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Devan
Julie and I are hosting Thanksgiving at our house this afternoon, and I got conned into helping with the cooking. I’ve tried for days to convince her that we could have it catered since we’re hosting the meal, but she refuses. Matt and Marie are joining us and will be here in a few hours. Marie says that she is bringing the pies, which I’m sure are going to be store bought but that’s okay. Julie’s mom is coming too and will be bringing the green bean casserole. I’ve never been a fan of it myself, so I didn’t argue when Melody, which she has requested that I start calling her, decided to cook it.
Veronica, Edward’s mother, will be joining us as well. It was Julie’s idea to invite her to Thanksgiving. She said that it wasn’t her fault that Edward was in jail and she shouldn’t have to spend Thanksgiving by herself.
“Are you sure?” I had asked her when she mentioned it.
“I am. Edward is a shit for what he did, but she didn’t force him to do it. I know he wasn’t raised that way. He just got mixed up in the wrong crowd and now he’s paying for his crimes. She shouldn’t have to spend the holiday by herself because of it.”
I place my palm against her cheek, running my thumb along her cheekbone. “You have such a big heart, angel.” I lean down to kiss her, and she stand on her tiptoes to meet me in the middle. “I love you.” I whisper against her lips as I pull back.
She smiles sweetly and brings her hand up to my cheek. “I love you too.”
We’ve been awake since seven this morning getting ready for a house full of people. Julie went all out since she says she’s never had a house big enough to host a full feast in. I’ve been to the house that she grew up in, the small Craftsman cottage that Melody still lives in, and I can understand her enthusiasm. That house was barely big enough for the five people that were over for dinner at one time.
Julie still goes to therapy with Theresa and has gotten better at being able to leave the house on her own for things like shopping or even going to work, which she ended up returning to Metropolitan Weekly earlier this week. She’s taken several trips by herself to Walmart to pick up decorations in preparation of today’s dinner.
We were able to have her stitches removed two weeks ago and she has healed nicely. Her scars are still puffy and pink since they’re still fairly new. She applies a scar cream to them each night before going to bed and the doctor is confident that they will disappear over time. None of her cuts were very deep, Jerry had wanted her to bleed slowly in order to draw it out. As horrendous as it seemed at the time, I’m grateful for the small blessing because I don’t want her to have to relive the horror every time she looks at herself in the mirror.
We still sleep with the bathroom light on. Julie swears she doesn’t need it anymore, but I’ve become rather fond of it myself. I like being able to watch her sleep and the extra illumination from the bathroom light helps me to see that she isn’t just a figment of my imagination.
We waited two days after handing everything over the Detective O’Neil before I went with Julie to officially move her out of her apartment. Matt and Marie came to help so we were able to get everything done in one day. Thankfully, Julie had rented the apartment furnished so we didn’t have to move any of the furniture or put anything in storage. She really didn’t have much beyond books, a few knick knacks, and the rest of her clothes. Of course, since Matt and Marie helped us, we got to help them the following week when Marie moved into Matt’s house. It’s been nice to see the two of them grow to love each other. I’m happy for my best friend, he deserves to have someone that makes him as happy as Julie makes me. I can’t wait to see where their relationship goes next.
I got news from Detective O’Neil yesterday that I’m anxious to share with Julie. I know she’s been worried about the outcome of the investigation and whether or not any arrests have been made. I plan to make an announcement before dinner once everyone arrives. Which, as I look over at the clock on the microwave, should be any time now.
Julie comes running around the breakfast bar as the timer goes off on the oven. “Look out!” She shouts and I jump out of the way expecting something to be bursting into flames. “I gotta check the turkey.” She bumps her hip against me as she bends down to open the oven door.
“I’ll get it.” I reach around her to grab the potholders off of the counter next to the stove. Reaching into the hot oven, I grab the roasting pan and pull it out, setting it on the stovetop as she grabs the thermometer to see if it’s done.
“Perfect!” She exclaims as she replaces the roaster lid. She closes the oven and turns around to survey our accomplishments. Everything is ready as far as I can tell. “Now we just need to transfer everything to the serving bowls and platters, and we can start setting the table. Everyone should be here in a few minutes.”
She smiles at me and I put my hand on her waist and pull her closer. “Happy Thanksgiving, angel.” I whisper against her lips before I kiss her. She wraps her arms around my neck and deepens the kiss, moaning into my mouth.
“I love you, Devan.” She says as she pulls away from me. “Thank you for this.”
“I love you too, angel. Let’s get this party rollin’ so we can eat!” I say, reaching behind her to grab the stack of serving bowls. I turn to set the bowls on the breakfast bar right as there’s a knock at the front door. “I’ll get it.”
I open the front door to see Melody with a huge smile on her face. Veronica is standing right behind her looking unsure of herself and a little out of place. “Happy Thanksgiving.” Melody says, holding out the casserole dish with what I assume is the dreaded green bean casserole.
I take the dish from her and lean down to kiss her cheek. “Happy Thanksgiving, Melody. Julie’s in the kitchen, just follow your nose and you’ll find her getting everything ready.” She smiles as she brushes past me into the house. “Hello, Veronica. I’m glad you could join us.”
“Thank you for inviting me. I know you didn’t have to, especially after everything...”
“Nonsense.” I interrupt her. “Julie wanted you here. Besides, it’s Thanksgiving. No one should spend Thanksgiving alone.” I look over her shoulder to see Matt and Marie pulling into the driveway. Standing back to allow Veronica to come through the front door, I point her to the kitchen.
Marie jumps out of the truck, a pie in each hand, and comes running up to the porch. “Happy Thanksgiving!” She says as she squeezes past me into the house. She knows exactly where to find Julie, she’s been here every weekend since Julie got out of the hospital and knows my entire house from top to bottom.
