Chapter 14
HEATHER
Heather wipes her hands on the front of her apron, pulls the iPad towards herself and watches how Bethany, on video call from Baltimore, adds, mixes and stirs.
‘So now you add in the mushroom soup. Great. Now the beans. Awesome. And finally, the milk.’
Heather matches her actions according to Bethany's instructions and flips the camera so her newfound friend can see how things are progressing in her kitchen in Edinburgh.
‘Oh beautiful. That’s great, Heather!’
Has she ever had a more encouraging friend? Heather converts 350 degrees Fahrenheit into degrees Celsius on her phone and slips her first ever attempt at Green Bean Casserole into the oven.
‘Now you just have to remember the onions in about twenty-five minutes,’ Bethany says. ‘Set a timer and don’t forget. It’s the onions that make it.’
The two women pause once the oven door is closed.
Despite the time difference, the preparations have all been done in tandem across their two kitchens.
This involved Bethany getting up at 6am for Heather to begin cooking at 11am, but Bethany’s sunny demeanour doesn’t hint at exhaustion or irritability.
‘I’ve never had a woman to prep Thanksgiving with before,’ she says.
‘Thank you so much, Heather, and thank you for making today so special for Trey.’
Heather tells her it’s her absolute pleasure.
‘We’ll call you once we’ve eaten. 3pm our time, so 10am for you, if that’s okay?’ Heather says.
The two women wave to the camera as they hang up. Heather checks the time, and a smile crawls across her face. She’s expecting Georgia, Brianna and Trey any moment now, and ideally, she’d like to have the table set before they arrive. And Scott.
Did she mention Scott?
Scott is coming, too.
***
The teenagers arrive in a chorus of screams and 'hello, hello, hello'. Georgia and Brianna rush towards Heather and wrap their arms around her. Heather hasn’t seen her daughter in the flesh since she was discharged from hospital three weeks ago, and although they’ve been in frequent communication via FaceTime, there’s something altogether more satisfactory about seeing her in real life and hugging her close.
Trey, meanwhile, stands at the door, staring at the table setting. Heather has gone to town.
‘You did all this for me?’ he says when Heather approaches to give him a Thanksgiving hug.
‘It’s my way of saying thank you, Trey,’ she says, ‘for looking after my girl that night.’
There are American flags at each place setting, and a central table decoration in red, white and blue commissioned especially from the Morningside florist.
‘You’ve even bought sauerkraut,’ Trey gasps, pointing at the jar on the table.
‘Your mum took me through a typical Baltimore Thanksgiving meal. She told me that crab dip starter and sauerkraut were essential.’
His eyes widen. ‘You made crab dip?’
‘Your mum got up at six in the morning to take me through it.’
The girls, picking up on their friend’s emotion, thrust their arms around him and begin planting kisses on any area of his face, head or shoulders they can reach.
‘This is because we all love you, Trey-Trey-Trey,’ they chant in his ear.
There’s a hammer on the door, and Heather leaves the teenagers as she goes to answer.
Scott.
When Heather last saw him, she was wearing fishnet stockings and a Dracula outfit with a high-necked cape. And crying her eyes out. And, concern for Georgia aside, she’s obsessed about him ever since. No one has held her and supported her like that.
Ever.
‘I think I get it now’, he’d said. I get you now felt implied.
‘Hello,’ he says. He’s wearing jeans with a white linen shirt tucked into the waistband. His smile is almost shy.
‘Hi.’
He extends his arms. There’s a circular dish in his hands, its contents obscured by some messily applied tin foil.
‘Pumpkin pie,’ he says, gesturing that Heather should take it. ‘Bit of a disaster, to be honest. All those American measurements in cups and ounces and Fahrenheits kind of caught me out. Bethany was a godsend.’
His eyes smoulder into hers. Goodness, he’s hot. Does he think the same about her? Does he notice the smoothed hair, the smoky eye she’s experimenting with, having watched numerous TikTok shorts designed for twelve-year-olds, but perfectly pitched for a complete novice like herself?
Can he see the glisten on her upper lip because he’s so damn sexy and she’s like a teenager again? If she's honest, she finds her own reaction a little unsettling. She already knows Scott’s type; he’s not the kind of guy who’s in it for the long term.
Only…
Only…
What if he is? It’s a question that she can’t even allow herself to contemplate today. She has a houseful of guests. A three-course dinner to cook. And they’re all here for Trey.
