El Niño Garcia {An Isaac Garcia FF]

VI

Jackie and I go upstairs and I ask her about what happened tonight.

"Oh, nothing, we had the hot chocolate, and then we just talked by the fire."

I smile. I don't know if Alex or Cole is better, but I do know that I love seeing her happy.

"So, Isaac?"

I quickly turn to her. "What?"

She gestures to his jacket, which I'm still wearing.

"Oh," I say nervously as my face heats up. "He gave it to me because of the rain."

"Okay," she says slyly.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing, just...you didn't ask for it, and he was probably freezing too," she points out.

"Oh. Yeah. I don't know." I stammer.

She laughs. "Keep me posted."

"Alright," I say with a hidden smile.

Jackie heads off to sleep, and I tiptoe to Isaac and Lee's room. I knock as softly as I can and Lee opens the door. Without me saying anything, he calls Isaac.

Isaac comes to the door and gives me a gentle smile. "What's up, Cali?"

I finally take off the jacket, sad to part with it. I hand it to him. "This is yours. Thanks for letting me use it."

"You said it was yours now," he jokes.

I flash him a grin. "This is only a temporary return. I'll be back for it later."

He grabs it. "I hope so."

"Goodnight, Isaac," I say.

"Goodnight, Cali."

——-

On the day before Thanksgiving, Jackie and I feel a little off because it's our first thanksgiving without the rest of our family. We walk downstairs and see everyone preparing for the day and the evening. Katherine asks us if we want to cook a dish for Walter family tradition, but there's nothing we can do.

"Hey, Isaac," starts George, "You might want to swap out the leather jacket for a warmer coat. There's an 80% chance of snow today, guys."

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice comfort for style," he explains. "Like, this jacket says "tough, chill, smooth. Right, Cali?"

I shrug. "Sure."

"You literally wanted this jacket."

George says, "Frostbite also says, "tough, chill, smooth." I snicker, and Isaac lightly hits my arm.

"Where's the support?" He teases.

"Did you hear from out dad? When's he calling?" Lee asks.

"Yeah, eleven o'clock."

Lee takes out his phone. "What are you doing?" Isaac asks him.

"Setting an alarm," he mutters.

The next day is thanksgiving. I sleep in as long as I can. I come downstairs in the late morning. Danny and George are kind of competing with their cooking, Jackie leaves to do deliveries, and Alex and Nathan leave too. Suddenly, someone knocks on the door, and Katherine opens it.

"Richard!"

"Hi, Katherine."

I quickly run to the door. "Uncle Richard? Hi!"

"Hey, sweetie."

I hug him and we hug for a few seconds. It's so nice to see a family member again.

"Y-you're early," Katherine says.

"Yeah, hope you don't mind, sorry."

"No, come in."

I walk in to see Lee and Isaac watching the screen of their laptop. Isaac waves at me. "Hey."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Waiting to see if our dad will connect," he says. I nod.

"Thanks for inviting me," Uncle Richard says. "Where's Jackie?"

"She's actually out delivering meals for the food drive."

"But, it's freezing!"

"She has a warm coat," Katherine says, a smile plastered on her face. We walk into the kitchen, where Benny introduces himself to Uncle Richard, and starts talking to him. I decide to go check on the Garcias, because I haven't heard any conversation from the room they're in.

"Bro, he's not coming," Isaac says. "We're gonna miss the second half."

Lee gets upset. "There's a million reasons why he could be late. And who cares about football right now? Dad promised that he would show up."

Isaac stands up and disconnects the call. Lee scoffs and storms out.

"Bro, what the-" Isaac stops when he sees me.

"Soo, what's up?" I say, walking over to him.

He sighs. "Our dad didn't call. Lee's hurt."

"What about you?" I ask.

"I don't know. I guess I just try not to care." He shrugs. I give him a sad smile. He smiles back and says he's ready to go watch the second half. I laugh and nod.

After a bit, Jackie comes home, and her and Uncle Richard run into each others' arms. She brings Erin too and we all sit at the table. I sit beside Katherine, across from Jackie and Uncle Richard. Katherine suggests that we go around the table and all share what we're thankful for, and I'm up first.

"Well, I'm really grateful for you guys taking us in and making us feel welcome." I say, and everyone smiles.

When it comes to the Garcias, Lee, who's been quiet tonight, says, "I don't feel like it."

Isaac thinks for a moment, and says, "Well, I'm grateful, um, that the ladies love me for my charm and my good looks." Everyone laughs.

"What ladies?" I tease.

He replies, "I know you're my biggest fan, Cali," and then he continues, "and we're also both grateful to be a part of this family, right, Lee?"

"And we love having you in it," Katherine replies.

We continue sharing our gratitude, and later my uncle is sharing Manhattanhenge with everyone.

"Big cities are overrated. Jackie's realizing that now," Cole says smoothly.

"Maybe we can see it if you come visit," Uncle Richard tells us.

"Too bad they're not coming back," Lee blurts.

"Come on, Lee, they're not going anywhere, so-" George starts, but Jackie interrupts.

"Actually, we might be."

What?