I look back and see Matt climbing out of the truck, shaking his head with a smile on his face. He walks around and closes the door that Marie left hanging open before turning and walking up to the house. “Hey, troublemaker.” I’ll never understand why he calls me that. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Happy Thanksgiving, Matt. Glad you could make it. How are things going?” He knows that I’m asking about how things are between him and Marie. They’ve had a rocky start, but anyone that sees them together can see that they love each other.
“Been a crazy ride so far but it’s worth it.” He smiles and pats my back between my shoulders.
“Damn right.” I say as I grin and shake my head. “Let’s go see what else they need help with. I’ve been smelling dinner all day and I’m starving.” I close the door behind Matt and turn to follow him back to the dining room.
Julie has delegated everything left to be done and I see Melody setting the dinner plates and silverware on the table. Julie walks in carrying two serving bowls, of what I have no idea, and sets them on the table as well. Marie comes trotting in behind her carrying the platter holding the monster-sized turkey.
The dining room looks amazing. Julie had a great time decorating without going overboard. On the hutch in the corner, she found six mason jars which she painted white and wrapped in burlap. A letter was painted on the front of each one so together they spell out ‘Thanks’, and she got artificial sunflowers to put in each one for a pop of color. There’s a garland hanging over the window which appears to be made of dead leaves which she assures me are also artificial. Since we’re setting all of the food up on the table, she decided to skip a centerpiece and got a nice cloth runner instead which lays down the center of the table and drapes off each end.
It all looks amazing and I’m excited to be spending it here with my ‘family’. I didn’t have many memorable Thanksgivings growing up. At least not after my grandparents had passed away. This is my family now, Julie and her mother, Matt and Marie. We have plenty to be thankful for this year too. Everyone takes their seat around the table, me at the head of the table with Julie off to my right. Her mom sitting next to her. Matt at the other end of the table with Marie off to his right on Veronica sitting to the right of her directly across from Julie.
“This all looks amazing.” Melody says as she picks up her wine glass. “You know, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a Thanksgiving feast, and I’m really happy to be here. When Julie was growing up, her father and I used to take turns saying what we were thankful for before we ate. Would it be okay if we did that?”
“That’s a wonderful idea.” I say, reaching out for my own wine glass. “Why don’t you start, Melody.”
Melody smiles at me and I can see the wetness in her eyes as she begins to talk. “I’m thankful for everyone at this table. My friend, Veronica, who I love no matter what. My daughter, Julie, for being the best daughter a woman could ask for and for putting up with my craziness for so many years. And her boyfriend, Devan, for bringing her back to me.” She wipes the moisture away from her cheeks as she takes a sip of wine.
Matt goes next, clearing his throat and lifting his wine glass. “I’m thankful for friends.” He starts, looking between me and Julie. “And for new relationships.” He puts a hand on Marie’s shoulder and squeezes, then takes a sip of his wine.
Marie smiles at Matt before reaching for her glass. “I’m thankful for...” She stops and swallows audibly, looking down at her lap. She shakes her head, then looks up at Julie. “I’m thankful for my friend for teaching me what it means to be strong. And for Matt for helping me remember how to love.” I reach over and grab Julie’s hand and smile at her. She looks at me and I can see the tears are forming in her eyes as well.
Veronica, following suit, grabs her glass and holds it up. “I’m thankful for forgiveness. I’m glad I was able to spend today with friends.” Julie, being the big-hearted woman that she is, reaches her hand across the table and grabs Veronica’s. I see her squeeze it as if to reassure her that she isn’t the one needing forgiveness.
Now it’s my turn. I lift my wine glass and clear my throat. “I’m thankful for each and everyone one of you that are sitting around this table with us today. I’m thankful for my friend Matt for not giving up on me when I thought I was going to lose my mind. And for helping me to find Julie when it didn’t seem like anyone else was able to. I’m thankful for Marie for being Julie’s best friend. For being there for her when she needs a shoulder to lean on. For Melody for raising such a wonderful, kind, generous, thoughtful woman. For Veronica for accepting our forgiveness, even though you didn’t need it because you weren’t the one that did anything wrong. And for Julie, for being my everything. And finally, I’m thankful for Detective O’Neil.” I pause, and Julie looks up at me. I take a minute to look around the table before continuing and see everyone watching me.
“Detective O’Neil called me yesterday to let me know that because of the research that you did.” I reach out and take Julie’s hand again. “All the work you put into following that story. He was able to close the case. They got the business owners to cooperate, and they were able to catch everyone involved. It’s over, angel.”
“What?” Julie gasps, tears running down her face.
“It’s over. They’ve all been arrested.” I reach over and wipe a tear from her cheek with the pad of my thumb.
“Oh, my God. I can’t believe it.” Julie looks up at me and smiles. “That’s amazing.” She takes a few deep breaths before reaching for her glass. “I guess it’s my turn.” She giggles and looks around the table slowly. “I’m thankful to all of you for being patient with me. I know I still have a long way to go after everything that’s happened. And there are some things I’ll probably never get over. Some thoughts that probably won’t even go away no matter how much medication Theresa tries to put me on. Some days, all it takes is one reminder to take my breath, haunt my dreams. Panic. Anxiety. Paranoia. I can’t put a label on my thoughts and refuse to throw a sheet over my memories. They’re part of who I am now, I just have to learn to live with them.”
“Happy Thanksgiving everyone.” I say, raising my glass again to cheers all around the table. “And here’s to many more family holidays. Let’s eat.”
Julie leans closer to me so only I can hear her. “I love you.” She whispers.
“I love you too.” I whisper back before kissing her softly.