Taking the Cake! by Lisa Papademetriou

Author:Lisa Papademetriou [Papademetriou, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2012-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

I’m sitting at dinner that night, minding my own business, when Chloe asks, “Can we invite Ramon to Thanksgiving dinner?”

Suddenly, it’s like I don’t know what to do with the bite of fish in my mouth. I can’t seem to swallow it. I just chew and chew and chew until it’s practically fish juice, and then I’m still chewing and I have to take a sip of water to wash it down.

Gran watches Mom, a little smile on her lips, as if she’s wondering how my mother will respond. Mom looks dazed. She gazes off toward the kitchen, as if she’s considering trying to escape.

“Isn’t he your boyfriend?” Chloe asks. Her face turns pink, and I think she’s realized that she has said something embarrassing.

“He isn’t my boyfriend,” Mom says in a tone of voice that means, “not exactly.”

“Okay, well, even if he’s just a friend, can’t he come over?” Chloe asks. “Don’t you remember that he said he spends Thanksgiving alone?”

“He spends it at a soup kitchen,” I correct her. “Maybe he likes helping people.”

“We’re having dinner early,” Chloe points out. “He’ll still have time to go to the soup kitchen. Right, Gran?”

“Hmm. Hayley, dear, please pass the salt,” Gran says.

Mom looks at me, as if she knows that I’m the one who will say no. “Can’t we just keep Thanksgiving small?” I beg.

“Chloe, sweetheart,” Mom says to my sister, “Thanksgiving is really about family.”

“But Hayley and I are having Thanksgiving with Annie and her parents, and they aren’t family,” Chloe insists.

I drop my fork onto my plate and put my head in my hands.

“You’re having Thanksgiving with Annie’s family?” Mom asks.

“You didn’t know that?” Chloe’s mouth is a tiny O. She looks at me in horror, but I just shake my head.

“Well, this is interesting.” Gran stands up suddenly. “I think I’ll have a glass of wine.”

“Your father told me that he wanted to spend Thanksgiving with you girls,” Mom says. “He didn’t say anything else. Is —” She turns to look at me. “Are Annie and your father engaged?”

“No, of course not,” I say, and the moment the words are past my lips, I wonder if it’s true. Are they? I mean, Chloe and I are going all the way to Connecticut to meet Annie’s parents on Thanksgiving. That seems like … well, maybe it could be something.

Something big.

Mom’s eyes sparkle, and I realize that tears have sprung into them. This stabs me like a stake in the heart. I take her hand just as Gran returns to the dining room with a glass of white wine. “Well!” Gran says brightly as she settles into her chair.

“Please, Mom?” Chloe pleads. “Please can’t we just invite Ramon?”

“Why is it such a big deal, Chloe?” I ask.

“Because I don’t want him to spend Thanksgiving by himself,” she says. Her eyes are wide and innocent, and I want to hug her and throttle her all at once.

Mom puts up a hand. She blinks twice, then nods. “Okay, Chloe. We’ll invite him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.