A deafening cheer erupted from the den that was connected to the kitchen, and I turned to see the rest of the guys watching a basketball game on TV. My eyes instantly found Cole, who jumped up out of his seat, pounding his fist into the air. Since I’d seen him last, he’d pulled on a fitted black shirt that emphasized his broad shoulders and contrasted with his fair hair, making it look platinum.
“Stop staring,” said Lee as he rode his skateboard into the kitchen from behind me. I remembered Lee because we were both sophomores in high school, and when Will introduced him, he had given me the most chilling look. I turned away from the den, embarrassed that he had caught me watching his cousin.
“Lee! How many times do I have to tell you not to ride your board in the house?” scolded Katherine as he crashed into one of the kitchen chairs, knocking it over. It fell on Benny’s head, and he immediately started screaming bloody murder.
“Only a thousand times more, Aunt Kathy,” he said before kneeling next to his little cousin to see if he was okay.
I rubbed my temples, trying to make my headache go away. This place was maddening. And then, in the midst of it all was one boy. I couldn’t remember his name, but he was sitting at one of the kitchen chairs, guitar in his lap, music sheets spread out on the table in front of him. Thinking back to my list, I guessed that this was Nathan—the fourteen-year-old musician. I watched as he strummed a few notes on the instrument that I was unable to hear. Shaking his head, he grabbed the pencil from between his teeth and crossed something out. I wondered how he could concentrate with everything going on around him.
“Jackie, honey,” said Katherine, finally noticing me. She was straining the water out of a huge pot of noodles. On the counter next to her was an economy-sized jar of spaghetti sauce. “I’m so glad you didn’t get lost on your way to the kitchen. This place is so huge, and your room is the farthest away. I asked Cole to go get you about ten minutes ago, but it looks like he got wrapped up in the game.” She smiled at me, and I went over to help her.
“It’s okay. It wasn’t very hard to find,” I said, popping the lid off the jar. “I just followed all the noise.”
Katherine laughed, took the jar from me, and emptied it over the noodles. “It’s always loud in here. That’s what happens when you have twelve kids.” She paused for a moment and gave me a small smile. “Make that thirteen.”
I looked at my feet and whispered, “Thanks, Mrs. Walter.”
“Anything for you, dear. And please, don’t call me that. I’m Katherine,” she said and pulled me into a hug.
“Boys!” bellowed George. “Grub’s on the table. Turn that stupid thing off.”
Katherine let me go, grabbed the bowl of spaghetti, and set it next to the other dishes of steaming food. I followed her over to the table and sat down in the nearest chair.
“You can’t sit there,” said one of the boys from the middle set of twins. Once again, both of their names slipped my memory.
“Sorry,” I said, sliding into the next chair.
“Not there either. That’s my chair,” said the other twin.
“Boys, why doesn’t one of you go get a chair from the dining room and bring it in here for Jackie to sit on?” asked George. One of the twins looked like he was about to protest, but then his double elbowed him in the side.
“Okay, Dad. Be right back,” he said, smiling sweetly.
A minute later, he came back, dragging a chair behind him. After it was pushed up to the table, I sat down and George began grace. About halfway through his prayer, I felt movement on my leg. Reaching beneath the table, I grabbed something thin and smooth. When I pulled it up, I screamed and flung the yellow reptile away from me. The table burst into commotion.
“Snake!” roared Benny as he jumped away from his seat. As he did so, he stepped on one of the dogs. The poor thing yelped and launched itself away from him. Alex, who pushed away from the table in shock, tripped over the wild dog and crashed into Isaac, who was sitting next to him. George was trying to calm Benny down but managed to slip in a puddle of milk that had somehow spilled onto the floor in all the frenzy.
As he fell, George grabbed the tablecloth in an attempt to regain his balance, but instead he brought all of dishes down with him. When the bowl of spaghetti hit the ground, its contents flew in every direction and covered us all with tomato sauce.
“Jordan!” George bellowed at his son. “You’re beyond grounded!”
***