"Gobble gobble!"
"Happy Thanksgiving Zack 😂"

"Can someone pass the gravy?" I glance down at my plate, heaping with Mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, yams, and a thin slice of turkey.
Once Kelly passes me the gravy I pour it over my tray, carefully avoiding my dinner roll.
"How have you two been?" My father asks, glancing between his two oldest children.
"Good," Persia nods, glancing to Shrek, "I'm working and taking a few classes at the community college."
I wince as a bit of salty gravy gets in the cut on my lips. I manage to stay silent and not disrupt the conversation as I grab a napkin to wipe it off.
"I got a promotion at work," Shrek shrugs, "small raise too."
"Thats good," Our father nods.
"How's Clyde?" Persia asks, glancing to me.
I see my father grit his teeth as I go to respond.
"Good?" I raise an eyebrow, "his families hosting Thanksgiving at their house this year."
We sit around the dinner table eating our meal and making small talk.
Persia mentioned her boyfriend again, the same boy, and my father grits his teeth just as before. He still hadn't formally met the boy, but he'd been present in some of our video calls so he'd interrogated him briefly during those.
My mind flashes images of my father interrogating Zack when we were younger, asking if he liked me, if he was lying to him about not liking me, if he knew all the major pressure points- a bragging point for my father- Zack didn't know, but my father did from years studying in college. I wonder what he'd say if he knew about- whatever we are now?

When dinner was done, Persia, the twins and I began cleaning the kitchen while Shrek helped my father with something wrong with the truck and our mother did laundry.
"Do you have to go?" I pout.
Persia nods and gives me a sympathetic smile, "I have class on monday."
"Take me with you!" I glance up from the plates I'm collecting from the table.
Persia laughs, shaking her head as she takes the plates from me to start washing them.
"Don't go without us!" Kelly cries, seemingly semi jokingly, as she glances over her shoulder at me.
The twins stood on step stools at the counter wrapping left overs in aluminum foil.
"I wont," I sigh, "probably," I give her a mischievous smile and wrinkle my nose.
"We're not leaving until morning" Persia laughs.
"So you're saying I have until morning to pack?" I joke.
Persia laughs again, "I'm definitely not. Now, hand me the gravy boat."
I sigh, reaching across the table to hand her the gravy boat.