With everyone here tonight we have a full house of sixteen flooding the kitchen and entryway with bodies and voices. My eyes sift through them until they land on Max, and I feel my lips turn up in a smile as I release my ladle and make my way over to him. I wrap my arms around his chest, hugging him tightly.
We jump back in alarm as Mindi shrieks, and I follow her horrified expression and see bright flashes and smoke emitting from the microwave.
Kyle, still standing beside the oven, quickly reaches over and turns it off, ending the bright flashes. We all silently stare at it for a moment to see if it’s really done and a loud boom pops from the inside, making both my mom and Kendall scream.
“What’s in there?” my mom asks, looking directly at me.
“I didn’t do it,” I say, shaking my head.
“I spilled on some papers and thought it would dry them off …” Savannah says shyly.
I mash my lips together to try and keep the hysterics surfacing inside. Kendall doesn’t even attempt to stop it. She bursts out laughing.
“Microwaves should really amend their warning label to add that Bosse women aren’t allowed to operate them,” Dad says, shaking his head, causing a chorus of laughter.
“Ace’s was the worst. Do you remember how awful it smelled?” Jenny laughs, wiping a tear from her cheek.
“That’s right, the brownies!” Mom says, laughing even harder. “Ace put a metal tin in the microwave with brownie mix for twenty minutes,” she explains to the few that don’t already know the story. “I think it only made it to six or seven before it was on fire.”
“I thought you were good at science,” Jameson teases.
“I was like five and that was my one and only microwave incident. Personally, I think the time that Savannah used it to dry her socks was the worst smelling incident.”
“Babe, tell me you didn’t?” Caulder pleads, shaking his head with a laugh.
“No, the worst smelling incident was the fish that my queen of the kitchen accidentally added an extra zero to when attempting to thaw a whole fish. Never mind the fact that you should never thaw a fish in the microwave to begin with, but the fish exploded and it was by far the most disgusting and smelly microwave story yet.”
“Why do you keep getting new ones, Dad?” Jenny asks with a laugh.
“Because it hides all of the scorch marks on the wall.” This makes us laugh even harder.
We continue to distribute jokes as mom works to usher everyone into the dining room. My mom had made a big fuss a few years ago about how there wasn’t enough space to fit everyone at our dining room table, bringing on a large renovation that took months to expand the dining room to fit a table that is quite literally the size of a boat.
The table causes a myriad of jokes about how difficult it is to hear someone sitting further down the table. Kyle and my dad are the worst offenders of the ensuing jokes, which generally leads to Mom getting annoyed and her accent becoming thicker, like it always does when she’s upset, before she eventually threatens them with dishes or a food fight.
“I think we should really consider doing spaghetti once a month,” Kyle says, patting his flat abs after finishing his second helping of spaghetti. “Seriously, you could bottle this stuff, Ace. Forget worrying about declaring a major.”
I grin at him as the conversation flows easily with everyone laughing, still reminiscing on microwave stories that have plagued our family.
“So, Savannah, how much longer do you have? Your face is getting really round,” Paul says as my mouth closes around a bite of spaghetti.
I look up and see Paul touching his own cheeks. My eyes grow round with alarm, and I cringe in anticipation of the retaliation sure to come. Jameson pounds his chest and reaches for his water glass as he coughs. Caulder sits beside him, looking ready to kill Paul with his fork that he holds like a dagger.
With no surprise, Mindi’s the first to start yelling. Savannah and Kendall jump in nearly immediately. Poor Jenny looks absolutely mortified as she begins defending Savannah. My mom looks ready to stab her butter knife through his larynx as she takes deep breaths, trying to remain calm.
After a few moments of horrifying awkwardness for our guests as threats and insults are launched at Paul, Dad taps his water glass and stands up.
“Alright, well I think we can safely say that remark came out wrong. Very wrong,” he says, looking pointedly at Paul. “Savannah, sweetheart, you look amazing. Now, if we’re all done eating, there are some cheesecakes in the fridge that I’m depending on you all to help me eat.”
The mood has turned sour though, filled with tension as people begin carrying their dishes into the kitchen. “I won’t be offended if you want to go home. Hell, I’ll go with you,” I whisper. Max smiles and shakes his head as we make our way to the kitchen.
Sharon does excuse herself with the excuse that she has an early surgery. Mindi, Kyle, Savannah, and Caulder all pack up as well, not even bothering to make an excuse.
“Well, Paul, you certainly know how to clear a room,” Kendall remarks as she cuts into a cheesecake.
“So, Ace …” Paul begins, ignoring Kendall as he leans into the bar, staring at me.
“So, Paul …” I reply, digging through the silverware drawer to extract forks. “If you tell me I look fat, I’ll give Kendall permission to stab you with a fork,” I warn and swear I can see the corners of my dad’s lips go up as he walks to his den with my mom.
“No, you don’t look fat, not at all. In fact, don’t get me wrong, I mean you’re really well proportioned…” he pauses and I look up to see him staring at my chest “…but if you gained some weight, they’d probably grow.” Paul throws back the rest of the liquor in his glass and looks at me with a grin.
I feel Max’s body tense beside me so I take a step forward, angling myself so my body serves as a barrier, trapping him behind the island. At least temporarily.
“Do you think before you speak?” Kendall fires. “Jenny, it’s time for Paul to go home, come and say goodbye. He’s saying more creepy and awkward things!”
“I’m not. I’m just paying a compliment”
“Paul, can’t you be nice for five minutes?” Jenny asks, emerging from the den with Dad.
“Bye, Paul, drive safe,” Kendall says sarcastically.
“Well, he’s …” Jameson shakes his head, unable to describe him.
“A bastard,” Max finishes, clenching his jaw as he glares out the kitchen window, watching Paul drive away.
I’m slightly relieved Kyle and Caulder aren’t still here. If they had been things wouldn’t have ended nearly this calmly.
“Are you going to drive back to school tonight?” I ask, placing my hand on Max’s forearm.
He takes in a deep breath before turning his attention from the window to look at me. “Yeah, I need to go and grab a few things first and put them in the Jeep.” His hand rakes through his hair in an agitated fashion. “Do you mind saying goodbye to your parents for me?”
I nod and watch him disappear before going to say my goodbyes.
We meet outside fifteen minutes later, piling things in our cars.
“Babe, where are your shoes?” I look down at my bare feet and up to Max as he heads toward me, his motorcycle helmet tucked under an arm.
“At home,” I answer, taking a couple of steps toward him. “Where are you staying tonight?” I ask, stopping at the end of the driveway.
“Wherever you are,” he answers, crossing the remaining distance to me. “I’ll follow you.”
“Hey, get your asses moving,” Jameson yells. “By the way, I’m going to check out that new gym by the house. I need to get back in a routine.”
“Don’t count on me,” Max says, pulling me tighter to his chest.
“Drive safely,” I say, kissing the front of his shirt.
“You too, babe.” He places his hand gently under my chin and tilts my face up to meet his lips and softly kisses me.