Page 21

TWENTY-ONE

MADELINE

GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN(DAMENTAL RIGHTS) AND GOOD SEX

Emmy

Thanksgiving is at our place on Thursday. I hope you all can come.

Maven

The Titans are away, and since we’re off, the kids and I are going to fly out to California for the game.

Piper

Aw. That’ll be fun! I’ll be at Thanksgiving, Em!

Lexi

Me too.

Me

Thank you so much for the invitation. I’m not sure if Lucy and I can make it, but I appreciate you offering.

Emmy

Of course. Bring something if you want, but it’s not a requirement. We eat A LOT of food, so there’s always plenty to pick from.

Lexi

Any day I can unbutton my jeans at the table is a good day.

Piper

I feel like there’s a double meaning there.

Lexi

I like how your brain works, Piper.

Lucy sets a piece of artwork next to my ceramic mixing bowl and tugs on my shirt.

Look what I did at school! She points at the paper boasting a turkey decorated with feathers and glitter. That’s my hand!

I’d recognize your hand anywhere . I lift her and set her on the counter beside my ingredients for lemon pepper chicken. Does your turkey have a name?

Princess Diamond Horseshoe Ridgewood .

That’s lovely . Where should we put her?

On the fridge! She points to the stainless-steel appliance to my left. Next to the other pictures .

I’ll ask Hudson if we can hang it up .

Lucy smiles. She stirs the egg mixture I’ve been working on and wrinkles her nose before letting go of the whisk.

Why is it yellow? It smells funny .

Because there are eggs in it . And the smell is garlic . You like garlic . I put it on the bread you had for dinner last night .

I love bread!

I laugh. I know you do , angel .

Can I help you?

Of course. You’re going to get your hands dirty .

Like in the sandbox at school? That’s okay!

I smile and walk to the pantry, grabbing the tiny apron I bought for her last year. We rarely got the chance to cook together when we lived in Vegas, and I never wanted her to think she had to enjoy something just because I did.

She’s been more curious here in DC, asking about what I’m putting in the meals I’m making and giving her opinion on the tastes and flavors I’m working on.

I love it.

I roll Lucy’s sleeves to her elbows and carry her to the sink so she can wash her hands. Once she dries them off, I put her back on the counter and help her coat the chicken breasts in the egg mixture.

It’s so cold! She giggles and moves the chicken to another bowl with Parmesan cheese and flour. My fingers are freezing!

Sometimes I wear gloves when I do this . I let her put the covered chicken on a plate and kiss the top of her head. Great job .

I’m a chef just like you!

I don’t know why, but that makes me unbelievably proud.

We work for the next thirty minutes, coating all the chicken in Parmesan and putting the breasts in a skillet. We melt butter and garlic in a different pan and add broth, lemon juice, and pepper before pouring it over the cooked chicken and garnishing them with lemon slices.

This is one of my favorite meals to make, and it’s even more fun with my daughter by my side. I like teaching her how to slice the lemons without cutting her finger and the way I clean up as I go.

We’ll let the food cool , then we’ll eat it with the rice I have going in the rice cooker , I tell Lucy, and she nods.

I help her to the ground and she gives Gus and Millie a pat on their heads. Footsteps echo down the hall, and they start to wag their tails.

“Holy shit. What smells so good?” Hudson drops his keys on the counter and walks around the island. “ Fuck . Is this the lemon butter chicken I like?”

He’s been busy with an away game, a home game, and a community outreach project, and I’ve barely seen him since the night I went out with the girls. Since the night he touched my face and made my stomach swoop low, and I’m glad he’s here. I’m glad to have a few minutes with him, because I’m learning I miss him when he’s gone for too long.

“It is.” I slap his hand away when he tries to touch the plate. “Ten minutes and it’ll be ready.”

