LANA MASON
I usually have to brace myself at least a little bit when I go home to see my family, but not this time. I can't walk from the train station fast enough until I can see my little childhood townhome in the distance and I'm already smiling as I imagine my aunts and uncles swearing at me, asking me where I've been.
The door is already unlocked as I push down on the handle, so I let myself in and am immediately comforted by the scent of my dad's meatloaf wafting through the whole house. Angel is the first to see me and she shouts my name with such joy that I almost start crying as she throws herself around my legs. She and the rest of my little cousins used to annoy the shit out of me, and they still do sometimes, but I missed this.
"Why are you never dressed anymore?" I laugh and pat her bare back.
"I missed you!" She giggles with her head thrown back to look up at me.
"I missed you too, sweet girl," I cup her face and move her wild hair from her eyes as my mom gasps from the dining area.
"When did you sneak in here?!"
"Just now," I laugh and lift my arms to hug her. The smell of her perfume is equally as nostalgic as the meatloaf and makes me feel like I'm a little kid again.
"You look great," she holds my face with two gentle hands. "Come say hi to everyone."
"Is that Lana?" Aunt Victoria dramatically squints at me. "Oh my God, it is!"
"Okay," I laugh with a playful eye roll and make my rounds to hug all of my aunts and uncles at the table.
Per usual, cigars are smoking, glasses are half-full of wine, and two decks of playing cards are scattered about in small piles while my uncles talk about baseball and my aunts gossip about their friends and enemies. The kids are watching a movie in the living room as well as talking loudly over each other just like their parents.
My dad is nowhere to be found, so I naturally wander into the kitchen to see him taking the meatloaf out of the oven. He makes a double-take at me over his shoulder, smirking as he removes his oven mitts and holds his arms out for a hug. I slot myself against his chest with my cheek against his soft t-shirt, feeling his arms completely encompass me.
"Welcome home, kiddo," he says. "It's about time. Christ."
I laugh and release him with a knowing nod. "Sorry, things have just been a bit hectic lately."
"Hectic sounds good," he removes the lid from the pot containing his signature garlic mashed potatoes to give them a good stir. "Right?"
"Right," I nod and make the spontaneous decision not to tell him about how I haven't truly spent any time with Harry in about a month. He won't take that well when he finds out the reason is because of one bad review amongst a hundred great ones.
"Well, go take a seat at the table," he gestures back to the dining area with a head nod. "I'm about to bring all this out."
I do what he says and take my usual seat near the end of the table, answering the usual questions about what I've been up to. I'm excited to tell them about my new venture designing clothes so they can stop pestering me about when I'm going to do something with my degree, but I keep it to myself for now. I want to tell my mom and dad at the same time.
I sip from the glass of wine my mom pours me while my dad places two fat meatloaves on the center of the table, accompanied by a nearly overflowing bowl of mashed potatoes. My mom has baby pictures of me with those same potatoes all over my face in a high chair, and I smile as I picture the way my dad looked laughing in those pictures. I believe there's a home video of the whole event as well.
