Page 54 of Devour
“Okay.” I took a deep breath before reiterating all the points I made previously. “We are going to go in there. It is going to be awful. They will likely be rude. We only need to stay for dinner and we can be back on the road before they serve the pies.”
Rhory nodded along.
“I won’t kick you out, but please keep in mind I’ll likely have multiple people coming at me at once all day long. That being said, I want us to be able to communicate on an as needed basis. And you don’t have to swallow their crap, either. If it becomes too much and you want to go or you just want me to intervene or anything, you absolutely tell me.”
“Same,” Rhory agreed.
While I appreciated the sentiment, I doubted there would be much he could do in that scenario.
“Let’s get this friggin’ over with,” I grumbled.
Rhory’s car door closed right after mine, echoing across the morning silence. The cold air burned my lungs, or maybe a small dose of nerves tightened my chest. Our footsteps crunched in snow that never got shoveled after the last storm while we made our way down the walkway. Even though he came all this way with me, I still felt surprised to hear him following me to the kitchen door on the side of the house.
Did you think I would hide in the car?
I wouldn’t blame you if you did. Still wanted him here. Still told myself I should be able to do this alone.
Why? Why shouldn’t you have support?
The door opened, and my cousin, Mary, smiled back at me. Her, I liked, and I breathed a sigh of relief just seeing her face. I grew up visiting my aunt and uncle on the Cape every summer and playing with my cousins. After Mary’s parents moved back to this area, she stayed behind. She didn’t make it home every year for holidays, either.
“Eli!” And her red curls bounced when she jumped into my arms for a hug.
She didn’t know you were coming, Rhory thought.
No surprise there. More than likely, my father told no one he threatened—er, invited—me to attend this year. If I didn’t show yet again, I couldn’t embarrass him further since no one expected me.
“Hello, Mary,” I said with a tight hug before releasing her. “Visiting your parents this year?”
“No, my sister had her baby early, so they flew down to help her out. Eric and I were going to stay home, but we decided at the last minute to come, even though Mom and Dad aren’t here.”
“Oh, well, I’m glad you came still. It’s been too long.”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen you since… before you got ordained, I think. Started to think the next time would be at the wedding.” She smiled while holding the door open for me.
The shock of seeing her wore off. Yet, I still hadn’t come into the house. We hadn’t. Rhory took one step to the side, so he wasn’t standing directly behind me anymore, and waved.
Mary’s eyes bugged.
Rhory was in the most clothes I had ever seen him wear: his leather jacket, a black, collared shirt with a chain pin, and his tight leather pants paired with boots. Extremely modest for him, but he claimed he didn’t want to freak anyone out wearing almost nothing with snow on the ground. Despite his efforts, Mary remained shocked.
Quit panicking, Rhory thought.
What’s she thinking? Even though I didn’t want to know, I had to know.
That we must be fucking.
Wonderful.
Wasn’t exactly out to my family, for obvious reasons. Probably never would be. However, Mary would be the only person in my family I would ever consider telling, even if the news didn’t come as a surprise. We were very close in age, so she was my built-in best friend every summer. We told each other everything as kids, so she sort of knew—meaning she’d asked me about it one summer when we were still teenagers.
Not in a judgy way, Rhory thought. More like, impressed that you have the balls to bring me around your family. She’s very proud of you.
Somehow, I find that hard to believe. Even though I really, really want to.
Nah, she’s cool. She’s making a mental note to introduce you to her best friend and his boyfriend at her wedding.
Interesting.