Painting The BadBoy ✔

34 | The Thanksgiving Dinner

Note the sarcasm.

I looked up at Dani to see if he had seen anything, but he hadn't. He was focusing on the movie. I did the same, trying to distract myself from my thoughts.

I had never watched the ending of this movie before, and personally hoped that FDR- that was Chris Pine's character- ended up with Reese. He was super-hot. And 'dem eyes... Damn.

An hour later when the movie ended, my wish actually did come true. FDR ended up with Reese, and the conclusion was actually satisfactory.

"That was nice." I concluded.

"Mhm." He agreed. I shifted a little to the left so we could both get up.

Everyone was seated in the living room, except Franny, who was doing the last of the preparations. I offered to help, but she shooed me away. Dani stayed in the living room, talking to Shawn and Uncle Alex, who had grown quite fond of his -and his mother's- work.

A doorbell signaled Cayden's arrival, and sure enough, he walked in with Jessica.

"Where are mom and dad?" was the first thing I asked him.

Plastering on a fake smile for the rest of the family present, Cayden leaned in and whispered, "Getting their own ride."

I nodded and turned to Jessica, throwing my arms around her in a bear-hug. I couldn't help it. She looked so cute. She was wearing a light blue dress and had flowers in her hair.

Once Cayden had introduced her to half of the family she hadn't met yet, she took a seat beside me in one of the sofas.

This was the best time to talk to her. I hadn't yet, about the whole Eli thing. And now, with everyone engrossed in their own conversations, now seemed to be an okay time.

"I never thanked you for what you did." I said with a smile. She looked confused, so I added, "For Eli."

"He told you?"

"Yeah, he did. And I think he's very lucky to have you."

Jess flashed me a sudden grin "Hush, Val. We both know that's not true. We fight like 24/7."

"But you had his back." I tried to explain.

She nodded. "I couldn't just leave him there with mom and dad alone." Then she laughed. "I mean, have you met my parents?" Oh darling, you haven't seen mine. And at least your parents are a single unit. Mine couldn't be further apart.

Mom and dad finally arrived just as Franny was setting up the dinner table. Dad smiled and hugged everyone, and mom well, stood on the side refusing any sort of contact except a simple handshake.

When she saw Jessica, she yanked Cayden by the arm and started scolding him. "What is she doing here?" Mom snapped.

Cayden pulled his arm back and flashed her a scowl. "Leave me alone." He muttered.

Fortunately, nobody except me and dad noticed. Dad threw her a disappointed look, but didn't say anything.

Franny called us to dinner shortly afterwards.

~.~.~

To say that dinner was amazing would be an understatement. Margaret and Franny had prepared the food perfectly, and I went back for seconds.

It would have been even better if Mom and Dad had tried to get along. But nope. They sat across each other, and ignored each other as much as they could.