42 - Awkward

*Seriously? You can’t cook? – Keisha*
Typically, when she was home, Camille hung out with her dad and brothers on Thanksgiving. It was never a question. She was a menace in the kitchen and a danger to everyone.
She had done the same last year with the Cajuns. And had surprised them all with her knowledge of football. At one point, after a phone call home, she crawled into Gator’s lap saying she needed a daddy hug.
“You must stay in here so that we can get to know each other better,” Keisha said with a smile.
“There, see?” Jasper slapped his brother on the back as he passed. “Keisha and the women want to get to know her. Give them some time to bond.”
Darkness gave her a kiss and whispered in her ear. “There’s no gas. You should be safe.”
“You have such little faith in my ability to catch a kitchen on fire?” she grinned at him.
“Not at all,” he grinned back, “give me a little bit of time with my brother and then I’ll come save you.”
“You better,” she whispered as Keisha opened the door for her parents and other family members.
“I will, give me a little time with my brother and then we’ll slip out for a little while.”
“Okay,” she agreed with a smile. If anyone could understand the need to keep a good relationship with a sibling, it was Camille. She would do anything to improve her relationship with Allison. They exchanged a quick kiss, and he then followed his brother and several other men into the ‘Man Cave.’
There was even a ridiculously large neon sign on the far wall that declared it to be *Jasper’s Man Cave*.
Camille turned back towards Nicki as she groaned quietly. From the front door they all heard several kids entering the house. All hyper, and probably sugared up.
“They are the seven dwarves of destruction,” Nicki told Camille. “Sticky, Rippy, Breaky, Kicky, Smashy, Cutty and Ruin Everything Within Reach.”
Camille chuckled softly and softly whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
“Monique is so excited to play with you!” Keisha told the seven kids.
“No, she’s really not,” Nicki muttered and then she approached her mother. “Mom, please?”
“You’ll be fine, besides,” Keisha said dismissively as she handed the teen two diaper bags and a nesh bag of toys, “what else are you going to do?”
“Play games with the boys?” she pleaded.
“Video games are for boys, take your cousins up to your room and keep them entertained.”
“Mom, they destroyed my stuff last time.”
“You should have had your stuff put up. Go, we have a lot of stuff to do, and I am on the schedule to work the ER tonight.”
“What does that mean for us?” Nicki asked
“That means you’ll be fixing dinner and cleaning up tonight,” Keisha turned the young teen around and gave her a push towards the stairs. “Now, go.”
“Why don’t I go help, Nicki?” Camille suggested and the women in the kitchen froze.
“Yes!” Nicki’s face lit up, “please, mom?”
“First, her name is *Monique*, not Nicki. And secondly, no, if you’re going to insist on joining the family, you need to act like part of the family.”
“How is she joining the family?” a woman asked as she eyed Camille and Darkness up and down.
“Amos is having a white girl phase, and *that* is what he chose,” Keisha sneered.
“Tenille, this is my mother Dominique and my cousins Lamia, Queenie and Destiny.”
“It’s Camille,” she corrected quietly with a friendly smile. “Like Camille Grammer.”
“Nice white reference.” Queenie sneered and the other women laughed.
“Monique!” Keisha admonished and the teen begrudgingly rounded up the kids and sadly ushered them up the stairs to her room.
Dominique was looking at the young woman with pure hatred as she emptied the cloth bag of groceries. “I don’t see why you have to date a black man, Aren’t there plenty of white boys your age?”
Camille wasn’t sure what to say to that. Since her family had arrived and the women went into the kitchen, Keisha had quickly become downright cruel. The other women followed her example.
“Don’t you have something better to wear?” Lamia asked, looking at Camille as if she was lacking.
The other women all wore slacks and nice shirts or sweaters. Their hair was done to perfection, makeup was flawless, and she really did not know how two of them, Queenie and Destiny, did anything with the three-inch long nails.
Meanwhile, Camille wore motorcycle boots, thick jeans, and a tank top. Feeling conscious of herself, she grabbed her LSU sweatshirt and pulled it on. Her own nails were chewed down to the quick and her hair in a loose braid that was slowly coming undone.
She had makeup because it came in care packages from her mother. But she had not thought to bring any of it. Or any gel to hold her hair in a braid. Pulling the hoodie on, she felt the last of her hair fall out of the braid. Fishing the silk covered hairband out of the sweatshirt, she pulled her hair back up into a ponytail.
“Really, what do you expect?” Keisha smirked as she checked the turkey in the oven. “She’s probably just one of those bike sluts.”
“Even Amos can do better than that,” Dominique said, turning her back on Camille.
Tink could feel the change in her and tried to nudge her away from the kitchen, away from the tormentors. Reaching down, she stroked his head with a shaking hand.
“I know that you said you don’t cook,” Keisha sneered, “but maybe you can find some way of making yourself useful.”
“If she’s anything like most bitches that take our men,” Queenie said, “she’s useful on her back.”
“Maybe her knees,” Destiny laughed. “But definitely with the lights off.”
“She’s so pale, she’d probably glow!” Lamia said as they all moved together to fix the meal and ignore the woman that they were discussing.
The women laughed and continued to insult Camille as if she were not there. Blinking back tears, she motioned for Tink to follow her. Not wanting to bother Darkness while he was with his brother, she slipped out the front door.
Her helmet and jacket were upstairs, but she was not going to go back inside for them, no matter how cold the wind got. The bikes were blocked in by the cars. Not that she would know where she was going if she could get her bike out. Women’s laughter came through the door as a cold wind came around the corner.
Pulling up the hood over her head, she walked down the driveway and then down the street towards a little wooded area. A little way down around a soft curve of the two-lane road, she found a trail and followed it through the woods to a small picnic area. There were a few tables that overlooked the water, some exposed and others were covered by a small pavilion.
Camille sat on the far table in the pavilion with her feet on the bench and patted it for Tink to join her. Alone, and feeling overwhelmed, she let her tears flow. Tink nudged her and she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in the slick fur of his neck.
After a while, she realized that she should have gone upstairs for her jacket. There was no way she was going back to get it. Not even when it started to rain. Or when the rain turned to sleet.
Pulling out her phone, she messaged Doc and said that she was feeling sick. He replied with a few questions which she quickly answered. She did not lie to the man, but she also did not give the full truth. After about five minutes of silence, she received a message stating that he had sent a few prescriptions into a local pharmacy that was open on Thanksgiving.
With that settled, she tucked her phone and cold hands into the large central pocket. She was starting to shiver when the phone rang. Seeing that it was Darkness, she declined the call. She wasn’t sure what she would say. He called several more times, each time she declined the call.
The phone fell silent, and her tears continued to fall. Were they right? Should she look at other men? Ones more her own age?
Wrapping her arms around herself, she wished it was warmer. Or at least dryer. Her phone rang again and this time it was Zydeco. He was in Texas; Evie and her family had flown to Austin for the holiday. He and Danielle had gone to see them.
She should have gone with him instead of Darkness. At least the Renegades would have welcomed her. Dixie would have treated her like family
Clicking the green button, she sniffled and put the phone to her ear. “Hello?”