Rob: Will do.
With time to wind down, I turn on the TV and flip to today’s football game to watch the Cowboys in action. Football has always been my favorite sport to watch, but I don’t have a favorite team. Many think I’m strange, but for me I can’t like one specific team; there are too many to choose from. I’ve always been that way, even about movies. I have several favorites, and of course, they’re classics. But then, I also enjoy those stupid romantic comedies and parody films that are meant to crack people up.
Halftime airs and I glance at my phone, not realizing how much time has passed. I call Rob and breath a sigh of relief as he answers. “Where are you?”
“Relax, I’m almost there. Come downstairs in five minutes.”
“Okay.” Hanging up the phone, I head into the bedroom to grab my overnight bag and place it at the front door. After putting on my boots and pea coat, I head into the kitchen to grab a quick glass of water before the drive. Opening the refrigerator, I spot the bag from the bakery and immediately think of Roman. Remembering what his aunt said earlier, I think about how they must be in Connecticut by now. A sudden sense of melancholy fills me as I imagine him at the hospital, all alone on Thanksgiving. I catch myself staring at the white paper bag full of yummy goodness, and I let out a deep sigh.
A loud car horn honks from the street below indicating that Rob is waiting for me. I glance at my overnight bag and back to the bakery bag. Closing my eyes, I make the spontaneous decision. Dammit.
Shutting the fridge, I pick up the dish filled with my homemade baked macaroni and cheese and head out the door. I look downward as I step carefully down each flight of stairs, praying I don’t trip and bust my ass.
I step outside into the frigid air and find Rob standing by his Jeep. “All set? Let’s go.”
He takes the dish out of my hands and places it in the trunk. Then he glances toward me, confused. “Where’s your stuff?”
I give him a please-don’t-be-mad-at-me look. “I’m not going.”
He throws his hands in the air. “What! Why not?”
“There’s something I have to do at work.”
He shuts the trunk. “But you took today and tomorrow off. Is it an emergency?”
“Well, no, but I just have to do something.”
He shakes his head and scoffs. “Man, Raya is gonna be pissed.”
“I’ll call her and let her know.”
He pleads with me. “You sure about this?”
I confidently nod. “Yes, now go, before you get stuck in more traffic. By the time you get there Thanksgiving will be over.”
His laughs. “Ha, not the way I drive. Tokyo drift baby!”
I give him a hug, wish him a safe drive, and wave as he speeds off toward the island. Heading upstairs my mind spins at my spontaneous decision and I immediately call Raya to break the news.
Roman
WRAPPING MY ARM around my aunt, I give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Safe trip to Connecti
cut. Say hi to the gang for me.”
She kisses me back, then steps away with tears in her eyes.
“Aw, please don’t cry Aunt Maggie.”
She wipes a tear. “I don’t understand why we can’t stay here tonight. I don’t want you to be all alone on Thanksgiving. Other families are here.”
I explain myself to her. “Because I don’t want you guys to have to spend Thanksgiving in a dreary hospital. You should be with your kids. Don’t diminish your holiday for me, okay?”
“But we will be with our kids; we’ll be here, with you.”
Her loving confession pulls at my heartstrings as tears threaten to form. I’ve always loved Aunt Maggie and in ways I’ve loved her as my own mother. She raised me, made me the man I am today. But looking down at my fragile appearance, dreadfulness washes over me. This woman deserves to be in a place where she’s warm and surrounded by family and good food, a place that has a nice bed waiting to be slept on, not some piece of shit cot that’ll probably tear up her back.
“Trust me, I’ll be fine here. Just go.”