Sophie flopped down on the sofa, relieved to find it unoccupied. The house was blissfully quiet. Thanksgiving dinner had gone well, and now most of the people who remained in Joanie’s house were napping. Mom had arrived early in the morning to help with the cooking. Sam and his family came later with his wife Jackie’s prize winning apple pie and a salad. Chairs were brought in from every corner of the house, and it had been good to hear all the laughter.
She’d kept busy all day. If she kept busy, she wouldn’t have time to think about leaving all this behind. She’d done it before, when she’d left for college, and again when she'd gone to New York to try culinary school, but those goodbyes had been different. As a student, she'd known she’d be home for holidays and vacations. Now she planned to leave again. If things worked out, this would be a permanent move. The thought was exhilarating, yet melancholy.
Especially when she thought about a certain rugged photographer and his angelic daughter.
She hadn’t seen either of them since the horrible scene with his in-laws on Monday. The Wednesday night rehearsal at church had been cancelled so that people could prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday. She wondered how Mitch’s holiday was going with his family. And how the Billingsworths had celebrated. Had they celebrated at all?
“Hey, little sis. How’s it going?” Sam settled on the sofa next to her. “Joanie says you worked really hard this week. She says she couldn’t have pulled off the family holiday without you. In fact, she says she wouldn’t have survived the pregnancy if you hadn’t been here. She’s lucky you were available.”
“It was lucky for both of us. I needed a place to regroup and earn money for my next move.”
Sam nodded. “Gonna go to California and do the screenwriting thing, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I think the cooking thing was just a rebellion. Or a reaction from Nate going off without me.”
“Yeah, that was kinda puny of him. Never did like the guy. He was way too full of himself. I really wasn’t surprised when he took off.” As if just realizing who he was talking to, he stopped his rant. “Well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. You’re not going out there to chase after him, are ya?” He waited until Sophie shook her head. “Okay then. Go for it. I’ll look forward to seeing your name on the credits at the ends of the shows.”
He got up and retrieved his toddler daughter, who was eating a plant.
Sam wasn’t known for heart-to-heart talks, but Sophie thought about their conversation as she dished out desserts. What was the real reason she wanted to go to Los Angeles? She’d never thought about going until she and Nate had made their plans to take Hollywood by storm. She’d always liked to write, and her teachers had always praised her work, but it hadn’t been a passion. She’d written little stories, even published a few. But could she really make it as a screenwriter? More importantly, did she really want to?
Or did she want to stay and see if there was anything to the chemistry between her and a certain photographer?
Enough of these doubts. She didn’t want to waste any more of her life in her hometown. It was time to make some of her dreams come true. She had a handful of scripts for her portfolio. Now she needed to get them into the hands of people who would read them. The first thing on tomorrow’s to-do list: submit scripts to more agents.
~~~~
Mitch picked up a towel and dried dishes as his sister rinsed and stacked them in the drying rack. He’d eaten more food in four hours than he normally consumed in several days, and he needed to get up and do something constructive. The rest of his family watched a football game in the living room, and Angie and her cousins played in her room.
“So you’ve survived hosting the fam for Thanksgiving dinner,” Becky began. “And you’re holding up well. All you have to do is get through dessert, and we’ll all be gone until the next time it’s your turn.”
“Yeah. It’s been quite a week. But I guess it’s worth it. It’s been nice having everyone here at my place for a change. And the house does look better after you and Deana and Mom did all that painting and decorating.”
“It was fun.”
“Angie’s thrilled. She wants to have friends here for a sleepover.” He shuddered. “I’m not looking forward to that.”
“You’ll be fine. I can come over to help, or Mom. Or maybe the girl who helped Angie with her room.” She turned toward him, her sharp eyes trained on him for any hint of a reaction.
Mitch knew his sister was fishing for information, but chose to ignore her line of questioning. He’d definitely thought about asking Sophie for help, but it probably wouldn’t be seen as proper in this conservative town for a single female to spend the night at his house – even with a half dozen young girls present.
“Yeah, I suppose Mom would enjoy that.” His hands stopped and he watched her as he delivered his comeback. “She always looked forward to your sleepovers, didn’t she?” He smirked when Becky’s cheeks darkened.
“So, uh, have you heard from your in-laws lately?”
“Yes, I have.”
Becky’s hands froze. “They came over again? After that scene on Monday?”
“No, they haven’t been here. I called Geoffrey.”
“Sarah’s dad? He always seemed nice. I could see that. He seemed pretty upset by what his wife did.”
“Yes, and he’s always been good to Angie. So Angie asked me—”
“Mitch, you have a guest.” Rita Carson poked her head in the kitchen, a strained expression on her face. Mitch set the towel down, took a deep breath, and followed his mother out to the living room.
Geoffrey Billingsworth stood on the mat at the front door, his hat in his hands. The Carson family surrounded him, but no one uttered a word of welcome.
Mitch stepped forward, holding out his hand. “Glad you could make it, Geoffrey. Hope the roads around the lake didn’t cause a problem.”
Though the trip from Chicago to West Michigan took a few hours in good weather, the highway’s proximity to Lake Michigan caused it to freeze over, often becoming treacherous during the holidays.
Geoffrey took Mitch’s hand and shook it. “No problems at all, Mitch. Actually, I never went back to Chicago. I’ve been in Grand Rapids since — since Monday.”
He stopped when Angie and her cousins entered the living room. Seeing the new arrival, Angie ran to Geoffrey, her arms outstretched. “Poppy, you came! Daddy said you didn’t have any company for Thanksgiving so I told him to invite you here. We have lotsa company.” She waved her hand, indicating her aunts and uncles.
Geoffrey reached down and picked up his granddaughter. “Pumpkin, I’m glad I came, too. Thank you so much for inviting me.” He squeezed her tight, and there was no mistaking the love in his heart. He looked around at Mitch’s family, his eyes pleading for understanding.
“I know I’m probably the last person you folks want to see right now, but I promise you — I had absolutely no knowledge of the things Melinda had done. She took Sarah’s death hard — we all did — but trying to replace her daughter with Angie was inexcusable, especially when it compromised our granddaughter’s safety. When I think about what might have happened if that secretary hadn’t had the good sense to check her records before sending her off with that man…” He shuddered and squeezed Angie even tighter.
With a sigh, he put Angie down and continued. “I’m done with Melinda. We haven’t been close in a long time, and now… I’m just through with her highbrow, back-stabbing ways. I paid the private investigator a visit and encouraged him to name Melinda as his client. She needs to learn she’s not above the law.”
Rita stepped forward. “Well, Geoffrey, it’s Thanksgiving, and we’re not going to think about all that nastiness right now. You’re just in time for dessert. Have a seat.”
Mitch’s brother brought an extra chair in from the dining room, and generous slices of Rita’s homemade pumpkin pie were distributed. Soon, the Carson home was once again filled with laughter and a closeness shared only by family.
Mitch sat back in his chair, relieved his holiday hosting obligations were nearly finished. Things had gone surprisingly well, other than the confrontation with Melinda earlier in the week. He enjoyed being with his mother and siblings. But something inside him wished a certain green-eyed blonde could be part of the family celebration.