I woke up to Xxplosive licking my face. "Hey, X." I say as I pick her up. I can already smell the food being heated up and my stomach started rumbling. I go to the bathroom and push Santos over while setting Xxplosive next to Sleep. "Well, excuse you." Bae mumbles and I laugh before brushing my teeth. I almost fall when someone hits me in the knee. I look down and see Vonnie. "Fat man! What's up?" I say as I look down at him. He giggles and buries his face in my leg. Santos swoops him up and walks out. A few seconds later, Azendra, Raven and Kyrie are standing in the doorway. "May I help you?" I say and look at them. "No." They all respond and walk off. "Tray, honey. Hurry up, we're waiting for you so we can say grace." I look over and see my mom. "Ok. Here I come." I say. I grab my puppy, grab a shirt from my room and then go downstairs. I sit at the table but I don't see my mom. We say grace and all that. But now I'm worried cause my mom hasn't showed up yet. I send a text to everyone.
Tray: Did my mom come back?
Everybody: Nah, why?
I get sick to my stomach. I shake my head and try to keep my optimism. "You aight, though?" Santos asks. "Yea." I reply and continue on like there's nothing wrong. Many of you are probably wondering what's going on. The day my father died, he read me a bedtime story ... in my room ... while he was in the hospital. A lot of my family members have died since then and every time, I always end up seeing them. Either the day of their death or the day after. So ... I saw my mom today but no one else did ... that's scary shit. I excuse myself and go outside to call my grandmother. "Hey, Mama Tee." I say and try to stop my shaking. "Hey, Tray. What's up?" "Umm, is my mom there?" "No, sweetie. She and some guy are taking a little vacation. Why?" "I just was making sure she's alright. When was the last time you saw her?" "Last time I saw her was Monday but I talked to her yesterday." "Alright. Thanks, Mama Tee. I'll call you later. Happy Thanksgiving." I say and hang up. So, it's a possibility that my mom is still alive. "Bubba, what's wrong?" I hear and I turn around to see Kyrie. "Nothing, Kit-Kat." "Come on, Boo. Tell me." She says and I let out a shaky breath. "Remember when my dad died and we both said that we saw him that same day?" I ask and try to keep myself from crying. "Yea?" "I saw my mom today but none of you did." "That's a good thing, Bubba. When Granddaddy Henry died, we both saw him. And we concluded that if one of us doesn't see a person, they're alright." Kit-Kat says and I nod. She pulls me into her arms and says, "I know you're scared that you'll lose your mom. Try to stay optimistic, baby. It's easier said than done, I know that. But we're all here for you. I promise." "Ok. Thank you." "It's my job. Now get in the house. My mom made pineapple cheesecake." Kyrie says and pulls me up.
*6 hours later*
"Tray, baby. Are you ok?" Santos asks as he wraps his arms around me. "Hmm? Oh, yea. I'm fine." I say and lean into his embrace. "We've been dating for 2 months. I think I know when you aren't fine. So ... spill." He says and makes me look at him. "It's too complicated to explain." I reply. "You just don't wanna tell me." He says but he doesn't sound upset or anything. "That's true. Sorry, babe." "It's cool. Whenever you're ready, I'm all ears." He says and kisses me. I smile. One thing I have to say about Chresanto is that he's understanding. He's asked about multiple things that I haven't been comfortable sharing and each time, he assures me that he'll be there when I'm ready. Gah! He's so perfect. "Bubba, lemme lemme lemme." Kyrie says as she looks into my room. I nod and get up. She said: Bubba, come with me. I walk downstairs and Aunt Nette is handing everyone another plate of food. Uncle Donny loads us into the living room. "Ok, so y'all know how we do. Time to tell what we're thankful for." My aunt says. "Mm, I'll start." Donny says and sets his plate down. "I'm thankful for life and ... Hennessey. I'm a little drunk. Don't strike me down, Jesus." He says and we all laugh. "Well, I'm thankful for life, the ability to provide for my family and having you all brought into my life." Aunt Nette says. "I'm thankful for an extended family like this and all the trials and tribulations I've been through." Raven says and we all know what she's talking about. "I'm thankful for God opening my eyes and leading me to my beautiful girlfriend." Davantae says as he looks at Raven. "I'm thankful for the people who have stayed by my side and never left." Azendra says. "I'm thankful for enduring what I did and coming out strong. And for my cutie of a girlfriend." Kel says. "Like Kel, I'm thankful for all the stuff I've been through and my ability to never give up. I'm thankful for all of you and the love you've shown me and my brother. And I'm especially thankful for my marshmallow of a girlfriend who has given me something that I've never felt and holding on to me for dear life." Cole says. "I'm thankful for my past, my scars and all of you. I'm thankful for being introduced to one of the most extraordinary human beings on earth. And I'm thankful for my parents. The people who have done everything in their power to make sure I have everything I need. Even if they don't." Kit-Kat says and we all get a tear in our eyes. "I'm thankful for everything. Everything I've been through, everyone I met, everything I did. Everything!" Santos says and looks at me. "This is redundant but I'm thankful for all of you. I've known some you for a long time, some of you for a short time. But you all have spots in my heart and I look at you all like family. I'm thankful for my mother. Single mom doing a wonderful job. And I'm thankful for my father, Lord rest his soul, the one who showed me what it was to be a man." I say and I couldn't hold back the tears even if I wanted to. "I have to say this." Aunt Nette says and we all look at her. "All of you are amazing and make us proud. As time goes on, there will be situations in which your judgment is challenged. But no matter what, you keep your faith and you keep this moment in your mind. Because you all have been through too much with each other to let petty shit get in the way of the bonds that you all are creating." Nette says and we all nod. The room is dead silent and all I'm thinking about is my mom and what everyone said. I let those things sink in and as they rush through my mind, my eyes get heavy and I let them drop. Taking me away into Dreamland.
Y'all don't even know! I actually shed a little tear writing this. But I hope you guys enjoyed.
