Arthur Sakho

"I'm home," I announced loudly as I walked into the house.

"Arty!" Eva ran down the stairs and threw her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Hi, Eva," I said.

"How is school going? How's your boyfriend? What's been happening?" My sister asked as if we hadn't just texted back and forth a few days ago.

"Same as the last time we talked," I said. She frowned at me as she took a step back. "But you still haven't told me about this mystery person who is coming to dinner tomorrow."

She smiled slyly. "You just have to wait," she said.

Then my mom was next to us. I wasn't sure where she came from or how long she had been standing there. She hugged me. I took a few moments just to be engulfed in her warm, peaceful hug. She always made me feel safe and warm and all the stress I had been feeling - stress I didn't even realize was there - melted away.

"Welcome home, son," she said.

"Thanks, mama."

"My son," my dad said jovially and then he had his arms around both me and my mom. He squeezed tightly. Too tightly. My mom slapped his arm lightly so he would release her, but before I could breathe a sigh of relief, both of his arms squeezed me again.

"Can't breathe, papa," I over exaggerated.

"Oh, sorry," he released me. "How is that man of yours?"

I smiled. "Good," I said. "He took me camping to look at the stars through his telescope."

"Is that a euphemism?" my dad asked.

I laughed. "No."

"It sounds romantic," Eva said.

"It was."

"You never let me take you camping," my dad said. "Every time I took Joseph and David you stayed home."

"I had ballet," I said. "And yes, I don't really want to go camping. Trevon just makes it magical."

"Go put your bag in your room," my mom said, "and then you can come help me finish up with dinner."

"Okay," I said.

I started to the stairs when my mom called out to me, "And wash your hands."

I rolled my eyes, but made sure my back was to her so she couldn't see. "Yes, mama," I said.

When I got down to the kitchen, Eva and my mom were there. "It's just a light meal tonight," my mom said. "Make the salad, please," she said. She stood over the stove and added a little bit of black pepper to the alfredo sauce. Eva spread garlic butter over french bread.

I washed the vegetables at the sink before breaking up the lettuce into bite size pieces and cutting up cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes and green peppers. I tossed the salad just as my mom finished with the chicken alfredo and my sister pulled out the now toasted french bread with melted garlic butter.

We set the table. My dad had been working in the garage on some sort of project that was probably unnecessary. When he came out of the bathroom after washing his hands, he had a band aid wrapped around a finger. He had hurt himself again doing whatever it was.

"Arty," Maria and David said at the same time as they came in. They both hugged me.

"Dinner's ready," my mom announced even though we were all in the dining room and the food was already set.

"Is Joseph and Lizzy coming?" Eva asked as we sat around the table.

"Not tonight," my mom said. "They are having Thanksgiving at her parents house tonight, remember?"

"Oh right."

Lizzy had a strained relationship with her family. Mainly because she had dated and then married my brother. It was the first time since she had gotten married that they invited her to Thanksgiving. It wasn't the Thanksgiving with the entire family because that would be tomorrow. They were still ashamed to have my brother at the big family gatherings which was ridiculous because my brother was awesome, but baby steps were better than no steps.

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As we ate, I told them about school and Trevon. David and Maria told about work and Eva talked about the local college she was going to.

When we were almost through, Eva said, "So, I know you won't purposely be disrespectful to the person I'm bringing tomorrow," this was directed at our parents, "but I want to tell you now so no mistakes are made."

"Tell us what?" my dad asked.

"Ashley is nonbinary and prefers the pronounces they, their and them so please don't forget to use the correct pronouns around them."

"Got it," my dad said. "Thanks for telling us."

"Be sure to let Joseph and Lizzy know to so they can prep Jade," my mom said.

"I'll do that tonight," Eva said.

For the rest of dinner, we asked questions about Ashley. Apparently, Eva hadn't told my parents a lot about them either. They met at the game store Ashley works at. Then they ran into each other again a few days later at a coffee shop and decided it was fate.

Maria and David left to go back to their own apartments. The rest of us went to bed when the night grew later. I thought I was going to love being back in my old bed, but I didn't. After sleeping every night with someone next to me, I had a hard time sleeping without him. I missed Trevon.

The next day, Maria and David came back early so we could all help cook. The kitchen was big enough that even with all five of us in there, it didn't feel crowded. At one point, my dad let out a sharp cry of pain from the garage. We all froze as we waited.

"I'm okay," my dad called out.

My mom sighed. "Go help him so he doesn't kill himself," she said to David. David left the pumpkin pie filling he was working on and went into the garage.