‘It’s litres and grams and Centigrade for you, is it?’ she asks.
Scott shrugs.
‘Come in,’ she says.
Heather knows the meal was good by sheer virtue of the clean plates around the table after each course. Even Scott’s self-proclaimed disaster of a pumpkin pie was reasonably palatable when doused in caramel sauce and whipped cream.
‘So,’ Heather says when she takes the plates away, ‘Bethany tells me we need to go around the table and say what we’re grateful for. Who’d like to start? Trey, would you and your family like to show us how it’s done?’
They dial into Baltimore and are joined by Bethany, Trey’s brother, Mason, and other members of their extended family. The American contingent start off citing health, pride in their children, and proximity to their friends as being noteworthy.
‘I’m grateful to you all for looking after my son,’ Bethany says, ‘and I’m thankful and nostalgic for my own year in Scotland many, many moons ago.’
Trey is next. He looks at his family, on camera, his eyes glistening, then moves his focus to those in the room and smiles at everyone.
‘Well, clearly, I’m grateful for all of you.
My surrogate Scottish family who make me so welcome and valued.
And you guys back at home, who always have my back.
I’m grateful to have the chance to study in a place like St Andrews, and the opportunity to learn about my heritage and travel while I’m here.
And things I’m looking forward to, well – seeing Mum and Mason at Christmas when we go to Morocco, learning more at university, and having more fun with my lovely friends.
’ He stretches his hands out to either side and takes one each of Georgia’s and Brianna’s.
Brianna whoops, and Georgia gives a small cheer.
Georgia tells everyone how thankful she is to be part of the St Andrews University community.
‘Especially given how things were during Covid, when Paul vanished and Mum was left home schooling me and holding down a full-time job. It didn’t look like I was going to make it to university at all in those days. ’
Georgia looks at Heather and gives her a lopsided smile.
Heather’s eyes tear up. She’d been so consumed by loss and anger when Paul left, she hadn’t considered how it might have affected Georgia’s schooling.
She breaks eye contact to wipe her eyes with a napkin.
When she comes to, everyone around the table is looking at her with concerned eyes.
Including Scott, who’s staring at her. He must realise, surely, that by this stage in life he’s not the only one with a knotty history to deal with?
Scott and Brianna follow suit. They express gratitude for family and friends and new experiences that their circumstances allow.
‘Oh. And I know we’re not allowed to be grateful for materialistic things, but I’m so glad my favourite bike is being released in a carbon fibre frame in the New Year,’ Scott adds as an apparent afterthought, which generates a laugh around the table.
‘Honestly, Dad. You and your adventure sports,’ Brianna says in mock frustration.
Georgia raises her hand in the air. ‘I’d like to request an amendment to my Thanksgiving list,’ she announces, as though she’s in court. ‘If Scott gets a materialistic one, then I do too, right?’
‘Well …’ Heather’s fearful Georgia is about to scupper her Christmas plans and ask for something outrageously expensive.
‘I’m thankful for the Winter Ball and that I’m going to get a lovely dress and go with my bestest friends.’
‘Once your coursework's complete,’ Heather clarifies.
‘Yes. Of course. Once the coursework's done. Exactly.’
It’s Heather’s turn next. ‘I’m thankful for my family and friends.
That Georgia’s settled at university, and that there are people around this table who’ve been there when things are tough.
I’m grateful for my job, I guess, it pays the bills.
And for our home, which has seen us through some interesting times. ’
There’s a general lull around the table once they hang up the call to Baltimore so that Trey’s family can enjoy their dinner. Heather shoos everyone into the lounge so she can finish clearing up in peace.
When she re-joins them a few moments later, everyone has snuggled up together on the corner sofa.
‘Hey, guys, can I suggest adding a little Scottish addition to today’s agenda?’ Heather says from the doorway. The day has left her invigorated, and she isn’t ready to relax just yet.
The teenagers sigh.
‘I was looking forward to vegging out,’ says Georgia.
‘What did you have in mind?’ asks Scott, who has snuggled his way between Trey and Brianna on the sofa.
‘A walk up Arthur’s Seat to watch the sun set,’ says Heather. ‘It’s been dry, so it won’t be slippery and it’s a clear night, so I think it could be pretty magnificent. How about it?’
Scott is on his feet in an instant. ‘Brilliant idea,’ he says. He manhandles the teenagers into a vertical position, throws coats on their hunched backs, then jostles them out the door.