Boyxboy Holiday Specials

Thanksgiving- A Murder Of Crows

                I'd never seen the appeal of Thanksgiving. It was a ton of cooking and baking all for a half hour sit down. My family stopped celebrating the holidays once my grandfather died, as he'd been the one who insisted we all get together for them.

                But now Jamison was having me over. He'd begged and begged, telling me their Thanksgiving was small this year because his cousin had strep throat so that part of his family wasn't coming.

                So I fixed my shirt, checked myself in the mirror to make sure I looked appropriate, and went downstairs. My father sat at the kitchen table, typing on his laptop. He paid me no mind as I grabbed my car keys and left the house.

                I drove myself to Jamison's house, wondering why he'd even invited me. We could have dinner any night.

                I went up and rang the doorbell once I'd parked my car. Mrs. Heitor pulled it open and smiled widely.

                "Hi Cor!" she greeted, ushering me into the house. "Jamison is helping his father set the table. I'm sorry our Thanksgiving is so small this year. It's not usually just us, but my brother's daughter is sick so they didn't come up this year, and my parents are in Florida."

                "Thanks for inviting me," I said. I saw no point in coming, but it was polite to thank them anyways.

                She led me to their kitchen, where the table was full of food. Jamison noticed me and smiled widely.

                "Cor," he said, coming over to me. "Hey, you're just in time."

                "This is the time you told me to come," I said.

                He rolled his eyes and pushed me at the table. "Sit down. We're almost done setting the table."

                "What was your family doing today, Cor?" Mrs. Heitor asked.

                "Nothing," I said. "We don't celebrate the holidays."

                "Not Thanksgiving?" Grandpa Heitor said, raising an eyebrow. "Bad family."

                "Grandpa," Jamison groaned.

                "What? Thanksgiving is a day for family. Shame on his for neglecting that," Grandpa Heitor said.

                I shrugged. "We used to. There was no point when my grandpa died. No one had the time for it."

                "Well, you're always welcome here," Mr. Heitor said, shooting Grandpa Heitor a stern look. He gestured at Jamison to take a seat while they finished bringing the food over.

                "No holidays at all? You didn't tell me that," Jamison said as he sat next to me.

                "My parents give me money for Christmas to buy whatever I want," I said. Holidays were pointless. My parents were too busy for that.

                "Well, you're celebrating Thanksgiving now," Jamison said. "I can't wait for you to try my mom's ice cream pie. Oh, and the cheesy mashed potatoes. And we have a really good stuffing recipe we use!"

                He seemed so excited about foods that you could make any time you wanted. I didn't understand it, but it did make me feel a little more in the mood to see Jamison like that.

                His parents joined us at the table and I watched as they all began to hold hands. Jamison held his hand out to me and I took it, wondering what this was about.

                But then they all bowed their heads and I realized. I bowed mine, having no religious loyalties but not wanting to anger the Heitor family.

                "Thank you Lord for this food we are about to receive," Grandpa Heitor said. "Bless this meal, and bless this family of ours. May we always remain grateful for the true gifts in life."

                We released hands and they began to pass the food around. Jamison forced me to put a little of everything on my plate.

                "I'm not even that hungry," I protested as he topped off my full plate with a dinner roll.

                "Some of this food we only make at Thanksgiving. You have to try it, Cor!" he said.

                "You're going to make me gain weight," I said, but took a bite of one of the many helpings on my plate.

                "Thanksgiving is an acceptable day to pig out," Mr. Heitor said. "Eat as much as you want. All of us are certainly going to. No fun in the day if you can't eat a ton!"

                I watched as their family talked, looking happy even though they were missing part of their usual group. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company, which was strange to see. I knew some families were close, but it just wasn't something I was used to seeing a lot. Aria and her mom had a good relationship, but they didn't spend a lot of time together, and my parents and I certainly never sat down and chatted like this.

                It made me understand Jamison a little more. The more time I spent around him and his family, the more I understood where such a passionate, emotional person came from. It was a jarring perspective to view, but Jamison had always been such a puzzle to me.

                "Hey, so we usually play games after we eat, you know, while we digest. Do you know how to play cards?" Jamison asked.

                "I'm pretty good with card games," I said.

                He brightened. "Good. We'll teach you if you don't know, though. Grandpa likes to bet quarters. Mostly because he's usually the winner."

                "I don't know. He looks like competition. The quiet ones are always the hustlers," Grandpa Heitor said.

                "Are your Thanksgivings always like this?" I asked as his family got into another conversation.

                "They're usually louder when my cousins are here," Jamison said. "I'm really glad you came, Cor. We were afraid it'd be kind of sad without my cousins and their parents. But my parents got really excited when I said you'd be here for dinner and dessert."

                Excited for me being here? I looked back at his parents, who seemed to be in high spirits as they talked about the flavoring of the food this year.

                Jamison nudged me lightly. "We're all happy to have you here, Cor. It means a lot to me that you came."

                "Sorry I didn't bring anything," I said, looking at the food. They seemed so excited about the food.

                "You didn't have to. We have enough to feed an army," Jamison said, laughing. "My parents are going to give you enough leftovers to feed yourself until next Thanksgiving." He took my hand under the table. "We can bring some leftovers and have a picnic this weekend. It's supposed to warm up by Saturday."

                "Sure," I said. I didn't really care for picnics, but if it made Jamison happy, we could go.

                He kissed my cheek and pushed my plate towards me. "Eat up and get ready to lose all your quarters to grandpa."

                I couldn't help the slight smile that peeked onto my face. "We'll see. Happy Thanksgiving, Jamison."

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A.N.- Hi I'm so sorry I haven't written these two in forever so like...I don't remember how??? I did my best, enjoy your turkey my dudes