Incognito

Ch. 16 "Loose All My Masculinity Creds"

Chapter 16

Thanksgiving. The time for families to come together and eat one huge meal that leaves their stomachs aching. It's also a time for mending broken bonds by sharing to one another that they all mean the world to you. Thanksgiving is a time for thanks.

I love it.

I love that my dad got to come home, I love that we'll be together as a family, I love being able to tell my dad and brother how glad I am to have them in my life.

But I don't love that my grandma uses a special sauce on the turkey that contains almonds. It would be assumed that she wouldn't add this ingredient, but she puts it on every year. My dad doesn't understand why, though no one really does.

So, I'm left to eat the mashed potatoes, corn, and cranberry sauce. I manage, since the same thing happens each year.

It isn't until Trent and Laura come over after all of our family is gone that I receive a turkey that I can actually consume without dying.

"Cassidy, are you a vegetarian?" My grandma asks once she realizes I hadn't eaten any turkey.

Frankie and I share a look before I respond to my grandma with, "no."

My tone may have been a little sassy to an eighty-year old lady. That's why my dad is literally killing me with that glare of his. I just shrug, considering he's the one who can't stand up to his mom and tell her not to add the sauce.

"She's allergic to almonds, mom," my dad explains for me, much kinder too.

My grandma mutters something under her breath before eating some of the turkey and starting a conversation with my aunt. This literally happens every year. He tells her, but she doesn't care.

Here's the thing about my dad's family: they don't like us. I really don't know what it is, but my mom said it was because my dad moved to North Carolina for her work instead of staying in Pennsylvania with the rest of the family. We're really just the outsiders of the family.

"Play any sports, Cassie?" My uncle Cory asks and shoves a huge piece of turkey into his mouth.

"Sure, just wave it in front of my face," I mutter, Frankie being the only one who hears.

"What was that?"

"No," I answer, "I don't play any sports."

"What a shame. You know, we love going to Joey's games," my grandma says and winks to my cousin Joey.

I do my best to hold in an eye roll and smile sarcastically at my grandma.

Joey is the golden grandson. He's playing football at UCLA, his dream college. He'll probably make football his career, since I don't think his brains are up to par. Everyone worships the guy.

Don't get me wrong, I love Joey. He's the sweetest guy and I'm lucky to have him as a cousin, but I'm definitely in his shadow. They're always comparing me to him, and that gets annoying after awhile.

"How's the writing going, Cass?" Joey asks.

I shrug, "I'd like to think okay. But I'm on the newspaper and-"

"It's impossible to make it as a writer, dear. What are the statistics on that? How many people actually become successful?" My grandma interrogates, look at my father as if to tell him to crush my dreams. "It's just not a likely career."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I gape.

"Cassidy," my dad scorns, "language."

"My bad, are you flipping kidding me? It's about the same odds that someone could become a professional football player!" I yell, obviously getting fed up with my grandma and her ways.