Chapter 43
Summer
“Thanksgiving's this week, Sunshine. Are you gonna go Black Friday shopping with us?” Seb asks me after school on Monday.
Man, how can it be Thanksgiving already? The holiday didn’t even register with everything going on. “Who all goes?”
“Everyone, including Z, Troy, and Gabby. We divide and conquer. It’s a lot of fun.”
“Sounds good to me. Any special activities like Easter?”
“Alex and his dad always work at a soup kitchen serving turkey dinner. The rest of us have volunteered over the years, but there’s honestly so many people who volunteer that weekend that it’s crazy.
We usually donate food to different charities, which cook meals for lower-income families instead.
We use Black Friday to get toys and stuff for the kids for Christmas too. ”
“That’s nice. Where do you eat?”
“Alex, Bay, and E at home. Z always comes to our place to eat. Although maybe we need to adjust that this year. I’ll talk to the guys and see.”
“Something to look forward to then,” I smile. “I invited Sue to join us, but she made plans with Mal.”
Seb calls later that night, and with all the changes in our extended family, Thanksgiving is being held at Alex’s house this year.
Zander and I are up early on Thursday morning to bake. Troy and E are doing the cooking today, including two turkeys. E is cooking the traditional turkey in the oven while Troy is deep-frying one.
Zander and I are baking several pies. Seb is busy getting shopping lists ready with Gabby for Black Friday tonight. Bay will be with his family for dinner, but he's joining us later to shop. “So, what can I help with?” Zander asks after we’ve cleaned up breakfast.
“I’ll get the crusts prepared if you'll cut the apples.” I made a traditional pie crust after school this week to prepare for today.
We’ve decided on four pies: apple, pumpkin, blueberry, and coconut cream.
I watch the parade as we bake. Jake, Lily bee, and I watched it every year growing up, and I still love seeing the enormous balloons.
The morning goes quickly, and we’re soon packing up to leave.
The door to Alex’s house is unlocked, so I head towards the kitchen.
Alex, Steven, and Troy are in front of the tv when I pass.
I find Seb and Gabby at the kitchen table with a laptop, and E at the island.
“Pies have arrived,” I announce, setting them on the counter.
“Sunshine, come have a look. We’ve got some great sales,” Seb calls, waving me over.
I smile at E before joining him and Gabby. They’ve got lists all over the tabletop. Leaning over, I see pages for kids, family, Finn, and miscellaneous. “Why’s the miscellaneous list the longest?” I ask.
“That’s stuff at a great price, but not specifically assigned to anyone,” Seb informs me, adding another item to the bottom.
Chuckling at him, I say hi to Gabby. “Don’t worry, Summer, I’ve got my own lists with organization,” Gabby comments, waving a notebook in the air.
“Hey now, I’m organized too,” Seb complains, looking affronted.
“I’m sure you are, Hurry,” I smile. “I’ll leave you to it. Gonna help in the kitchen.”
E has almost the entire island full of ingredients.
He’s currently peeling veggies, so I hop in to help.
He has music playing in the background, and I can hear some cheers coming from the living room as the rest watch football.
I’m feeling very thankful today. Although Jake isn’t here in the house, he’s closer and has a bright future ahead of him.
The only person not enjoying the holiday with us is Nick.
Not a day goes by that I don’t hear his growly voice in my mind, a constant reminder of what we’ve lost. I hope he’s doing okay. I worry about him constantly.
E has an elaborate menu on offer today, including mashed potatoes, roasted root veggies, mac and cheese, corn, coleslaw, salad, sweet potato casserole, and biscuits.
Along with the two turkeys, stuffing, and gravy, we will feast. I’ve never seen Troy working in the kitchen before, but he soon joins us and looks right at home.
They put me in charge of the biscuits, salad, and coleslaw, so I get to work. I don’t talk much, but Troy and E chatter as they work, checking in on each other’s dishes and offering suggestions.
Troy pulls himself away from the kitchen to deep-fry the turkey about an hour before dinner, and Zander and Steven join him on the back patio.
I sneak away to watch him lower the bird into the tall pot of oil before returning to the kitchen.
“We are all set, Summer,” E says, “if you want to join Seb and Gabby.”
After checking with Troy, I thank him and sit at the table with a bottle of water.
Seb's still making notes, but Gabby seems to be done. “Do we have a plan for this evening?” I ask them.
“Still working, Sunshine,” Seb mumbles, not looking up from his notes.
“I’m all done, Summer. Come have a look. Do you know what you want to buy for gifts this year?”
Moving seats to sit beside Gabby, she shows me her lists of the best deals organized by store, with asterisks next to the things she wants to purchase.
I review the sales and use a blue highlighter to mark things I’m interested in buying.
There are a lot of great sales happening tonight.
Having not prepared a gift list for myself yet, Gabby gives me a notebook, as I take some time to create my own version.
There are so many people to buy for this year compared to last year.
Honestly, this is the largest gift list I’ve ever had in my life.
Another thing to be thankful for. “I don’t know who to include and who to skip,” I tell Gabby.
“That’s up to you, Summer,” she replies. “I buy for Seb, Nick, and Troy first, then get smaller items for my close friends, but nothing big. Who are you wondering about?”
“Steven, Troy, and Jake’s dad, Ray.”
“If it were me, I’d skip Steven and Troy. Neither will expect anything. Ray, I’m not sure. Maybe wait to see how Jake gets along?”
“Probably wise,” I smile. We spend the rest of the time before dinner going through her sales list, picking out items I want for people and deciding on gifts for donation.
Dinner is a lively affair, and the food is amazing.
I’m pleasantly surprised by the deep-fried turkey; it’s delicious and not greasy at all.
The guys rib each other about football, and we make plans for shopping tonight.
