Sharing a Bed with My Stepdad

I slump in the back of my stepfather’s SUV as we wind our way toward the lakeside cabin my aunt booked for Thanksgiving. The single silver lining is that it’s on a lake.

I adore the water. Swimming is my absolute favorite thing. But we’re in Northern California, so the lake is mostly for admiring, especially with Thanksgiving here and winter approaching.

No snow, but the water will be frigid, probably in the low fifties. If I’d stayed home like I wanted, I could have spent the whole weekend with my friends, swimming every single day.

“It’s not a tragedy,” Mom says after I sigh for what feels like the hundredth time.

“I’m eighteen. I could have stayed by myself.”

“Not on Thanksgiving.”

I roll my eyes, then catch my stepfather, Benjamin, watching me in the rearview. He gives a slight smirk. Neither of us is thrilled about this trip.

My aunt Chloe is… unpredictable. She and Mom clash constantly. There’s a deep undercurrent of jealousy between them. I don’t know all the history, but they’ve been fighting their whole lives.

It got so bad that for years, my grandmother has split holidays between the two families. Thanksgiving with one, Christmas with the other.

Then Grandma had a minor stroke in September. What Gran wanted for the holidays was for everyone to be together. So we got a last-minute invitation to share the cabin Aunt Chloe and Uncle William rented.

We were also put in charge of bringing all the dessert ingredients and every bread item—rolls, dried bread for stuffing, cornbread for the dressing. That made sense, since Chloe had probably already bought a turkey big enough for extra guests.

Benjamin said once we get back, we can make our own Thanksgiving feast since we left our turkey in the deep freeze. I’m looking forward to that quiet meal way more than whatever drama unfolds with Mom’s family.

“This is our chance to move past old grievances,” Mom insists.

I sigh again. As much as my mother wants a close bond with her sister, she’s just as much a part of the problem as Aunt Chloe.

“I’ll be on my best behavior for Gran, but I’ll probably hide in my room and read most of the time.”

“Same,” Benjamin says.

“You too?” Mom asks him.

“William is always pushing me to invest in one of his schemes. I wouldn’t give that man a single cent.”

Mom swats his arm. “Don’t say things like that this weekend.”

“The best way to keep me quiet is to let me hide in our bedroom and pretend to work.”

Mom snorts, and I roll my eyes. We all know he won’t be pretending. He’ll actually be working. That’s why he brought his laptop.

I don’t blame him. He’s probably only met Uncle William a handful of times since he and Mom started dating and then married. Benjamin had William figured out from the start.

I remember Benjamin telling my uncle he only invests in real estate and stocks. William scoffed and said he’d never get rich without taking risks.

But William has never seen Benjamin’s house or the Aspen condo he rents out most of the year. And I’m certain my stepfather’s stock portfolio is doing just fine.

Not long after that, Gran had to bail William and Chloe out because they nearly lost their house over one of William’s investments.