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Except… I never did ask Cage what he was doing for Thanksgiving And he never asked me either, so it’s not serious to the point ould consider spending the holiday together

So confusing

I decide to be vague, hoping it satisfies “It’s new, Mo for a feeeks”

“Well, invite hi dinner with us,” she demands

I don’t argue with her She’ll expect e would think about it We hadn’t talked about the upco too far into the future at this point

Luckily, the conversation actually steers to our Thanksgiving dinner, which is only four days away We finish our meals, and I serve up the lemon cake Mom and I have coffee with ours while Laney, Dad, and Brian drink beer with theirs

So gross

When it’s time to clean the kitchen, Brian starts to make a beeline for the base to help clean while Moo relax”

“Why does Laney get to relax?” he asks She has already darted out of the kitchen and into the living room to claiame until the Steelers start

“Because you and I need to talk Unless you want her to be privy to that, she gets a pass on the kitchen”

“Fine,” he gru the food into smaller Tupperware containers that I’m convinced were made in the seventies Brian scrapes plates while I rinse theo into the dishwasher

It’s only e’re standing side by side at the kitchen sink, washing the pots and pans, that I start the conversation with Brian

“You’re overdue paying me back the money I lent you,” I say quietly I truly had no intention of letting anyone else in our family know I let him borrow it It’s Brian’s private business, and I wouldn’t out him

“I know,” he says with a sigh of frustration “I’uy es me money to pay up It could be another feeeks”

I just stare at hier

His shoulders sag “I’m really sorry, Jaime”

When Brian giveslook, nine tiht

I take the opportunity to tell hi my hands on a dishtowel, I turn to face hirow up You’re thirty-one years old, for God’s sake, and you live in your parents’ base Xbox all day You should have a full-time job, and, at the least, contribute to the household expenses here Ideally, you should be out on your own and living your own life Don’t you want that for yourself?”

Rather than look er “Oh, stop being so dahteous all the time, Jaime We can’t all be as perfect as you”

That felt like a slap in the face “I never said I was perfect”