A Little More Than Convenient

|Trent Remington|
At seven o’clock the next morning, I woke up. Carmen was already awake. She’d been awake since five-thirty. I couldn’t believe it. We’d stayed up a little late watching Family Guy and American Dad. I know, we’re immature.
When I went into the kitchen, she already had the dressing in the crock pot, the turkey marinated, and the gravy in the crock pot. She also had a cup of coffee waiting for me. It had two teaspoons of sugar and a tablespoon of cream in it, just like I liked it.
“Good morning,” she said cheerfully.
“Good morning,” I replied, “and thanks for the coffee.”
She smiled. “I was already in here, so I figured I might as well turn the coffee pot on.”
I took a small drink and then said, “The turkey rub’s ready, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “And I have the frier and all of the oil. It just needs to be fried.”
“Did you take the neck and stuff out?” I asked.
She made a face and grimaced. “Yes, but I didn’t want to.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, it’s pretty nasty. But anyway, I think I’ll start the oil around ten. It has to be three hundred and fifty degrees, so I should start it pretty soon.”
She nodded. “The dressing and the turkey and the sweet potatoes are already cooking.”
“You can’t do much else until it gets closer to noon, right?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied, “I guess now we can watch the parade.”
I chuckled. “The parade isn’t on yet.”
She pouted and bit her lip. “Well, then...let’s watch Friends!”
I laughed again.
It was The One With the Thanksgiving Flashbacks, or something like that. Carmen laughed hysterically when Joey got the turkey stuck on his head, and Phoebe tried to help him.
“You know what I’ve never understood?”
“What?” she asked, eyes not leaving the screen.
“I don’t understand why Phoebe and Chandler and Joey have such weird last names, and then Rachel, Monica, and Ross...don’t.”
She laughed. “Yeah, Buffay, Bing, and Tribbioni, and then Green and Gellar. Well, that was before Monica and Chandler got married. I don’t know. The whole show’s really random. Maybe there is no significance to it.”
I laughed too. “That’s American television.”
***
When the dinner began to come together, Carmen went to take a bath. While she did that, I got the oil ready. It needed to be, like I said before, three hundred and fifty degrees, so I needed to turn it on about three hours before the actual dinner so that it would be done on time.
Luckily, my apartment was close to the ground. It was only on the second level, and the links were an odd type of apartments. There was no main lobby or anything. They were just buildings that weren’t connected by hallways or anything.
After I had the oil set up, I went back to the apartment to make sure the turkey was ready. When I opened the refrigerator, Carmen reemerged from her bathroom. To be honest with you, she took my breath away. She was wearing a black, long sleeved, velvet shirt under a green half vest, half blazer. Her jeans weren’t dark or light wash, but directly in the middle, and had camel colored threading, with bedazzles on the back pockets. On her feet, were black Bobs. Apparently, she’d cut back; I was surprised that they weren’t Toms. She wore the simple brown cross necklace that Jessica had gotten her when they were in high school, and silver hoop earrings. This was also the first time I’d seen her with her hair straightened. I liked her hair curly, but it looked really shiny and...beautiful now. She wore makeup, but not as much as usual. It was much more subtle, and it made her look so much prettier. Like I said before, if I’m being honest, she took my breath away.
She tugged at her shirt. “Is it too much? I mean, I didn’t want to overdo it, but I didn’t want to look like a bum, either.”
I shook my head. “You look...,” I trailed off.
She blushed. “Look what?”
“Beautiful,” I replied.
She blushed even more furiously and bit her lip.
I chuckled. “You bite your lip a lot. How come?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just always have. I guess I got it from my dad. He does it all the time, too. In fact, just about every time I see Mom, she get’s on our cases about it.”
I nodded. “My mom hates it when I crack my knuckles. I’m the only one in the family; it grosses her and Tara out, and my dad and Tristan just find it annoying.”
“I’m kind of worried about this. If your mom is anything like my mom, we’re in trouble.”
“In trouble?”
She nodded. “The N word.”
“The N word?”
“Nagging.”
I shook my head and laughed. “I guess that’s right.”
“Not only that,” she said, “but we’re not couple-ish enough.”
I narrowed my eyebrows at her. “Not couple-ish enough?”
She nodded. “Yes. Like, we don’t hold hands or look at each other from across the room, and there’s no pictures of us. Or call each other nicknames...,” she trailed off. “Is this weird?”
I didn’t answer.
“It is! Oh, man, I’m sorry Trent, it’s just...,” she burst into tears.
My eyes widened. “Carmen? Are you...are you okay?”
“Yes,” she sniffed, “I don’t know what came over me. I just started crying.” She wiped her eyes.
“Okay,” I said sighing, “today, we’ll do couple-ish stuff. We’ll hold hands and look at each other and we’ll give each other nicknames. But I don’t know about the pictures stuff.”
She thought for a moment. “I know! I’ll just take some pictures off of Google and paste our heads on there.”
I chuckled. “That’s good. Now, about nicknames...”
She shrugged. “I’ll call you...Trenty!” she laughed.
“No!” I retorted. “No copying Lana. She’s off limits because I want absolutely no reminders of her!”
“Okay,” she said again, “what about Trey?”
“Trey?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I can’t say Tree or Ent, so why not Trey?”
I thought more about it. Then nodded. “Okay, that’s decent. Now, what shall I call you?”
“I already have a nickname.”
“No, Carm is what your friends and family call you. I’m your husband, therefore I have to have something different.”
“O-kay.”
I thought for a moment. Not Car, not Men, not Carm...what about Carmie? It sounded a little lame, but I guess it would do. “Carmie,” I finally said.
She chuckled. “You’re serious?”
I nodded. “I sure am, Carmie.”
She shrugged. “All right then, Trey, I believe you have a turkey to fry.”
