Sanctuary - Side 2

It’s Thanksgiving and Abby plans on having a huge dinner because shenhas never had one and would love to have her extended family be part of it. I still thought about overwhelming that must be to her. I heard her put the turkey in the oven as I walked into the kitchen.

“Happy Thanksgiving.” she greeted me.

“Happy Thanksgiving.” I said, yawning.

“I just put in the turkey.”

“Yum.”

“Is there breakfast?”

“I haven’t gotten there yet.”

“Can I make breakfast?”

“Are you even awake yet?” she asked, giving me a look.

“I’m awake enough to kiss you.” I said, walking over to kiss her.

“Smartass.”

I kissed me and she melted into me.

“So, can I?”

“Yes. I was planning on French toast unless you had any other ideas.”

“Sounds good to me.”

She walked into the living room and sat down while I got to work; she had a long day ahead of her and I wanted to ease up the workload for her.

“Abby?”

“Yeah?”

“Breakfast is ready.”

She walked to the kitchen island.

“Smells delicious.” she said as I placed a plate in front of her.

“I hope so.”

“It will be.”

Shentook a bite and nodded.

“And I was right. Thank you for making breakfast. I was kinda not wanting to make breakfast seeing as today’s such a big day.”

“I still think you’re a little crazy for hosting such a huge dinner.”

“Alex, I cook for countless people almost every day. This isn’t anything new and plus, I know everyone I’m cooking for. They’re family.”

“You got a point.”

“Thank you.”

I shook my head.

“So, when are our guests coming?” I asked.

“One. I’ll have football on when they arrive.”

We were both smiling about that; we’re just two people who can’t get enough football. The only difference between our mutual love of the sport is who we root for. While I root for the Ravens, she roots for the Redskins which makes me thankful for them being in different conferences. If they see each other at all during the season, it’s only once. Today, I’m lucky that they’re playing the Cowboys today late in the afternoon.

“You excited about the Redskins game?”

“Of course. You excited about the Ravens game?”

“Of course.”

Hopefully, the day would be made better if both our teams would win.

“Come 4:30, I’m changing into my jersey.” she said.

My game came on at one.

“Can I still wear mine when we eat? I know the game will still be on.”

She bit her lip.

“I’d rather you change into nicer clothes.”

“Really?” I groaned.

“Yes. Really. Maybe if you were a fan of the Redskins, it’d be different.”

She was trying not to laugh as she took another bite of her breakfast.

“You think you’re so funny.”

“The funniest.”

I finished mind and put my plate in the sink. When she was done, she handed her plate to him.

“Please make sure the dishes are washed and put in the dishwasher. I want the sink to be empty before dinner.”

She didn’t take another look and walked into the living room. She sat down on the couch and pulled out the recliner.

“Anything else we need to do?” I said, sitting next to her.

“Just shower and get dressed, but that can wait.”

She leaned into me and placed her head on my shoulder.

“Next year, we’re going to Virginia and have Thanksgiving with my mom and hopefully, her fiancé. This will be the seventh one without her.”

She sighed and let a tear fall.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“I made myself sad.”

“Anything I can do?”

“I think so.” she whispered into my ear.

She lifted her head and turned to look at me and smirked. I smirked right back, picked her up and we headed straight to the bedroom. A couple of hours later, the Ravens game was on and people were set to arrive. The first person that arrived was Miranda with a purse and a Redskins in tow; she’s the only other Redskins fan here.

“You brought your jersey!” she squealed.

“I had to bring it. Isn’t it awesome that they play today?”

“Totally, even in a house where there are four Ravens fans.” she said, laughing.

Mirandanlaughed as well.

“Are you letting Alex wear his ugly jersey at dinner?”

“I heard that!”

They laughed even harder.

“Until dinner. He asked if he could wear it, then. I told him I wanted him in nicer clothes and that I might’ve if he was a Redskins fan.”

“Poor Alex.” she said dramatically.

In came Jack without knocking on the door.

“Why poor Alex?” he said, hugging Abby.

“I won’t let him wear his Ravens jersey at the dinner table.”

“Why not?”

“One, it’s a holiday, and two, I want him in nice clothes.”

He shook his head.

“You’re mean.”

“Thank you. I try.”

He turned and noticed Miranda.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was so rude. It’s so good to see you.” he said.

“It’s good to see you, too.”

Seconds later, they went off in separate directions; Jack to the bathroom and Miranda to the living room.

“Alex, did you see the two of them hug?”

“No. Why?”

“Come with-”

“I’ll talk to you about this later.” she said as I answered the door.

Abby greeted the rest of our guests who were conversing in the kitchen and the living room before she got a hold of me and excused us to the dining room.

“What did you wanna talk to me about?”

“Does Jack have a crush on Miranda?”

“Why do you ask?”

“When he hugged her, she was over the moon. I actually just talked to her about this. So, does he?”

She took a breath and let it out before I answered her.

