Crash and Burn

t w e n t y t h r e e: Extraordinary

Today was Thanksgiving, meaning that Roman and Brody were going to show up at my house around three o'clock this afternoon. I was extremely nervous to be around Roman and pretend like I had no clue about his drug secret. The only image playing in my brain from Saturday until today was the gun in Snake's belt and the three bags of white powder in Roman's hands. 

I knew that if Roman continued down this path then he was going to ruin his life, making me want to confess what I knew to him. However, I also knew that I needed to find more information like if he does deals every Saturday and if Snake and his guys are his regulars. I would have to sneak back to that alley on Saturday night even if it means putting myself in danger. 

My battle now though was trying to act as normal as possible around Roman so he wouldn't think something is wrong. Good thing I took acting lessons in elementary school, they're going to come in handy today. 

Now it was around noon so I decided to go ahead and get ready so I could help my mom with dinner. We were going to eat around five which meant we needed to start cooking in the next hour or so. Right as I'm about to get into the shower, my phone buzzes with a text.

Roman: Hey, is there anything that I should bring tonight? I could pick up something from the store if you need it?

I think about it for a second before realizing that my mom and I never bought anything for dessert, which is the best part. I shoot a text back to Roman, telling him to bring dessert and to make it a surprise. 

After my shower, I blow dry and curl my hair then apply some makeup. I decided to just wear a long sleeve red dress, over the knee black boots, and a low hanging gold necklace. After I fully approved of how I looked, I headed downstairs to find my mom in an apron working on what looks like mashed potatoes. 

"Oh, Tessa! Thank God! I need you to help me get the turkey into the oven!" she says frantically, pointing to the raw turkey sitting on a platter, already stuffed. My mother always got overwhelmed around the holidays, even though most of the time it was just us. However today she was even more frantic because we were having guests, but Roman would be pleased no matter how extravagant our feast is. I agree nonetheless to help her put the turkey in the oven, grabbing one end of the platter as she grabbed the other. We slide it into the middle rack and set the timer for the recommended cooking time

"Okay, now I need you to go wake your brother up and tell him to get ready then get his butt down here to make the green bean casserole," I don't protest and do what I'm told, which takes longer than expected. Casey really did not want to wake up, but once I told him he could have the tv remote for a week he finally complied. 

I make my way back downstairs at around two o'clock after Casey got into the shower. I finished cutting up the potatoes and mashing them with my mom then put them into the oven, and after she got started on the gravy for the turkey. Next, I went ahead and set the dining table, getting it out of the way so I wouldn't have to do it later.  

Eventually, Casey was downstairs and making the green bean casserole with mom, wearing too much Axe cologne as per usual. I went ahead and put the rolls in the toaster oven because they didn't need as much space and cooked faster than everything else. 

Finally, most of the pre Thanksgiving dinner tasks were over besides making the salad which mom did thirty minutes before it was time to eat. I took a seat on the couch, letting out a breath of relief after running around the house and cooking for so long. I turned on "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" because it really was a classic. I got so caught up in cooking and Charlie Brown that I completely forgot Roman was showing up with Brody at three. I was reminded by the sound of the doorbell ringing.