Before You

Chapter 59

"No, mother. I won't be home for Thanksgiving." I repeat again.

"Evy, Thanksgiving is just a week away." She says. "I want to make sure that we make enough food if you want to come home. You know we would love for you to be here."

"I know." I say sincerely. "I just can't make it home for this one. I promise I'll come home for Christmas. You and Brad make tons of food and have a good day together."

"I guess there's nothing else I can say then..." she says sadly. "Alright, you'll be home for Christmas then."

"Yes, I won't miss it." I try to sound excited.

"Also, Evy..." she speaks up. "Brad and I have discussed our engagement and we've decided to wait until after the New Year. The holidays are here and we would just like to enjoy them. Everyone already has so many plans and we don't want it to feel so rushed. So, we're thinking sometime in January."

"Oh okay." I say. "January it is."

"Okay, well I'll call you in a few days. Have a good night." She adds.

"You too. Bye." I end the call.

I open my apartment door and toss my purse onto the couch as I enter. My mother called me right as I was leaving my shift at work. I must admit, it seems like it's getting easier to speak with her. She doesn't come off as harsh as she once did. Brad has done a great job making her relax more and enjoy life a little. I can only hope that she stays on this course. Maybe, just maybe, we can have a shot at a decent relationship. I don't want to put too much emphasis on our relationship though. I know how quickly things can change and often do. I'm surprised that they decided to hold off on a wedding until January. I was convinced that it was going to happen before Christmas whether anyone wanted it to or not. I'll take January.

It's been a few days since Jett's mother invited me over for Thanksgiving dinner. Jett has done his best to not speak about the invitation and even goes out of his way to not bring up his family altogether. I haven't said anything about the invite either. I don't want him to feel pushed or pressured in anyway for me to come along. I must admit, I do feel a little hurt about it all. Jett has met my mother and knows my closest friends. He tells me that he's not embarrassed of me, but how am I supposed to feel? He can't actually expect me to feel any differently than that. I wonder how he would react if I just showed up to his mother's home. That would definitely take away any anxiety that he may feel about me going. I could just show up and boom... there's nothing he can do or say. He would have no choice but to just get through the dinner at that point. The idea doesn't actually sound that bad to me.

I walk into the kitchen and open my refrigerator. I'm hungry. I should have stopped on the way home and picked up a large stuffed crust pizza, but I was too tired to do so. A visual of my mother's frowning face enters my mind. I'm sure she would have disapproved as well. I scan the refrigerator shelves one by one. I don't have a lot of food as it is, but nothing looks good to me at all. My back pocket, holding my cell phone, starts to vibrate. I bet that's Jett calling to see if I made it home safely. No one else calls this late. Without thinking, I pull my cell phone out of my back pocket and answer.

"Yes, I made it home. No, I'm not eating pizza." I say plainly, shutting the refrigerator door.

"Well, that's too bad because stuffed crust is life." The voice says.

My body freezes halfway into the living room as I come to a complete stop. I stare at the couch in front of me. I feel my breathing get faster. I didn't know when I would hear this voice again, but I wasn't expecting to be the voice on the other end of this call. I feel a sting of sadness and guilt enter my gut. I can't hang up. I've already answered the call. There's no other option. I should just speak.