“What? That’sa lotof food.”
“That’s child’s play. We’re a five-plate minimum family.”
I slide my eyes toward Zach, who’s sitting there with a frown on his face. “I told you not to eat this morning.”
“I’m going to die, aren’t I?”
“Probably, but I promise to make your funeral fun.”
“Since it’s your first time, we’ll let you go with three, but next time, you need to step up and put your best effort in like the rest of us,” Jack teases.
I laugh. “Deal.”
Rose promises five plates, Jack six, and the boys each commit to seven.
“Seven? How will you eatsevenplates?”
“Three or four right now and then three or four later,” Zach explains.
“You’re allowed to split them up?”
“Yes, dear. The only rule is that the food must be gone before midnight tonight. We begin eating at noon, giving us twelve hours to complete the challenge,” Rose explains.
“And you makeallthis food for the challenge?”
She nods. “Every year.”
“But why?”
“Because it’s fun! What else are we going to do?”
“Excellent point. Okay, I’m game for five plates then.”
Jack’s grin grows wider. “Way to be a team player, Delia.”
He carves the turkey and we dive in, loading our plates up.
For several minutes, the only thing we all do is eat. To my surprise, no one is shoveling food into their mouths. They’re taking it nice and slow.
“So how did you two meet?” Shep asks, pointing his fork between me and Zach.
“Sex addict group.”
“Zachary!”
He chuckles. “Fine. I texted her thinking she was a client and she responded thinking I was her brother. Eventually we figured out the screw-up and kept talking after that.”
“Caleb mentioned you had moved on rather quickly,” Shep comments.
The remark stings, but I push it aside.
“Onward and upward is what I say.” Zach throws me a wink.
“Do you often meet up with random guys you text with?”
“Hey,” Zach shouts, dropping his fork. “Don’t be an ass. I will throw a punch on Thanksgiving, I don’t give a shit.”
The boys eye each other, and I see the anger building inside Zach. That’s the second rude remark to leave Shep’s mouth within the last minute. I don’t know what his deal is, but I don’t like it.