"Uncle Arty!" Jade's little voice called out as she came running into the room. I quickly set down the pie tin I had just spread the crust in and picked her up as she jumped into my arms. I was careful not to touch her with my doughy, floury hands. I set her back down quickly. "Look at my dress," she said and twirled around so the skirt of her red velvet dress billowed out slightly.

"It's beautiful," I said. "And you're beautiful."

"Do you need help?" Lizzy asked my mom.

Joseph pilfered one of the rolls that just came out of the oven. Maria slapped his hand. He just smiled as the entire roll was already stuffed into his mouth.

"Thanks, dear," my mom said as she gave Lizzy a quick hug. "The food is mostly done cooking, we just need to bake the pies, but I think they can bake while we eat. Do you want to set the table? Use the good china."

"Will do, mama," Lizzy said. "Come on, Jade. Let's wash your hands and then you can help me set the table."

"Okay, mommy," Jade said. She quickly hugged my mom's leg and then she took Lizzy's outstretched hand.

My mom slapped Joseph's hand when he tried to grab another roll. "Go tell your dad and David to come inside. Dinner's just about ready," she told him.

"Okay, mama," he kissed her lightly on the cheek causing her to smile. He went out to the garage.

"When is Ashley going to be here?" My mom asked Eva.

Eva pulled out her phone. "They're almost here. I should go wait for them."

"Okay," my mom said. Eva quickly exited the kitchen.

"Start taking the food out, Maria," my mom said. "What's taking you so long?" she said to me.

"I'm done," I said as I spread out the last of the pie crust in the pie tin.

"Good," she said. "Help me put in the filling."

I washed my hands free of pie crust and flour and helped her put the pumpkin pie filling over the crust. Joseph came back in and helped Maria take out the food while David and my dad went to wash their hands.

Ashley arrived shortly after that. They were greeted with a hug from both my mom and dad. They were dressed in a sharp, gray suit. They had a shaved head that complimented their sharp facial features. I could see why my sister was attracted to them. They seemed a little uncertain at first, but my family was good at making people feel welcomed.

"Let's eat," my mom said.

We all sat around the table. Jade made sure to sit right next to me. Ashley and Eva smiled sweetly as they sat next to each other. I helped Jade dish up the food she wanted.

"I'm going to college part time," Ashley said in response to something my dad asked them. I wasn't sure what my dad had asked. I was too distracted trying to make sure Jade didn't spill anything on her dress.

"We actually go to the same campus," Eva said. "But we've never seen each other."

"Different departments," Ashley said. "I'm studying English."

"English," my dad's face lit up. "Literature?" He looked at my mom. "She might like one of your books." Then his face fell as he realized his mistake. "I'm so sorry," he said to Ashley. "It slipped out. It won't happen again. Ugh. Why did I say that?"

"It's alright," Ashley said. "At least you're trying. I know it can be hard to get used to at first. Some people don't try and some people are flat out defensive as if me preferring certain pronouns hurts them in some way. Don't worry about it. You've all been really kind to me."

"I won't let it happen again," my dad assured them. "They might like your books," he said to my mom. "Maybe they've already read some."

"I haven't told them yet about mom's books," Eva said.

"You write books?"

"Under a pseudonym," my mom said. "Not too many people know it's me."

"What's the genre?" Ashley asked.

"Romance," my mom said.

"I don't usually read romance," Ashley said, "but I would like to read yours."

Jade spilled gravy on her dress. She looked down at it aghast. Her face scrunched up in sorrow as big tears formed in her eyes.

"It's okay," I told her. "Don't cry. We'll clean it." I wiped it away with a napkin.

She sniffed and a tear fell onto her cheek. "It's not clean enough," she whined.

"I brought spare clothes," Lizzy said. "They are in the bag by the door."

"I don't want new clothes," Jade wailed and more tears fell onto her cheeks.

"It's okay," I said. I stood up and took her hand. "We'll go wash it off, okay?"

Jade sniffed and nodded. I led her to the kitchen. I got a paper towel and got it a little damp. Then I carefully wiped up the spot on her skirt. "Better?" I asked.

She nodded. She wiped away the tears on her cheeks. "But," she said, "now it's wet." I took a dry paper towel and dried it as best as I could.

"Better?" I asked.

She nodded and smiled. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome."

"Why isn't your boyfriend here?" she asked.

"He had to go home to his family," I said.

"But Ashley came. I want to see Trevon too."

"He'll come for Christmas. Maybe he'll even bring you a present. Would you like that?"

She smiled wide and nodded vigorously. "Promise he will come?" she held her pinky out to me to pinky promise.

"I promise," I said.