Ambiguous! Quirky Aunt Bringing "Special Friend" To Thanksgiving Again

Ah. Thanksgiving dinner. The one time of year where all your extended family members come together to judge and question the absolute fuck out of each other. For a lot of families, this is the first time everyone gets together in many, many months. I mean, it’s not that you can’t reach out and see them… it’s just like… do you really want to? (Like, it’s not like we are contractually obligated to see our third cousins, twice-removed.)

The atmosphere at Thanksgiving dinner is quite unique. Everyone at the table has the same inquisitive questions on their mind, but they refuse to openly ask them up out loud. You know, because it could be rude to do so or also could mean an unfollow on Facebook. Some of these unspoken inquiries: “How many beers until grandpa starts spouting conspiracies?” or “How many bites we gotta eat of this god-awful dessert to appease grandma?” or “Are we going to talk about ‘the incident’ again?” or “Who did you vote for?” or lastly “What is the relationship between quirky aunt Tiffany and her lifelong roommate that she always brings along to dinner?”

These questions are all interesting, but the last one trumps all. Especially in more nosy households, it's what lingers at holidays and get-togethers. The curiosity and subsequent interest surrounding the twosome is ‘brought up’ by some family members… but don’t worry it’s very subtle. Just a lot of “Do you watch The L Word?” and “Are you a friend of Ellen?” types of feeling-out questions are asked to the roommate. Safe.

So every year, the ‘fun’ aunt always brings her ‘special friend’ to Thanksgiving. They’ve been roommates since playing softball together in college… so they definitely have saved a lot of money over the last 10 years living together. While it is a bit odd that they only have a single bed in their 2-bedroom apartment, naturally they have to make room for their many cats and black Labrador retriever named Maggie. 

The pair seems very much like a normal friendship. They arrive at Thanksgiving in their Subaru always blaring this band, Tegan and Sara. They then pull up in cute matching sweaters and utility boots, carrying in their delicious vegan dish. They rave about Sarah Paulson’s latest project at the table together… oh and also Sarah Paulson herself. They discuss their latest road trips down the coast of California. Both have pictures of one another on their home screen with lots of rainbows. See? Very platonic, loving things. 

It’s just… sometimes there will be some signs that leave the relationship somewhat mysterious and up-in-the-air. Occasionally, they’ll hold hands and look longingly at one another, mouthing “You're cute”. Ambiguous, right? Exactly. Even though there are some indications of something more though, everyone will keep offering possible male suitors... regardless of how many times they say “they’re too busy” for them.