I pretended to tip my hat and said, “I’ll be back in a jiffy, ma’am.”
She laughed. “I’ll be here. Pasting our heads on strangers.”
***
The first people to arrive were Carmen’s parents. Later, she told that she wasn’t surprised. Her mom, evidently, liked to be punctual.
“Carmen!” her mother exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her and planting a kiss on her cheek.
I guess I just kind of stood there, awkwardly. I guess her mom realized it, because she threw her arms around me, too. “Trent!” she shrieked.
“Hello, Kira,” I replied, gingerly returning the hug, “come in. Make yourself at home.”
I doubt I even needed to tell her so.
Then, in stepped her father. “Carmen,” he said quietly.
She smiled and hugged him. “Happy Thanksgiving, Daddy.”
“Happy Thanksgiving, sweetheart.”
She stepped away and gestured toward me. I nervously shook his hand. “Hello, sir.”
“Hello Trent. Please call me Darren.”
I nodded anxiously. I switched my gaze to Kira, who was staring intently at a picture. I walked up to her. As I was, I heard Darren say, “Carmen, he has a good handshake. Good sign.”
I smiled to myself.
“Interesting picture,” Kira said.
It was one that Carmen had made. It was she and I (well, our heads) and we were eating strawberry ice cream cones. “What’s interesting about it?”
“Carmen hates strawberry ice cream.” 
 I panicked a little. “Well,...see-”
“Trey loves it!” Carmen jumped in, using her nickname for me. “So, I was nice enough to eat it with him.”
I relaxed.
“Oh. How sweet!”
Carmen bit her lip in exasperation. Luckily, the doorbell rang. I ran to answer it. It was my parents.
“Trent, dear!” my mother kissed my cheek.
“Son,” my father said, “it’s great to see you!” My dad was embarrassing. He was goofy and a little eccentric. However, he’s a great dad. “So why isn’t the game on?”
I shrugged and switched it on.
“Those Packers are gonna get the crap kicked out of them!” Dad exclaimed, slipping off his shoes.
Carmen’s eyes widened.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mom said, “dear, I’m afraid we haven’t met. I’m Mercy, your mother-in-law, I suppose.” She gestured toward Dad. “And this lump is Harrison, your father-in-law.”
He waved.
Carmen smiled and waved numbly. I walked up to her and took her hand (she had said we needed to act more like a couple), and then I took her aside.
“What’s the matter?”
She sighed. “It’s just that my dad is hard to please. And, he despises the Cowboys.”
I groaned. “Let me guess. He loves the Packers?”
She nodded numbly and bit her lip. “Does your dad hate the Packers.
“Yes.”
“Shit,” she mumbled.
The doorbell rang. Carmen and I dashed to it. It was Tara, Mark, and Joel.
“Unca Tren!” Joel squealed from Mark’s arms. “Down Daddy!” he demanded. Mark obeyed and Joel jumped into my arms.
“Is Aunite Carmen here?” he asked looking around.
“Yes,” I replied.
“I’m right here, Joel!” Carmen replied, hurrying over to us.
He jumped down and hugged her.
Everyone else smiled.
“Carmen, is something burning?” Kira asked.
“Shi-I mean, crap!” she yelled, flying to the kitchen.
My mom, Kira, and Tara followed her.
Without even thinking, I bit my lip, just like Carmen.
My dad turned the TV up; Darren and Mark sat down to watch the Packers/Cowboys game. No sooner had I joined them, did the doorbell rang. I opened the door, and there stood a very blond, very cheery girl. She was really skinny with straight hair and big blue eyes. Standing beside her, was a tall guy with short, sandy blond hair. The blond was holding a pie.
I opened the door. “Hi,” I said, “you must be-”
“Lizzie!” she said perkily.
I nodded.
“And you’re Trent. This is my fiancé, Stephen!”
“Hi,” I said, shaking his hand. 
 “So where’s Carmen?” she asked, “I brought her this apple pie. Of course, I didn’t make it, but...,” she trailed off.
“She’s in the kitchen with my mom, your mom, and my sister.”
“Okay,” she replied. She hurried into the kitchen.
I followed her. I wanted to see how Carmen was doing.
Tara, my mom, and Kira were sitting around the tables. We’d had to rent another table so that there would enough room for everyone. Lizzie was perched on the island.
“It was so fast. I was surprised.” Kira told my mom.
“I know,” Mom agreed. “I can’t believe that they would get married after a day.
I looked over at Carmen, who was getting rolls out of the oven. She was glaring at nothing.
The moms looked up and saw me. “Hello, Trent,” Mom said.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Don’t mind us, dear.” Kira said, “We’ve got nothing better to do than gossip about our children.”
Mom and Tara laughed. Lizzie was eating something.
Carmen was scowling. It even looked like she had tears in her eyes.
“Carmen, are you okay?” I asked.
A tear slipped down her cheek. She sat down the rolls.
“Come on, Carmie,” I said using her nickname. I took her hand and led her out of the room.
There was a chorus of awws as we left, and I also heard Lizzie ask about the picture of us at Wal-Mart.
“What’s the matter?”
She brushed her tears away and shrugged. “It’s our moms! They act like we’re freaking kids!” She sighed.
Jeez, Carmen cried a lot.
“It’s gonna be okay. We’re done cooking. If they say anything else, I’ll talk to them.”
She sniffed. “Really?”
“Really.” I took her hand again and we walked back to the kitchen. The table was set.
“Thanks,” Carmen said.
“Of course,” they chorused.
“Dinner!” Carmen announced.
“Wait. Trent, where’s your brother?”
“I don’t know,” I replied.
As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Carmen and I both got up to answer it.
“Hey, everyone!” Tristan exclaimed.
But he wasn’t alone.
“Hel-lo, Trenty.”