After dinner, Zack and I move to the kitchen to wash some dishes. He washes and I dry.
"Was dinner good?" he asks.
I nod immediately. "So good. You know, I've never actually had turkey on Thanksgiving."
"Why not?"
"My dad doesn't really like it and our family's pretty small anyway." My voice trails off.
"Do you miss them?" he asks.
I shake my head. "The opposite actually," I admit.
I hesitate a bit before asking, "What happened with Marcus and his parents? If I'm allowed to know."
He turns off the sink and grasps the ledge. "His parents got into some trouble. He stayed with them until he turned 18 and left after. I won't go into specifics but that's part of why him and I lost contact. Now we're just... trying to rebuild."
I nod slowly. "I'm glad you guys are back together."
"Yeah, I just... It was just the three of us for so long, you know? And all of a sudden, all these missing parts, my dad, my cousin... they're all coming back together." He looks down. "Sorry, I shouldn't-"
"Don't be sorry," I say. "Things are going well with your dad, right?"
"Yeah," Zack says. "He's actually trying. A lot. And he makes my mom happy and... I'm just tired of being mad at people." He smirks. "I'm not going soft though."
I pat his shoulder affectionately. "Of course not."
We grin at each other.
"You know, sometimes I can't believe how far we've come," I say.
He snorts. "You talk like we're 80."
"Don't say that," I say, wrinkling my nose. "When we're 80, you'll be all gray and wrinkly. Without your looks, what use will you be?"
"You know I'm gonna be a hot grandpa," he says immediately. "Good luck keeping the other grandmas away from me. All their husbands will be dead."
"You're so sure I'm gonna be around to deal with your cranky attitude. What if we get into a huge fight and I kick you out of the house?"
"Yeah right."
"It could happen," I point out, pausing my drying to turn to him. "Okay, how about this? Let's say I come home from work, tired from making millions of dollars, and you haven't done the dishes yet so I get mad. How would you respond?"
He raises a brow. "So role play is your thing. If that's what you wanted, you could've just said so."
"Zack!"
"Fine," he says. "Except by the time you get home, it's probably around 6 or 7 and I always do dishes after dinner."
I grit my teeth. "Okay. Then what about it's my birthday and you forgot."
"Your birthday's June 12th and I have a reminder on my phone."
"You miss one of our dates because you have football practice."
"You know, that's on me," he says, shaking his head seriously. "I should've cancelled my practice and told Coach I have to reschedule."
"I... You're-"
Zack laughs. "Amelia, stop worrying about the future. You're happy right now, right?"
"Yeah," I say. "Seeing this side of you and your family... It's everything I've ever wanted."
He pauses to look down at me. "Well, it's yours now," he says. "Unless you break my heart. Then you're blacklisted and we'll burn down your dorm. Even Tommy."
I laugh. "And what happens if you break my heart?"
He thinks. "Then I guess I'll just have to burn my own dorm. But that's not gonna happen."
"I'm not gonna break your heart either," I say with full confidence.
He stares at me, the smile on his lips fading slightly. "Don't say it unless you mean it."
In response, I draw an X over my heart. He smirks at me slightly, mumbling something about how childish I am. But when he looks away, he's smiling.