Life in Color ✔️

16~ Kool Aid

I miss and hit her bitchy cat, Freda, who hates me. You toss a cat in the pool one time and you can never go back, I  have the scars to prove it.

Ella doesn't bother to acknowledge me, getting up to move her computer to her desk. I look at her walls, pictures organized into perfect rows. She has sections dedicated to each of us. The largest section belonging to Sage.

Adorable, I know, nine years worth of images of just them.

Ella picks up Freda and pets her, the cats glare remaining fixated on me.

"I invited Ashton and his family to come tomorrow." She informs me. It's a good thing I'm scared of the cat or else I'd throw another pillow at her.

"Why would you do that?" I ask incredulously, falling back on her bed to stare the ceiling.

Every year since grade school the Mackenzie's hosted the Hollens family and my own for a Thanksgiving lunch. We eat good food, ride four wheelers and spend time with those we loved. I don't want Ashton to ruin that for me. As horrible as it sounds, tomorrow nights dinner will be the worst, lunch makes it all worth it. I don't want anything to be different.

Also, tomorrow my parents absence would be completely noticeable. We always talk about them, keeping their memory alive. We won't be able to do that if his family was there.

I don't want to answer questions.

"Because," She huffs, setting the cat on the bed, "my parents and Stella's sat next to his at the game a few weeks ago and they've become friends."  Ella shifts to the stop being difficult look she normally reserves for Sage. "Ashton is our friend and The Kings are coming as well. Now stop your complaining and put on Friends."

I get up and grab the remote, stomping my feet for dramatic effect. Sage has to learn it from someone. Ella only shakes her head, "They have no family in the area, Scarlett, they don't deserve to spend tomorrow alone."

I groan in frustration, knowing she's right and flop back onto the mattress. I land on Freda who howls in frustration, that makes two of us cat.

Tomorrow better go smoothly.

*****

"Boys, hurry up!" I yell upstairs. Surprise, surprise, we're running late.

We overslept, getting home late from Ella's last night. Then I had to make a dish and pick out clothes for lunch. Then I had to pack the clothes for dinner.

Yes, we wear two sets of clothes today. At the Mackenzie's we dress nice but at my aunts we dress to a whole 'nother level. I have to bring the bow ties out. Plus, Karen would die if we showed up in something that smelled even slightly dirty

A tempting thought.

I'm wearing a cream plaid skirt and a flowy white blouse with brown heels. Saffron waits in the kitchen, already dressed in a brown overall dress and a cream shirt with loose arms. I put her in charge of watching the food, a very important job of course.

I yell a few more times, now 15 minutes behind schedule.

Its fine. It's not like it's Thanksgiving day and every person in America would be on the road.

The boys come marching down single file. Silver wearing jeans and an untucked white button up with a brown vest. Decent.  Sterling in jeans and a cream sweater. Cute. Sage in jeans and a brown button up that had small cream dots on it. Where he gets his shirts from I have no idea.

We pass for decent human beings, now we can go. I herd them into the kitchen, stopping in my tracks as I watch Saffron attempting to pour herself a glass of Kool-Aid.