Nanny Undercover

Chapter 12: Thanksgiving

"Ah, I see," Jeff nodded.

"Again, may I point out that I didn't make you do anything," Grant defended himself. "You were dying to do it. 'I want to go first!'" he said, mimicking a very young Goldie, Jeff assumed. "So I let you, that's all."

"That's all?" Goldie repeated. "I broke my arm, you motherfucker."

"I know, I know," Grant consoled, putting an arm around his sister and kissing her temple. "It's what first made me want to be a doctor. I mean, I always wanted to be a doctor, but you breaking your arm made me want to go into orthopedics, so thanks for that."

"And did you?" Jeff asked.

"Yes, I'm an orthopedic surgeon, or I will be, once I finish my residency and all that.

"Not to change the subject or anything," Grant continued, looking between Goldie and Jeff, "but how long have you two been seeing each other?"

"What? How did you know?" Goldie asked, amazed.

"I'm your brother, I know these things," Grant answered modestly.

"Seriously, how?" Jeff asked.

Grant shrugged. "Just a vibe, the way you look at each other, the way you move around each other? It's not a big deal, is it? Is it supposed to be a secret?"

Goldie and Jeff shook their heads.

"No, not a secret," Goldie said. "Just not publicized. We haven't said anything to Mom and Dad. I wonder if they know?"

"Know what?" Harriet asked as she entered the kitchen carrying some bags. "Grant, how lovely to see you!" She enveloped her son in a hug.

"Hello, son." Tom, too, hugged his son after he set down his bags. "Give us a hand with the rest?"

"Jeff and I are sort of dating, though we're not making a big deal out of it," Goldie explained. "Jeff still gets publicity, even though he hasn't released any new music in a couple years, you know?"

"I thought I sensed something," Harriet said with a smile. "Should I have put you in the same bedroom?"

"No no, nothing like that," Goldie assured her.
"Besides, five people in one room would've been crazy, don't you think?"

"I do indeed. Now, let's get this bird rinsed," Harriet said, lifting it out of the bag.

"You know, Maggie never went in for the big Thanksgiving thing," Jeff said. "And we were always alone, since she was estranged from her family, so this is going to be my first time to experience the full, American Thanksgiving experience. I'm looking forward to it."

*************

The girls and Jeff enjoyed their first Thanksgiving very much. From the turkey to the mashed potatoes to the rolls to the pie, they partook of everything, though Goldie had to grind the babies' up first.

"You know, I've never put pressure on either one of you to have children or anything, but I'm seriously starting to feel grandma pangs over here," Harriet said, watching the girls at the table. "They're adorable."

"Let's see how you feel when they're all crying at three in the morning," Jeff said drily, helping Jemma eat her pumpkin pie.

"Goldie, how did you end up with this job, anyway?" Grant asked as he started on his second piece of pie. "Last I heard you were going to work as a paralegal for an attorney or something? I thought you were going to work for him for a year before you went off to law school?"

"Oh, yeah, that fell through, so I applied to the nanny agency instead," Goldie explained as she wiped Genie's mouth and helped her take a drink from her sippy cup. "I mean, law school next year is still a go, no worries, this job is just until next fall."