As I settled into my seat on the plane to go back to school after Thanksgiving, I couldn't help but think through the crazy events of the weekend. It had all started with my mom's comment when she opened the door to welcome me home.
"Welcome home, Brianna. Oh... is that what you're wearing?"
Ouch. It wasn't surprising in the least, as my mom seemed to make a sport out of putting down the way her daughters dressed, or who they dated, or what they did for a living. But unfortunately, knowing the insult was coming didn't take any of the sting away. And since my two younger sisters were both involved in serious relationships - Haley was married to Josh and Caroline was still going out with Jeff - I couldn't help but think that I was now getting the brunt of this abuse. It also didn't help that I knew I looked great - 5'7", thin, great tits, long blonde hair - mom always had a way of making me feel fat and frumpy with just a few words and a glance.
But the last straw came later, when we were all sitting down for the formal turkey dinner. As I stepped up to the table, glass of wine in hand and engrossed in a conversation with my favorite aunt, I soon realized there wasn't a seat for me. After everyone else was seated and my mom came into the room carrying the turkey, she said, as an afterthought, "Oh, Brianne, you're over there," pointing to the kid's table.
What!?! I wasn't about to confront her in front of everyone, but I was humiliated. I'm 26, a successful college graduate currently balancing career and graduate school, and she puts me at the kid's table? Not that I don't love my adorable little nieces and nephews, but I'd really prefer to sit at a table with leg room and conversation geared towards adults. And it didn't take me long to figure out what my mom was up to. I was the one daughter who was unmarried, unattached. If it had been 'Brianna and Bob' to come to Thanksgiving dinner, we would have had our two seats together at the big table. But as it was, she was putting me in my place, and there was nothing I could do about it.
As I sat down to eat with Johnnie Jr., little Jennie and the rest of my youngest relatives, I pondered how I could possibly make myself feel better, without stooping to my mother's level. In years past, we had gotten into some horrible arguments at the holidays, when I responded to her criticisms with criticisms of my own. I didn't want to go there again. But somehow I had to pull myself out of this situation, otherwise I'd go home depressed and remain in that funk until I had to come back to mom's house again for Christmas.
Somewhere in between bashing my shin on the metal leg of the rickety card table and being hit with mashed potatoes by my 9-year-old cousin Jake, it hit me. I had the perfect plan for getting through the rest of the evening, until I could extracate myself and spend the night in my hotel room. A little flirting never hurt anyone, after all. If it was just that, flirting, I'd at least enjoy the sport of it. If it went any further, well, maybe I'd be able to upset my mom's status quo just a bit.
I decided to start on Caroline's boyfriend Jeff. Although she was younger than I, at 24, he was the 'older man', at 38. I'd been attracted to him ever since they met, so it wasn't exactly a challenge to start flirting with him. After dinner, I poured myself another glass of wine, unbuttoned a couple of buttons on my blouse - still decent but giving anyone who cared to look a nice view of my cleavage - and joined Jeff on the couch.
"So, how's the game?"
"Oh, hey, Brianna. It's actually kind of dull so far, not much offense from either team. What's up with you?"
I decided just to go for it, see whether he'd bite. It was probably a combination of the wine and the bitter mood my mom had put me in, because I usually wasn't so forward! "Well, actually, I was thinking of heading upstairs for a different kind of thanksgiving, if you know what I mean. Interested?"
His dark brown eyes grew very big, obviously shocked at my comment. But he quickly recovered, and with a quick glance towards the kitchen to make sure my sister was still busy there, replied, "Yeah, sure. Why don't you head up there, and I'll join you in a minute."
Still surprised at my own actions, and equally surprised that he'd betray my sister so easily, I made my way upstairs, waiting on the landing for him to follow. Just as doubt started to creep in (was he in on my mom's plan to humiliate me this weekend??) I heard his feet on the stairs. As he flashed me a smile, I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the nearest room, which happened to be my other sister Haley's childhood bedroom.
"So, Brianna. Now that you have me here, what are you going to do with me?"
