Page 17 of Lessons in Lemonade

At one o’clock, we sit down to eat. The table is decorated with bursts of fall in orange, yellow, and brown. The candles are lit, music is playing in the background, and the wine is poured. Food is steaming and spread out from one end to the other, and even I can’t stop my mouth from watering. It is the perfect feast fit for my friends.

“Shelby, this turkey is delicious. You did a great job on it,” I tell her as I take another bite. Murmurs go up around the table, everyone busy eating instead of talking.

“It’s the turkey brine. Zach’s mom gave me the recipe.” She winks at Mrs. Wolff. “She assured me it would be juicy and everyone would love it. She wasn’t wrong.”

“The recipe was my mother’s, and she handed it down to me. I’m happy you like it. We can keep it going year after year for Thanksgiving.”

“Sounds good to me. Taste of my childhood right here,” Zach says, his mouth full.

I look over at Jack’s plate—he’s sitting next to me—and it’s overflowing. A chuckle escapes me, and he glances in my direction.

“What?” he asks, chewing and smiling at the same time.

“Nothing.” I shake my head then flick my eyes down to his plate, back to his face.

“I like food,” he declares, as if that should explain everything.

“We can tell,” Zach says. Laughter breaks out around the table.

Keeping his eyes on me, he says, very matter-of-factly, “If you cook it, I will eat it.”

My cheeks heat, and I know they’ve tinged pink. There’s not a whole lot anyone can say that will make me happier than this. A quote I once read from Julia Child comes to mind: “People who love to eat are the best people.” Maybe Jack is best friend material after all.

“You have to tell us about this month’s date,” Michelle says, putting her fork down and taking a sip of wine. “We saw you post about the meal, well, dessert of the month, pineapple fruitcake.”

I can’t help but groan. My friends have enjoyed hearing about my monthly dating escapades this last year.

“It didn’t take y’all long to ask. I was wondering when it would be brought up.” I dip the tip of my spoon into the gravy and decide it would be better with more pepper.

“This month’s date?” Jack asks as I reach over him for it instead of asking him to pass it.

“She made a resolution to go out with a different person every month this year, and last week was November’s.” Kyle grins; he’s Michelle’s boyfriend, and he also works here at the winery.

“Why?” Jack turns to look at me closely as I season the gravy and put the pepper down.

“Because, people are interesting and life is short. You never know who you’re going to meet, or what you’ll learn. Who knows, maybe next month I’ll meet my new best friend.” I cut a bite of turkey and dip it in the gravy before bringing it to my mouth. I give him a big tight-lipped smile, and he frowns.

“That position is not available.”

“You’re right, it’s not,” Shelby chimes in from across the table, and the two of them glare at each other.

I finish chewing the bite and swallow. “I should have known the night was going to be a disaster the minute Taylor swung the kitchen door open and I saw him. He was wearing a black T-shirt with the NASA logo, only under it was the tagline Never A Straight Answer. Pineapple fruitcake was served on the Apollo 11.”

The guys around the table chuckle.

“This story just got better already,” Zach’s dad says cheerfully.

“Yeah, have you ever heard of modern flat-Earthers?” Everyone shakes their head no. “Apparently, there’s a whole society out there who believes the Earth is flat.”

“You’re kidding,” Jack says, humor lighting up his face.

“Nope. Let’s just say it made for some interesting conversations.”

“Tell us more,” Michelle requests as she adds another helping of stuffing to her plate.

“Well, outer space is not real, and we’ve never walked on the moon. It’s all a conspiracy by the government, the photos taken are fake, and while most will agree that they think the Earth is disc-shaped, some believe it’s diamond-shaped.”

“Wow, I have no words,” Shelby says, and I nod in agreement.