“There they go. Our servants,” Susan said, teasing them.
The girls set to work. Everett heard them muttering about which side the salad fork went on and where to put the napkins. There were so many of them there for dinner that that larger guy, Tommy, came over to place another leaf in the table. This led to even more conversations about where to put the extra chairs and plates. By the time the table was set, Everett’s stomach had set up a little performance of back-flips. He was hungry.
Lucky for him, Everett found a way to cut through the bubbling family and sit beside Charlotte at the dinner table. Charlotte adjusted in her chair and clutched her hands together anxiously. Everett wondered if he was the one who made her nervous. He didn’t want that. Or did he? It was certainly interesting, this tension brewing between them.
“Shall we pray?” Trevor, Charlotte’s father, asked from the head of the table, which he shared with Wes.
Everyone bowed their heads. It had been a long time since Everett had heard a prayer. His mother wasn’t the most religious, and she had slowly faded prayer out of their dinners after his father’s death.
“Everlasting Father,” Trevor began, “We come to you today more thankful than yesterday. You’ve gifted us with countless blessings over the previous year. You’ve watched over Susan throughout her diagnosis and treatment. You’ve brought all three of the Sheridan sisters back to the island after twenty-some years away. You’ve given my daughter, Charlotte, prosperity in the wake of disaster. You’ve honored Steven’s son, Jonathon, with a beautiful new marriage. You’ve given Audrey the gift of life.”
At this, Everett was pretty sure he heard Audrey snort. It wasn’t like a college-aged student to give thanks for an accidental pregnancy, he supposed.
“And you’ve blessed Christine with the ability to be a mother through Audrey’s service,” Trevor continued. “Beyond that, you’ve brought Stan Ellis and his step-son, Tommy, into our lives. They’re some of the kindest people we’ve ever met. They complete our lives much more than we could have fathomed. We ask you, Lord, to continue to bless my brother-in-law, Wes, as he continues on with his treatment and refines his mind each and every day. Thank you, dear Lord, for the mother of my beautiful children, my darling Kerry—and give our best to Anna up there in heaven. Tell her we miss her, we love her, and we’re doing everything we can to keep this world spinning down here. Amen.”
Woah. When Everett opened his eyes, he witnessed nearly every member of the extended family on the verge of tears. Trevor’s wife, Kerry, placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder and whispered, “That was beautiful, Trevor. Thank you.”
Everyone else murmured their agreement.
After a strange pause, Trevor extended his arm toward Everett and said, “Goodness! I forgot to add. Thank you, oh Lord, for bringing a stranger into our midst. For it’s only with a stranger by your side that you realize there are no strangers in this life at all. Only people you haven’t met yet.”
“Thank you,” Everett said sheepishly. “That means a lot.”
Dinner was served. Zach looked on proudly as everyone dug into the turkey, which was seasoned perfectly and not even too dry, the stuffing, the cranberry sauce, the dinner rolls, the sweet potatoes, and the kale salad. Admittedly, most everyone avoided the kale salad altogether. Everett placed a bit of it on his plate, paying homage to his California existence. I’ll get back to you later, kale.
Conversation bubbled on freely, as did the wine-pouring. Throughout it all, Everett thought back to Trevor’s prayer. What exactly had he meant about Charlotte’s disaster? It stood to reason, he supposed, that something had happened to her husband? Something like that? Although, when she cut her head back in beautiful laughter, she looked light and free, nothing like the kind of woman who’d lost her husband.
Of course, grief came in a number of different packages.
Susan made a loud, “Mmm,” sound as she tore through her stuffing with a fork. “I am so glad my appetite came back after all that stupid chemo. This is some of the best Thanksgiving food I’ve ever had.”
“True,” her daughter, Amanda, chimed in. “We always did okay back in Newark, but this really takes the cake.”
“You were living in Newark before this?” Everett asked.
Susan nodded. Her eyes shone with happiness. “I lived in Newark from age eighteen, too, well, June of this year.”
“That’s a long time,” Everett said.
“My babies still live there, although I would love to get them back here,” Susan said. “Speaking of babies, where are the twins?” She turned toward Kristen, her daughter-in-law.
“They finally passed out upstairs,” Kristen said.
“This is the first meal I’ve eaten in a long time where I haven’t been covered in toddler food,” Susan’s son, Jake, said.
“I remember those days,” Lola said with a funny laugh.
“Me too,” Charlotte said. She reached across the table and squeezed her daughter’s wrist. “Rachel was never so messy, though. She was always ladylike.”
“Ha.” Rachel’s cheeks burned with embarrassment.
“What about you, Everett? Any kids of your own?” Trevor asked.
Everett shook his head. “Never got around to it, I’m afraid.”
“You must have quite a career,” Trevor said.
“Something like that.”
“He’s traveled all over the world taking photographs,” Christine said, lifting her glass of wine. “I Googled you. That photo you had featured in National Geographic...?”
“Wow. Even I know that magazine,” Trevor said.
“That was a long time ago,” Everett said. He palmed his neck, suddenly sheepish. “I traveled to Peru for a story with a journalist I was friends with at the time. We got some great shots that day. It was only the first of two times I was featured in National Geographic. I mostly make money photographing events, weddings, parties that really rich people throw.”
“Like this one?” Trevor said, stretching his arms out toward the holiday before them.
Everyone laughed. But suddenly, Everett stood, walked toward his camera bag, and positioned his camera up toward his chest. Everyone looked at