“He does. He told me this about a year ago.”

What?

“That’s about the same time as her. She won’t talk to him because he only has flings. You and I know him.”

“They’re ridiculous.”

“You can say that again. She wanted me to talk to you before she talks to him.”

“Now, they just need to talk. Who knows how long that’ll take. Hey, I’m gonna go watch the game.”

“You do that.” she said, shooing me.

She texted Miranda a thumbs up and she walked to where Abby was immediately. I knocked on our bedroom door which was where Abby and her friends were.

“It’s halftime.” I said.

“Ok. Thanks, babe.”

They all got up and walked to the door.

“Time to start cooking.”

“And to talk to Jack.”

She took a breath and walked out and into the living room hoping to find him, but he wasn’t there; the look on her face was one of disappointment. She walked into the dining room, seeing him by himself on his phone, talking to his mom.

“He’s on his phone.” she said.

“I’m sure he’ll be off it soon. Help me out until then.” Abby said.

“Ok.”

“Can I help?” I said, walking into the kitchen.

Miranda had vacated the kitchen when I got there.

“She’s about to talk to him.”

I kept silent so I could… we could eavesdrop.

“Jack. Can I talk to you about something?”

“Of course. Is everything okay?”

We simply can’t help ourselves; these are our best friends after all.

“Yeah. Everything’s great. It’s something I should’ve said close to a year ago. I uh... really like you.”

There was a short pause before we heard anything else.

“I really like you, too.”

That pause had to be a kiss. It just had to be. When we heard them walking, we focused on cooking again.

“Finally.” I said.

“Finally.” she echoed.

We continued a few more minutes until I saw what time it was.

“I gotta go. The game’s back on. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Miranda ended up staying on the couch, cozying up to Jack once the game came back on; I smiled at how happy they were. When it came time to set the table, I helped set the table for Abby while Miranda walked into the kitchen. She came out and I went back in.

“Is she happy?” I asked.

“He kissed her after she told him how she felt, so yeah.”

She was gushing and I was amused.

“You’re adorable.”

“Shut up.” she said pushing me.

I laughed.

“I’m a hopeless romantic. I can’t help it.”

I kissed her cheek.

“I know you can’t.”

By the time we put the last dish on the table, everyone was seated and ready to eat.

"Before I start cutting the turkey, I'd like to thank everyone for being here. I’ve never even had the opportunity to be part of a huge dinner and be able to spend this kind of time with such amazing people and that’s all I have to say.” she said, laughing.

She ended her short speech with a smile and began to slice turkey. Sometime when she was slicing, she got a cramp in her hand and had to hand the duties to me. Abby sat the head of the table, I was to her left, Miranda to her right, and Jack right next to her. After passing food around to fill plates, we decided to skip a prayer that Abby’s mom did when she grew up.

“You cooked all this by yourself?” Jack asked.

“Even the nearly thirty-pound turkey.”

“It’s delicious. Everything’s delicious.”

“Thank you.”

We heard similar echoes across the table while we were eating.

“Are you content?” he asked.

We were in the kitchen getting ready to slice pumpkin pie and topping it with cool-whip.

“I feel so content. I know that I’m appreciated, but hearing from all these people how great my cooking is in front of me is something else. Sure, people enjoy just about everything that is served to them at the restaurant, but I don’t get to hear it. I get to hear it from the people who mean the most to me and it’s indescribable.” she said, beginning to tear up.

I pulled me into me and kissed her forehead.

“You, Abby Shaw, are the most amazing person on the face of his planet and everyone should know that.”

She melted into me.

“Speaking of you being so wonderful right now, we need to talk about this wedding. I’d like to be married before you go out on tour.”

She looked up at me.

“So do I. I like the sound of April. It’s two months before Last Young Renegade comes out. How about you?”

“I’ve always loved the idea of a spring wedding. Once we figure out a day, I’m gonna start planning. Ok?”

She stood up on her tippy toes to kiss me.

“I love you.” she said.

“I love you, too.”

That’s when we heard a knock and clearing of the throat.

Jack.

“You okay, lovebirds?”

We both laughed.

“Yeah. We’re fine. Just having a very important conversation.”

“Would you mind some help?”

“Not at all. The faster we pass out pie, the faster Miranda and I can watch the Redskins.”

He laughed as well.

“Ok.”

He helped us with serving dessert which everyone loved. Abby thought about cleaning up right then and there, but really wanted to watch the game, so she said ‘fuck it’ and let it go. She and Miranda changed into their jerseys and came back to see the game on. Jack and I looked at them and shook our heads; it was hilarious because they rooted for the Redskins while they we were Ravens fans.

“How do I look?”

“Is that a trick question?” I asked.

“You don’t have to answer that.”

I let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness.”

She patted my chest then sat next to Miranda on the couch.

The game was a bust. They lost by five points against the Cowboys, but at least one of our teams won today; the day was almost perfect and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.

Notes