Foreman was glad most of the family had gotten caught up in a debate that didn't really matter. Geoffrey was saying something about how they could present Brian with the cheapest, most logical travel plan, and it would still be no guarantee that Brian would make the effort to change his ticket or arrive at the right gate if he did. Chris was trying to calm everyone down, with the simple pronouncement that if Brian said he had it figured out, then he did, and they'd still be seeing him for Thanksgiving dinner, which was the important part. It gave Foreman a moment to feel like Amber had actually seen him again. Ever since she'd announced 'her boyfriend', like a spectacle on display, he hadn't been sure she remembered him, Eric, the guy she'd been sleeping with for the past six weeks. When she smiled at him, he realized he might've been treating her the same way, like a prop in a game of good manners. He smiled back and leaned into her, so that their shoulders were pressed closer together.
He was taken aback by Amber's question. He shouldn't have been; the topic of families and going home and holidays were all around them, and he knew Amber was curious about his family. She rarely let an admission of his pass by without asking a follow-up question, even if she was careful enough to step around the obvious pitfalls in his past. Foreman took a sip of his wine, frowning thoughtfully. Too much was different to really make comparisons. The Volakises were better off; their house and yard and neighbourhood all showed that. But Kate's admonishments to everyone to stay seated while she got dinner ready, or the way Amber and Geoffrey wrestled for the most credit, was familiar. "I don't know," he said. "It's not like Trenton." Maybe everything was too different, so that it didn't evoke specific memories, either good or bad. And for as long as Foreman had been going home for holidays, during college and med school, Mom had been fine, asymptomatic still. So he didn't associate Thanksgiving with bad memories. Sometimes Marcus had been there--usually eager about fresh starts, making grand promises, making Mom smile--or else he wasn't, and the only time he was mentioned was when Dad said grace, almost as if eating his Thanksgiving meal at the Downstate Correctional Facility was just an obligation he hadn't been able to get out of. "Is it different with me here?" Foreman wasn't sure he was ready for some kind of evaluation on his performance so far, but he could swallow his pride enough to get a few pointers.
"All right, everyone," Kate announced, coming back into the living room. "We're ready for dinner. Everyone head into the dining room."
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He was taken aback by Amber's question. He shouldn't have been; the topic of families and going home and holidays were all around them, and he knew Amber was curious about his family. She rarely let an admission of his pass by without asking a follow-up question, even if she was careful enough to step around the obvious pitfalls in his past. Foreman took a sip of his wine, frowning thoughtfully. Too much was different to really make comparisons. The Volakises were better off; their house and yard and neighbourhood all showed that. But Kate's admonishments to everyone to stay seated while she got dinner ready, or the way Amber and Geoffrey wrestled for the most credit, was familiar. "I don't know," he said. "It's not like Trenton." Maybe everything was too different, so that it didn't evoke specific memories, either good or bad. And for as long as Foreman had been going home for holidays, during college and med school, Mom had been fine, asymptomatic still. So he didn't associate Thanksgiving with bad memories. Sometimes Marcus had been there--usually eager about fresh starts, making grand promises, making Mom smile--or else he wasn't, and the only time he was mentioned was when Dad said grace, almost as if eating his Thanksgiving meal at the Downstate Correctional Facility was just an obligation he hadn't been able to get out of. "Is it different with me here?" Foreman wasn't sure he was ready for some kind of evaluation on his performance so far, but he could swallow his pride enough to get a few pointers.
"All right, everyone," Kate announced, coming back into the living room. "We're ready for dinner. Everyone head into the dining room."