“Do you mind? You all look fantastic. And the photo will turn out better if there’s still some food on your plates,” Everett said.
“He knows us too well already,” Claire affirmed.
“Very well. Take it,” Trevor said.
Everyone became very quiet and smiled. This was the problem with photographing people: they never knew how to act naturally unless you made sure you took the photo when they weren’t watching. Still, the photo turned out very nice: a portrait of many, many people who mostly all looked vaguely alike, beautiful in their own right, all simmering with love and compassion for one another.
After dinner, Christine asked if anyone was ready for pie. The collective groan was louder than a plane engine.
“Let’s take a walk first,” Lola suggested.
“It’s not that we don’t want to eat your pie, Christine,” Susan said delicately. “It’s just that we don’t want to explode while doing it.”
“Okayyyy,” Christine said.
“Maybe we could head into the woods for a walk? I’ve been meaning to check out the birds today,” Wes said. He rubbed his palms together with anticipation, his eyes sparkling.
Everyone agreed it sounded like a good idea. Everett watched as Charlotte glanced back toward the bedroom. As everyone hustled up to grab their coats and shoved their feet into snow boots, Everett nudged Charlotte and said, “I hope you’re not thinking about heading back in there to do some work.”
Charlotte blushed. “I just need to call her back.”
“Is there any reason to call her besides easing her crazy mind?”
“No. I guess not. I have everything arranged. And if everything goes as planned, there won’t be anything to worry about,” Charlotte said. “She’s just panicked and taking it all out on me.”
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “And it’s not fair.”
Charlotte pressed her hands over her cheeks and blinked down at her half-eaten plate. Obviously, she had been too nervous to finish her food like the rest of them had.
“Just a short walk,” he said. “Through the woods. It sounds so beautiful. And I don’t think I could do it without you.”
Charlotte arched her brow playfully. “And why not?”
Everett shrugged. “Because I’m afraid of nature. I’m a city boy. Isn’t that obvious?”
Charlotte gave a begrudging look, “Fine,” then stood to grab her coat with the others. As she yanked her red gloves over her hands, she blinked at him and said, “You don’t have anything warm to wear, do you?”
Everett admitted he didn’t. Everyone made a big fuss about this, which was exactly what Everett hadn’t wanted. Susan ruffled through the back closet until she dragged out one of Wes’s old hunting coats, which looked ridiculous on Everett.
“You’ll look the part of Martha’s Vineyard in no time,” Charlotte said teasingly.
“It is warm. I’ll give it that,” Everett said.
“I haven’t worn that coat since the winter of 1977,” Wes announced.
“I swear. Your memory works in mysterious ways, Dad,” Susan said as she wrapped her arm around him and nestled her head against his upper arm.
She and Wes walked up ahead of Everett and Charlotte, which allowed Charlotte to say, “You can probably guess that it’s been a traumatic year in our family.”
“I guess so.”
“Susan had breast cancer. She’s in remission now and slowly growing that gorgeous head of hair back. She keeps complaining about the streaks of silver in it, but I think she looks beautiful,” Charlotte said.
“Agreed,” Everett said. “She looks proud. Confident.”
“Like a woman who’s been through hell and come out the other side,” Charlotte agreed.
Everett glanced her way again, wondering about the disaster that had befallen her life.
Of course, Charlotte chose instead to linger on everyone else’s stories, instead of her own. She explained about Wes’s dementia, Anna’s death way back in 1993, Audrey’s baby and her decision to have Christine raise her until she graduated from Penn State, along with Christine’s newfound love in Zach, her previous high school nemesis.
“It’s so much drama,” Everett finally said with a laugh as they neared the edge of the woods. Their feet crunched at the top of the snow, then slid through to the soft white snow below.
“It’s been a lot to keep up with,” Charlotte agreed.
“I guess it makes for a lot of things to be thankful for,” he said.
She glanced at him and held his gaze for a long moment. Just then, Wes whispered harshly, “Everyone! Look! There’s that cardinal up in the tree yonder. Do you see him? He sees us. He doesn’t know what to make of us. But isn’t he the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”
Chapter Eleven
Hours later, Charlotte still managed to resist the allure of her phone, just beyond the spare bedroom door. Sometimes, when she caught a glimpse of it, the little light told her, Come find me! Fix this! Put out this fire! But each time, she turned her head back and fell again into reckless banter with Everett Rainey.
“That’s way too much!” she cried now, watching as Everett smeared a full slice of apple and a full slice of pumpkin pie onto her plate.
“You can’t get through Thanksgiving Day without having two slices of pie, Charlotte. Come on,” he told her.
“The man has a point,” Claire said from the couch, where she feasted on two slices, as well.
“You’re crazy. All of you,” Charlotte said. “Hey!” she exclaimed, as Everett filled up her glass of wine yet again. “You know I have to work tonight.”
“And I’m trying my hardest to make you forget about that,” Everett said, giving her another one of his crooked smiles.
“Sabotage,” she said, lifting her glass and giving him a fake-dirty look.
“And yet, here you go, drinking it all over again,” Everett said. “It’s too easy.”
Rachel slinked up and added a slice of pumpkin pie to her dessert plate. Charlotte realized that she had spent most of the past hour talking to Everett and Everett alone. She tapped a napkin across her lips and said, “Rachel! Have you met Everett yet?”
“Not really,” Rachel replied. “Hey. I’m this one’s daughter.”
“I can see the resemblance,” Everett
