get rid of the guy, and we both think that there’s a shitty reason for that.”
“What do you mean?” Hannah asked.
“I’m interested to know the answer myself,” I told him.
“Okay, well,” Jake began hesitantly, “maybe he’s the fourth roommate who doesn’t pay rent because the frat doesn’t know he’s gay.”
“Which then follows that no one in Tighe’s life knows anything about Harper,” Kola stated, sounding somewhere between sad and annoyed. “I suspect, and manwhore over there agrees with me––”
“Why are you slut-shaming him?” Hannah asked her brother. “He’s young and free and being careful by way of condom, so you really should stop making little snide comments.”
“––that Tighe is in the closet, and to see Harper, he has to come to our place,” Kola finished strong before addressing his sister. “I wouldn’t care how many people he bangs if I wasn’t the first one up every morning and had to chat with strangers.”
Hannah looked like she had a lightbulb moment of understanding before turning to Jake. “You know good and well Kola’s an introvert. So you’re asking a lot, and infringing on the sanctuary of his home, when he rolls out of bed each morning only to be immediately confronted by a stranger.”
Jake was quiet a moment and then looked at Kola. “Is that what it is?”
Kola threw up his hands.
“You could’ve told me.”
“You’re one of two best friends I have in the world. I’d think you’d know.”
“That’s not fair,” I chimed in. “Communication has to happen in every good relationship. When you start doing someone else’s thinking for them, or are certain they know something, because they should know you—that’s a recipe for misunderstandings.”
After a moment, Kola grunted and looked at Jake. “Sorry.”
“I’m sorry too,” Jake assured him. “I forget stuff sometimes.”
“And both of you are bad friends,” I told them.
“What?” Kola sounded disgruntled.
“Harper is your friend,” I reminded them. “He wanted you two with him and Tighe seeing the sights, and instead of going, you bailed on him.”
Jake made a noise like he was dying.
“You have something to say?”
“I just—me and Kola have done our time in hell with them, Mr. Harcourt.”
Hannah was chuckling.
I glanced at her.
“This is about the French Film Festival.”
“Yes, it’s about the fuckin’ French Film Festival,” he moaned. “And sorry about the F-word, Mr. Harcourt, but I thought I was gonna die.”