Zander, Steven, and Alex offer to clean up while E makes leftover plates for us to bring home.
Everyone gathers in the living room once the kitchen is clean to let their food babies settle.
After a few hours, Bay arrives, and we decide to play some touch football in the backyard.
Zander and Troy chose the teams as captains.
I end up with Seb and Alex on Zander’s team, while Troy, Gabby, E and Bay are on the other.
Steven is going to referee and keep score from the sidelines.
It’s a cool day, but not cold out, and the sun is shining. Alex, ever-prepared, hands out blue strips of cloth for our team while Troy’s team gets red, and we use the trees as markers for each goal. Once we are ready, Steven flips a coin to determine who is on offense.
I line up against Gabby on defense, and we begin. The game is competitive right from the start. I can’t throw a football to save my life, so I try to block who I can and run the ball on offense.
After 20 minutes, Troy’s team is up by a field goal.
We break for water before getting back into it.
The game dissolves into a mess in the second half.
We start tackling each other instead of grabbing the cloth, our laughter echoing around the yard.
There are too many interceptions, and we lose track of the score.
It’s a lot of fun though, and a great way to work off the turkey.
Everyone splits up after the game to go home. We'll meet back here around 11pm for shopping.
Zander and I follow Troy to the condo, putting our leftover plates in their fridge before relaxing on the couches. They have a tradition of renting new movies and watching them in the evening before they go shopping.
We all snuggle in and relax, eating a late dinner of leftovers. I end up falling asleep against Seb’s shoulder at some point.
Zander wakes me later. Sitting up, I see Seb and Gabby asleep on the couch beside me. “We have coffee, tea, and snacks, darling,” Zander says, before waking Seb and Gabby.
I go into Seb and Nick’s room to relieve myself and wash my face before joining Troy and Zander at the island. It looks like they have sandwiches, pie, fruit, and a veggie tray. “This looks great, thank you,” I smile before filling a plate.
Seb and Gabby soon join us to eat. “When do we leave?” Seb asks.
“In 20 minutes or so,” Troy responds.
“Do you and Troy have lists, too?” I ask Zander.
“We do,” he smiles.
We’re soon in our vehicles, heading back to Alex’s house. Bay's already here, and we find him, Alex, E, and Steven in the living room drinking coffee. Steven's not joining us, but offered breakfast after we finish shopping. We’re taking Alex’s SUV, Zander’s truck, and Troy’s SUV shopping.
“Just a friendly reminder, we have the buddy system in place tonight. Don’t go anywhere alone, including the washroom. Keep your phones turned up and on vibrate. Darling, some stores will have sizeable crowds, so stay close, please,” Zander announces.
We all nod, then pile into our vehicles.
Our first stop is an outdoor mall in Charleston.
Fortunately, not all the stores are opening simultaneously, but we'll need to split up later tonight. We’ve designated a large toy store for purchasing gifts for the group home and orphanage children, and that'll be our first stop.
The parking lot is already half full when we arrive, despite all the stores being closed.
We get in line behind other shoppers waiting at the toy store.
We all dressed in warm clothes, knowing we'd have to wait outside. Gabby turns on some music with her phone, just loud enough for us to hear, as everyone else surrounds us. We chat about school, gossip, sports, work, and everything else as we wait in line. We’ve compared lists and decided to split up when we enter the store.
Zander and Troy will go to the left, while the rest of us will hit the right side of the store.
It’s a good thing we arrived when we did. The line to enter has wrapped around the building and is out of sight as it gets closer to the store opening, with about 30 people ahead of us.
When the doors finally open, Gabby and I are surrounded by the guys, and it’s a good thing, as people are aggressively pushing inside.
Gabby and Seb know exactly where to go, so I follow along.
Bay and Alex leave to grab carts once we're in the aisles and the crowd has spread out. Gabby hands Seb, E, and me the toys from our list, and our hands are full by the time Alex and Bay find us. I offer to push one cart, which will help keep people away from me. Bay stays at my side while Alex follows behind me with the second cart. It’s a mad rush around this side of the store to get everything we want.
Luckily, we don’t need specific items, as some shelves are empty by the time we get to them.
Once we’re done, we get in line to check out. There are people everywhere, but all the lanes are open. Zander and Troy find us while we wait. Alex and Troy are paying for all the gifts, and we'll divide up the costs later.
After dropping off the shopping bags, we hit store after store at the mall, choosing to walk to each one. Zander and Troy get into his truck and drive between stores so we can drop off bags as we go.
The entire night is an exhausting whirlwind, but we're all in high spirits.
E brought a thermos of tea and two of coffee, plus snacks, so we can keep hydrated and fueled.
I get most of my list completed despite the crowds.
Most of the other stores were open by the time we left the toy store, so the crowds were better.
By the time we're finished, it’s close to 4am and despite the snacks and drinks, I’m exhausted. We split into vehicles and drive back to Alex’s house. I ask Zander how he’s still so awake as he drives us.
“I was often awake for 24 hours in the Army, darling. That, and coffee works well,” he smiles.
When we arrive, everyone helps unload all the bags into their respective vehicles. The rest goes into the garage to sort through later.
Steven meets us at the front door, ushering us into the dining room, with a breakfast buffet set up along the wall. We each grab a plate and dig in, most of us too tired to say much. “Did you have a successful night?” Steven asks us.
“Very,” Seb answers. “We got so much stuff. It was great.”
After breakfast, we thank Steven and all drive home to sleep.
Our shopping bags make it to the foyer before I start to crash. “I’ll deal with this later, Dad. I need to sleep,” I mumble, waving as I walk towards my room.
I hear him chuckle. I strip in my closet and pull on some pajamas before crawling into bed and falling asleep. What a crazy night.