My dad stood and took the large knife. “I think I’d like Lorenzo to do the honors of cutting into the turkey,” he said.
“Me?” he nearly choked.
“Of course, besides, reaching all the way isn’t good for my back,” my dad laughed.
Lorenzo sliced right through the turkey, a big smile carved into his face, no longer hiding in his facial hair. It was so wide, I could almost feel it beaming at me when he looked to me.
There were mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, stuffing, bread rolls, ham, glazed carrots, sweet potatoes, gravy, green beans, broccoli casserole from Diane, mac and cheese, and even a small setting of salad that I wasn’t touching, alongside cranberry sauce, and applesauce.
Before I was even allowed to eat, Lorenzo stuffed a napkin into the collar of my shirt. Nobody watched, everyone was already digging into the feast, scooping from the bowls, and filling their plates. He gave me a kiss and whispered, “now you don’t have to worry about spilling food down your nice shirt.” Those tingles could’ve had me wiggle right out of my skin and burst with the heat of a thousand suns. I wanted to scream I loved him, but instead, I reached for a bread roll and stuffed it in my mouth. My recipe, so delicious.
I didn’t eat much, knowing dessert was just around the corner, and I’d made two of them.
We drank wine, including Max who was stealing mouthfuls of it from mom’s glass. It was the cheap stuff, so any more than a mouthful and he was wincing at the taste.
There was still so much food left once I’d declared I was done. I’d moped the gravy from my plate with the last bread roll, and only managed to eat half of it before leaving the rest on the plate.
“Are we going to find out what desserts you made?” Diane asked as I tried reclining in the dining chair, a hand on my stomach like it was the explosion point and I had to contain it.“Your mom told me I wasn’t allowed to peek, but I want to know what you’ve made.”
“Give me a minute,” I said, grabbing my glass of water.Lorenzo was still wolfing down turkey and ham, makingsome very satisfied noises. “Actually, we’ve got to wait until everyone is done with food. That’s the rule.”
“I just wanna know,” she said. “Please, whisper it to me.”
It wasn’t going to happen. My desserts were carefully crafted to make the most people at the table happy, and that was still going to be a surprise to them when they were brought through from the kitchen. Alongside whatever desserts my mom had prepared, but we all knew what they were most looking forward to.
It was an hour later when everyone was ready for dessert. We had some small cups of coffee going around and they were the perfect pick-me-ups after eating all that heavy food. I was thankful for that.
Dessert time came, and my mom revealed her pumpkin pie which was a staple for the occasion. I revealed mine. A pecan pie and a chocolate cheesecake, my mom’s favorite. I’d also prepared a pot of caramel sauce which required a quick blitz in the microwave but besides that, desserts were served.
Slicing up a nice portion for Lorenzo and a drizzle of sauce, I sat down beside him with one spoon in hand.
“Where’s yours?” he asked.
“I thought we’d share.”
“Mhm, you want to sharemydessert?”
Pressing my tongue to my teeth, this was not the place to begin feeling the heat between us, but I would’ve jumped into his lap and started feeding him the pie, then eating it off his tongue. It was possible the influence of wine that had me thinking this way, or the fact we’d both confessed our love to each other.
Lorenzo took the spoon and carefully cut through the tip of the pie. “Open up,” he whispered. “Or it’ll make a mess.”
I obeyed, opening my mouth for him to airplane the dessert. It was amazing. I didn’t try too much of it when I was making it, but you couldn’t go wrong with pecan covered incaramel, it was heaven. My eyes rolled back, and I caught myself before making any moans.
So did he. “Save that,” he said. “For when we’re alone.”
I could feel myself turning just as red as my shirt, and as I turned slightly, I didn’t see anyone watching or even paying attention to us. My dad had left the table, filling his cup with coffee, Max had his earphones in, Diane and my mom were cutting the deserts up, and Olivia was in the hallway talking loudly on her phone.
This time I took the spoon and fed Lorenzo a bite of the pie. His first taste.
His eyes rolled back. He let out a throaty moan while chewing, his eyes settled on mine, nodding slowly and smiling. “I love it.”
“We’re using that word a lot tonight,” I said.
“Because I’m full of it.”
“Of love.”
He nodded. “So much love.”
