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An Unusually Awkward Thanksgiving

Patricia’s boyfriend was either going to sink or swim…

This story is a response to Making Your Characters Squirm! (Idea 4), written by JF Danskin at The Fiction Writer’s Den.

Craft a very awkward family meal scene where a young adult has brought their partner to meet the parents for the first time. This could be an ordinary day or a gathering such as Thanksgiving.

It was Thanksgiving time, again. And Patricia was so over it.

She was sick of the poking and prodding from all of her relatives about whether or not she was seeing someone, and when she was going to get married. She’d already tried the usual tactics one would attempt in her particular predicament.

Last year she came out as being asexual. No one bought it. The year before, she brought home her best friend Eddy and tried to pass him off as her boyfriend. She thought it would at least get them off her back for a bit. But, he didn’t last past the first course. As usual, they went a little too far. They started discussing guest lists and choosing venues. Eddy practically ran away.

It’s not that she hadn’t dated anyone over the years. Just no one special. Not special enough to bring home. And no one with enough depth and fortitude to undergo the scrutiny of her family.

But this year was going to be different. Patricia had actually met someone. Someone she really liked, maybe even loved. But he had to pass the family test. She was ready to really commit this time, and he had to be able to deal with them. As crazy as they all were, in the end they were the people she could really count on. And her love life aside, in the end they were the only people who really understood her.

Until Robert.

She met Robert at work. They were both first year associates, and she had a major crush. But they never had the chance to really connect, until they were assigned to the same case. It was six months of absolutely torturous paperwork, but in the end she had another win under her belt and a devoted boyfriend.

She told her mom in advance to play it cool. This one was important. She promised to be low key about it and to pass the word on to the rest of the family. This year was going to be a big one, all the aunts and uncles were flying in. Grandma Rose was getting older, and they didn’t know how much time she had left. So the house was going to be swarmed. Robert was either going to sink or swim.

They pulled up to her childhood home, and Patricia felt nervous for Robert. And for herself. Telling her mom to play it cool was the equivalent of throwing a bottle of water on a house fire.

While they walked up the driveway, Patricia went over everyone’s names again with Robert. She really wanted him to make a great first impression. She even had him bring flowers for her mom and Grandma Rose. The door opened before they’d even ascended the first step. Her mom, dad and about five other people were all huddled in the foyer. Patricia wondered how long they’d been waiting there, it was a bit unsettling.

Once all the greetings were taken care of they settled down in the dining room. There were so many people that her parents had to put both extensions in the table. There was a ton of food, and in the center of it all was an eighteen pound turkey. They all dug in. And with Aunt Margaret pouring the wine, it wasn’t long before they were all a little sloshed.

As was expected, he was barraged with questions: where he went to school, how close he was with his family, did he want children and if so, how many. Patricia tried to step in when the questions started to get really invasive. However, Robert held his own and managed to keep the conversation light.

But the wine kept pouring, and he started to get chatty. She had never seen him like this before, and some of the things he was saying were surprising.

As it turned out he had been married once before. And he’d only been divorced for four months. He’d never brought that up before, in the entire time they’d been together. She was completely blindsided. She’d been dating a married man. Everyone noticed the look on Patricia’s face, and the table went silent for a moment while this new information sunk in. But the real shock was that he had a son already.

How, and why, he kept that fact hidden was beyond Patricia’s comprehension. She loved kids. He knew that. She wanted tons of them someday. They’d discussed it at length. She wondered what else he was hiding. She decided to stop playing the referee between him and her family.

He went on to discuss his marriage and why they split up. Apparently his ex-wife never lost the baby weight. Robert laughed in disgust at how inconsiderate that was on her part. Apparently keeping yourself fit after pregnancy was at the top of his list of important things. The table went silent again. Everyone was uncomfortable. And Patricia began to squirm in her seat.

Baby weight?! Seriously? Who was this guy?

And then the other shoe dropped. Robert felt that women shouldn’t work after marriage. He believed that a woman’s place was at home with the children.

Had he even met her? What was he talking about?!

Patricia was done, she’d had it with him. And all of the relatives knew it. Her father stood up and suggested that maybe it was time for him to leave. He called an Uber and offered to escort him outside to wait. Her face was bright red and anger was growing upwards from her belly.

Robert stood up to leave and asked if he could talk to Patricia for a moment. And that was when Grandma Rose interceded.

She pushed herself up from her seat with her cane and slowly said, “I suggest that you stop while you’re ahead young man. Now take your ride and leave.”

Patricia had never loved her more than in that moment.

She didn’t have the man of her dreams, in fact he’d never existed. But at least she had her crazy beautiful family.

Thank you for reading my story. I’d love to hear your opinions.

You can check out some more of my writing and follow me here. (She, Her) I am a writer and a freelance editor. I edit all genres, and I specialize in Romance. I write a little bit of everything, whatever is on my mind at the moment. Get an email when I publish a new story.