That weekend of the same week was when my father planned to have a massive cookout. He wanted Zeke there, as his guest of honor. My father would've even called up Zeke's parents himself to persuade them to let him come over. If my simple invitation got declined. He was adamant about Zeke being involved. My parents knew my best friend needed to be uplifted too. They wanted him to feel a part of the family. That more than just his own family cared about him.
My brothers were even going to make their way down. A detail I didn't inform Zeke about. They were going to give him the brotherly love he probably needed. Zeke had no male friends, so it may be nice for him to be surrounded by two men close in age. Angelo and George were only 20 years old, making them a few years older than us. My brothers were going to love Zeke. Hopefully Zeke would love them in return.
Once word got out that I made a new female friend too, Lani, my family had me invite her too. My father wanted to celebrate. Good things were happening in our lives and wanted to include those that were important to us. My brother Angelo was going to bring his girlfriend Fredonia. While George brought his boyfriend Kevin as his plus one. Unfortunately, Lani couldn't accept her invite, due to some of her own family affairs.
It was 4:00 pm in the evening. Zeke would be arriving at any moment. Being excited was an understatement with me. I was stoked about having my best friend here. For the first time, I wasn't nervous at all, compared to how it was at the Jensen dinner a while back. That family screamed of tension.
I heard a small knock on the door. Quickly rushing out of the kitchen,I went to answer the door before my two bumbling brothers could. Opening the door, I greeted my best friend. Huge smiles plastered on both of our faces. Zeke and I usually greeted each other with a hug too.
I ran up to him, with his arms wide open. Jumping up slightly to wrap my arms around his shoulders. Zeke's arms caught me, keeping my feet slightly off the ground. Spinning us around like that a few times. Hearing his chuckle made my heart feel warm. Especially with everything that's happened, the source of that laugh made my world a little better.
Zeke put me down. "How are you doing today Pats?"
"I'm doing quite good. My family has been driving me mad with questions about you. Or when you'll show up and all that crap. How are you Mr. Jensen?" I replied.
"Same as you, pretty good. I won't lie and say that I'm not nervous, but a lot more confident this time around." Zeke confessed.
I patted his shoulder for reassurance. "Don't worry. My family is loud and busy, but they are welcoming you with open arms. Extremely excited to meet you properly. My brothers' are going to love you! Come on inside!"
I began to usher Zeke into my house, only to see that my two brothers were standing at the doorway. With a matching set of shit-eating grins. "Don't just stand there like a bunch of morons. Move so Zeke and I can walk past you. The tall one with curly hair is Angelo. Or Gelo for short. The shorter one with the facial hair is George."
Zeke waved awkwardly to my brothers. "Nice to meet you both. I bet by now you know I'm Zeke. Also, Gelo for a nickname? That's cool, but also makes me crave jello now."
Gelo smiled widely at Zeke's compliment. "I already like this boy. He thinks my name is dope. At least I have a unique name unlike Georgie here."
George gave his brother the middle finger. "At least my nickname doesn't remind of all those fat rolls that jiggle when you walk."
"I'm far more fit then you. If anything, Kev is the closest thing to human jello walking about." Gelo insulted George's boyfriend. Zeke just watched in amusement as my brothers bickered.
"Don't you ever degrade my sweetheart like that! He's the finest man that ever walked. He's way sexier than you'd ever be. Keep your envy to yourself, you prick!" George shoved past Angelo, running to Kevin. Angelo was hot on his brother's trail.
I looked at Zeke apologetically. "Sorry about that. This is what I had to grow up with. Two bumbling idiots."
"Don't fret Pats. They're amusing and hilarious." Zeke chuckled.
With my brothers out of the doorway, I could easily lead Zeke into my house at last. We removed our shoes at the front door and walked into the living room. On the two couches sat Gelo and his beautiful girlfriend Fredonia. She rocked short blue hair and was loaded in tattoos. Fred was on her journey to becoming a journalist. Fred and Angelo had been together for two year
Next to George was his boyfriend Kevin. Kevin was a short and slightly heavy set portaguese man. George and Kevin made each other happy and that's all my family could ever want for him. Kevin was curled up underneath George's arm, which was adorable. The four of them were all joking around and bickering playfully. We walked in on the ongoing conversation.
"That's what happens when you leave your food on the table! If it's left in the open, it's a free game!" Fredonia goes on.
"What, do you expect me to get a label maker and label what food is mine? It's ridiculous!" Angelo huffed as Zeke and I sat down next to the couple. It was the only couch with enough space for us. George and Kevin sat on a two person loveseat.
Kevin smirked. "Hell yeah boy! When you leave food in your dorm unattended, it's unclaimed territory. Start labeling your crap or don't leave it out. Y'know how it is, hungry college boys are on the prowl for freebies." Gelo was left to sigh heavily.
"Oh, like how Kevin and his ranch dressing?" Fred began laughing as she mentioned that event from the past. Everyone groaned at the disgusting story that is Kevin and a bottle of ranch dressing. I did too, I was well aware of that incident. Kevin smiled wickedly.
"Fred, why the hell would you bring that up? I love Kevin dearly, but that's a moment I wish to forget about him." George complains to Fred as she continues to laugh. While Kev looked proud and continued to be amused.
Zeke was utterly confused. Of course his curiosity got the best of him. "What is this grand scheme about ranch dressing?" Zeke asked.
I facepalmed myself. "Look what you did Zeke! By asking, Kevin is going to make us relive that nasty moment. He enjoys punishing us with that story!" I whine.
"This just makes me want to hear it even more." Zeke chuckled. Earning a playful shove from me.
Kevin rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Excited that someone new gets to hear his disgusting tale. As well as make everyone cringe in horror as he retells it.
"I like this one Pattie! Good finding." Kevin says, the rest of my family nod in agreement. Minus my parents who were in the kitchen, preparing dinner. When there's a large dinner, my dad doesn't like anyone besides my mom in his kitchen.
I pinched Zeke's cheeks. "Yup, I plan on keeping this one."
Kevin jumped from his seat, becoming dramatic for his storytelling. He was known to be expressive with himself when he speaks. Kev was also expressive with his hands. "Once, long ago, when the four of us got really drunk. About a year ago. We were talking about food, and I ended up mentioning I've never had ranch dressing in my life. Everyone began harassing me about it, so I went into their kitchen piss drunk. Went into their fridge and grabbed the ranch dressing and downed some straight from the bottle. It led to me throwing it back up and horrid gagging sounds. That forever lingers on, in the minds of my bitches. Haunting them, even in their graves. Of course, Pattie also walked in on it too. That I do feel bad for, but not much."
Zeke was killing himself laughing while the rest of us were physically cringing. He had been won over by my crazy family. My brothers and their lovers continued to spur out more stories. Zeke revealed some of his own too. Ones shared between us, ones shared as a child. Everyone was joyus in laughter. Which continued its way to the kitchen table when my parents called all six of us to eat.
During the entire course of dinner, I had a huge smile plastered on my face. Seeing Zeke become open and more social than I've ever seen before. He looked so care free. He belonged as a part of my family too. We all made it well known to Zeke Jensen today that he did in fact belong in many places. Many people accepted him and loved him. Today, I knew Zeke finally began to come to terms with himself. That his presence does matter to people. It mattered to me, more than he would ever know.
Zeke turned to look at me. Our eyes meeting, keeping a deep gaze. His green eyes were full of light, the first time I've seen them glow with such happiness. For him, he was experiencing pure joy with others than just myself. His smile matched perfectly with his eyes. Those beautiful eyes no longer looked tired, Finally, they were filled with life.