“Perfect timing.” He turns for the sink and washes his hands. “I thought I was behind schedule, and I didn’t want y’all waiting on me for lunch. Morning skate ran late because we opened practice to the public, and I got tied up signing some trading cards.”

“Are all your practices open to the public?” I ask, pulling down three plates.

“No. Some teams do that, but we only open them around the holidays and at the beginning and end of the year. With Thanksgiving being the day after tomorrow, Coach was fine with people coming down and watching.” Hudson glances at the turkey Lucy drew. “What is this masterpiece?”

I tap Lucy’s shoulder, and she looks up. “ That’s what Lucy made at school today . Her name is Princess Diamond Horseshoe Ridgewood ,” I say and sign, and he nods like he’s familiar with the name. “ She wanted to know if she could hang it up on the fridge .”

“Of course she can.” He moves a greeting card to the left and taps the spot next to two photos of Gus and Millie. “Right here will be perfect.”

I bet he’s the kind of guy who keeps every birthday and Christmas card he’s ever received. There’s probably a box of mementos somewhere in his closet. Memories from the past ten, fifteen years tucked away, and he’ll never get rid of them.

“ Hudson said you can put your art up , Luce ,” I tell her.

She jumps to her feet. She grabs her artwork and stands on her toes, trying to reach the spot Hudson designated for her, but she’s too short. He laughs and lifts her up by her middle. He puts her on his shoulder and helps her attach the construction paper with a magnet that looks like a hockey puck.

Damn my heart for skipping a beat.

“It’s like the damn Louvre in here,” he says. “I want a hundred more drawings.”

“ Hudson wants you to do more art , Luce .”

She lights up and nods. I’ll make more turkeys! Can I go play with my dolls , Mommy?

“Only for a few minutes. The rice will be ready soon.”

She nods again, and Hudson sets her down. She takes off down the hall, the dogs chasing after her.

“Thanks for appeasing her,” I say to Hudson when she disappears in her room.

“Appeasing her? I’m not appeasing her. I like having that on the fridge.” He glances around the kitchen, and his eyebrows wrinkle. “Makes this place look a little more welcoming.”

I open the utensil drawer and pull out three forks and three knives. “Are you around this afternoon?”

“Yeah. I’m stopping by the bakery up the road to grab a couple of pies for Thanksgiving. Emmy told me she invited y’all to her and Maverick’s place.” Hudson pauses and rubs his jaw. “You don’t want to come?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to come. I just feel like we’d be an imposition.”

“What? No way. There are sixty people that show up, and I don’t know who some of them are.”

“That’s okay. We’ll be fine with Chinese takeout and some homemade mashed potatoes.”

“Interesting combination.”

“It’s tradition. Mashed potatoes are my favorite food. I spend every other day out of the year cooking for everyone else, so no matter what I eat on Thanksgiving, I always have to have a bowl of mashed potatoes too.”

“There will be mashed potatoes at Mav and Emmy’s, so you can keep up with your traditions, Mads.”

“You’re not going to let me say no, are you?” I ask.

“Of course you can say no.”

Lucy and I have spent the last six Thanksgivings with my parents. It’s always been a small affair: a turkey I spend all morning cooking, some sides my mom throws together—including boxed stuffing—and mashed potatoes. We sit in front of the television so my dad can watch hours of football, and then we fall asleep early.

We FaceTimed them earlier today because we couldn’t fly out due to bad weather making it across the country. Lucy showed off all her other artwork. My mom told us what they’re doing for the holiday. It was good to catch up with them, and we promised we’d talk more soon.

Maybe I’m a little lonely, because the idea of being here without Hudson suddenly sounds unenjoyable.

“Okay,” I relent, and he pumps his fist in the air. “Under one condition.”

“Anything,” he’s quick to say.

“You can bring your pies, but I’m going to make an extra dessert or two. I refuse to show up somewhere empty-handed. Or with something store-bought. Come on, Hayes. We can do better than that.”

“The team is going to love you, Madeline Galloway.”