A few days before Thanksgiving, Becca knocks on the door of my room, where I’m working on my paper for Psych that’s due in a couple of weeks. “Hey, you said you don’t have any plans for this Thursday, right?” she asks me.
“No, I’m staying here. It didn’t make sense to fly all the way home for just a few days. I’d rather be there for Christmas.” I pause. “Wait, why?” I eye her suspiciously. “What are you planning?”
A smile spreads across her face, her green eyes twinkling, and she throws back her head, laughing. “Why do you always think I’m up to something?” she asks, still chuckling, but trying to appear wide-eyed and innocent.
I lift my eyebrows at her, “Because you usually are. Now tell me what you’ve already decided I’m going to do.” I set my laptop down, knowing this may take a while.
She walks over and sits down beside me on the bed. “So, I was thinking it’s pretty depressing that some of us won’t be home for Thanksgiving this year.”
I interrupt her. “Who is some of us exactly?”
“Oh you know, you, me, Josh, a few others that aren’t able to go home either,” she says casually. A little too casually. “I wanted to plan a Friendsgiving. Have you heard of those?” She doesn’t give me time to respond before continuing on. “We’ll have it at Josh’s place. Eat some yummy food, watch a football game or something.” She places a hand on my knee and squeezes it. “We can hang out too. It sounds silly because we literally live together, but I feel like we haven’t really seen each other in forever.”
That’s true. We’re both juggling five classes, work, plus Becca usually spends her free time with Josh. “Okay,” I tell her, happy at the idea of catching up with her. “It’s a date. Are you going to be the one cooking?”
She puts her hand on her hip and gives me a hair flip. “Duh. I’ll show off my domestic goddess skills to Josh. Remind him what a catch I am,” she says with a coy smile. “But you know I hate cooking, so actually, if you could help, that would be so awesome.” She presses her palms together below her chin and begs, “Pretty, pretty please,” giving me puppy dog eyes.
Ha, so that was why my suspicion radar was going off. “Of course I’ll help.” Growing up with just my mother and me, I had to learn how to fend for myself in the kitchen if she ever had to work late. Becca definitely takes full advantage of that in our apartment too, but she’s excellent at cleaning up. We have a nice system worked out.
“Yay!” she bounces up and down on the bed, clapping her hands. “I started looking up how to cook a turkey and I was like geez, what did I get myself into?”
We talk a little longer about what sides we should make and as she leaves I begin to think yeah, what did I get myself into?
I’M BUSY IN JOSH’S kitchen checking the dishes in the oven when the doorbell rings. He throws down the knife he’s been slicing rolls with and practically sprints out of the room, his blonde head a blur as I look up from the oven.
“I’ll get that,” he yells. I don’t think he was expecting to get conscripted into kitchen duty, but it’s his apartment after all. Becca looks up enviously at his escape from the sink, where she’s washing up bowls and pans. Josh’s roommate is visiting family today, so I don’t know anyone here other than the two of them. What she had claimed was only “a few people” turned out to be fourteen total. I should have known no get together at Josh’s would be small. He collects friends like flies.
“Luke!” I hear bellowed from the front door. “You made it!”
I freeze, slowly turning to look at Becca, who is suddenly quite interested in getting every last speck of food off the bowl in her hands. “Becca!” I furiously whisper. “You didn’t say Luke was coming!”
“I didn’t?” she asks, tilting her head like she’s confused. I can tell she’s faking it, though.
“No, and it seems pretty convenient that you forgot,” keeping my voice low, “or you knew I wouldn’t have come.” I’ve been avoiding him like the plague. Every Tuesday and Thursday I make sure to always sit between two people so he can’t sit next to me again, and if I ever see him coming my way as class lets out, I speed up or go in another direction. It’s completely cowardly of me, but I hate being reminded of how stupid I acted that night.
“Sweetie, Halloween was like a month ago. Don’t you think it’s time to bury the past?” I stay silent at her question, knowing she’s right but refusing to admit it. She presses on, telling me, “Luke’s an awesome guy and I’d love to see you move on from-”, and she stops, seeing the death glare I give her for almost bringing up Jared, before continuing, “he who must not be named.”
“I’m definitely one hundred percent moved on from that,” I say firmly, daring her to contradict me. “But that doesn’t mean I have to date anyone else right now. I’m focused on school and happy with that. If I can get this damn Psych grade up,” I growl, “I’ll even make the dean’s list again this semester.”
“All right, all right, you don’t have to bite my head off. I hate seeing you like this. Curled up in your little shell and never putting yourself out there again.” She shuts off the water and strips her hands out of her rubber gloves, her face serious for a change. “And I don’t just mean romantically, I mean with anyone. When was the last time you made a new friend?” she asks softly. It hurts to hear, but what she’s saying is all true.
I’m aware I’m an introvert and uncomfortable putting myself out there. I recognize this about myself and I’m generally okay with it, but I also understand where she’s coming from. I don’t really talk to anyone other than her and Josh, and my mom on the phone. I didn’t keep in touch with people from high school and I’ve never bothered to get to know fellow students in my classes, other than the occasional forced group project. If Becca hadn’t befriended me in the dorms, I probably wouldn’t have anyone, to be honest. When I stay silent, she continues, “That’s why I wanted you to come to Friendsgiving. You could make a new friend... like Luke.”
I roll my eyes at her and she laughs. “And the best part is, you don’t even have to introduce yourself. He already knows who you are, so you’ve got all that awkwardness out of the way.”
“Oh, yeah,” I scoff. “It definitely won’t be awkward.”
Josh pops his head in through the kitchen entryway. “Hey Becca, Brian’s girlfriend is here. I know you wanted to meet her.” He looks to me and asks, “Can I steal her away for a bit?” When I glance over, he’s already pulling her from the sink and toward the living room.
“Uh...” I look around at what still needs to be done. “I just need someone to mash the potatoes while I make the gravy.”
“Luke will do it,” Josh tells me and before I can protest, he drags Luke into the kitchen. All six feet of him, looking delicious in a form-fitting black button-down shirt rolled to the elbows, exposing his strong forearms, and jeans that hug his ass.