Thanksgiving morning was just as busy as any school day. Kayla got the kids up and dressed while Ben worked on making his stuffing dish. Since it was the day of the year everyone ate a lot of food, they told the kids to eat something small like cereal. Most of them were fine with it, but Kimmy chose to have Pop-Tarts instead. It was also the closest he'd seen her eat fruit without being asked, even though the filling was probably not made from real fruit.
Ben had been right. The only kid they would have that day was Kimmy. It took a while, but Claudia's caseworker got back to him to approve her spending the day with her grandmother. For Mary and Miguel, Jennifer and the rest of the team felt things were going so well, they moved things further by allowing them to spend the entire four-day weekend with their aunt. Which meant it was also the first weekend without the siblings since they were dropped off, something they would all have to get used to. Not only for weekends, either.
Having Mary and Miguel gone the whole weekend also meant Ben and Kayla had to call a family meeting the night before to have the kids go through the Black Friday deals catalogs to circle ideas of what the kids wanted for Christmas.
"It won't necessarily mean you'll get it," Kayla was the one to point out while passing out the permanent markers, making sure each kid had a different color from the rest. "But it will give us an idea of what you want."
Claudia took a blue marker. "Christmas isn't for another month."
"Yes, but we do most of the shopping during this weekend to save money since it's gotten so expensive this time of year and there are four of you right now."
"What if we leave before then?" Miguel asked. Even he knew how fast things were progressing with his aunt. She reassured him they would send the presents with them.
Kimmy got the last marker.
She grabbed the nearest catalog and began flipping through it, mostly looking for games for her Switch. The catalog she had grabbed was mostly clothes and searched for the Wal-Mart catalog, knowing they had games. It turned out Mary had it when she lightly tossed it back into the pile. Kimmy grabbed it before anyone else could and flipped to the electronics section. The first thing to catch her eye was the new Pokemon games that had recently been released.
Being the only kid who played a Switch in her family, Kimmy never actively went out of her way to ask for multiplayer games. But since Miguel had been watching her on a few occasions and had seen him play Wii Sports as well, she circled the new game that was released on the Switch, as well. For a pain in the butt he was, Miguel really was a good friend. Whether she admitted it or not, especially after the many times she ditched him to do something else, he would still ask Kimmy to play with him the next time.
-- & --
With Ben busy with cooking, Kayla took Mary, Miguel, and Claudia to their families once Mary and Miguel were packed for the weekend and all of them were ready to go.
He also used the time to sit with Kimmy and warn her about what to expect from his family. If at any time Kimmy felt uncomfortable or needed alone time, there would be a guest room she could go in and watch TV, and if that didn't help, they would leave.
"My family can be loud and they can get excited and vocal about things they're passionate about, especially when sports are involved. But they always mean well and are very nice people."
He hesitated but added, "All of them." Which was true, even if it wasn't always shown. Maybe that's what made this difficult. His mom had a whole lot of love to give. Maybe more so than Grandma Joy. If only she would open her mind and heart to these kids who needed it.
Along with Mary's visit with Ivan, Ben had been praying and hoping the past week, Thanksgiving would go well with little to no problems. His mom still tried to discourage them from bringing any of the kids and pestered him when they were gonna give her "real grandkids," but Ben did his best to stand his ground with his mother and asked her not to make those kinds of comments around Kimmy.
With only one kid, they took Ben's truck to his cousin's house, parked across the street where the community mailboxes were, and headed to the front door. Kayla pushed the doorbell since Ben was carrying the stuffing dish. His family wasn't formal, not even for holiday gatherings, so none of them were dressed up. Though it had gotten chilly enough to wear jeans and a sweatshirt, Kimmy still wanted to wear basketball shorts. Kayla had taken the kids shopping last weekend for the coming winter season. Being a desert, Phoenix and its surrounding areas never got snow. A person had to go up north to Flagstaff for that kind of weather. It at least got cold enough for jackets and long pants. The weather did not seem to bother Kimmy, though.
Shortly after the doorbell was pushed, Oliver opened the door. "Hey, you made it." The tall, husky-built guy stepped to the side to let them inside, hugging both Ben and Kayla. They also introduced Kimmy.
"Welcome, Kimmy. Our casa is su casa." He chuckled.
Kimmy stared up at him, her hands shoved in the pocket of her sweatshirt Kayla had pointed out would be perfect for the humor most of Ben's family had while also fitting Kimmy's favorite pastime, video games. On the front, it said, "I paused my game to be here," with a generic game controller. Ben did not think it would help with his mom, but when Oliver noticed what her sweatshirt said, he chuckled some more and complimented the sweatshirt in a teasing way.
"You like games, huh?" Oliver asked afterward.
There was a pause before Kimmy nodded her head.
Oliver gave them a quick tour of their house, showing where the guest room was first, right next to the front door, along with the bedroom he and Ariel used as a rec room.
The older kids were in the rec room playing pool. When they noticed Ben, they stopped what they were doing and dashed over to tackle him, all trying to hug him at once. He had to quickly pass the stuffing dish to Kayla before it got knocked out of his hands.
"Hey, guys," Ben said, just as excited, having not seen them since the birthday party. He pointed Kimmy out to them to suggest they help make her feel welcome. "She has a hard time talking, so don't force her if she doesn't. Cool?"
The kids promised and invited Kimmy to play pool with them. The second to oldest, Victoria, who preferred to be called Tori, for short, asked if she played before and offered to teach Kimmy. Tori was a year younger than she was, so Ben hoped Tori could help Kimmy out of her shell since they hadn't heard anything about Lucy.
Kayla pointed out where they would be if Kimmy needed them before leaving the kids alone.
The other adults were all spread out in the living area, kitchen, and patio. It wasn't as much as the party. Thanksgiving was just the family. Ben went over to hug his grandmother, a sweet old lady who didn't remember much. She lived with his oldest cousin and her family despite his mother wanting his grandmother to come live with her and his father. She was also oblivious to why Ben and his mom rarely spoke to one another and innocently asked about it.
Ben kneeled on the floor beside the recliner where his grandmother sat to look up at her. "I've just been busy, Grandma. That's all."
"You can't be too busy for family," she reminded him. "You should make time."
He forced a small laugh. "I know, Grandma." Ben rose to his feet, halting long enough to kiss his grandmother on her white-haired covered head.
She patted him on her cheek. "You were always a good boy, Benny. Don't change."
Ben forced a smile. "Of course, Grandma." He then moved on to mingle with the others.
Ariel was washing her hands at the kitchen sink when he reached her.
Ariel was a head shorter than Kayla, with brown, shoulder-length hair. Her T-shirt had a large, colorful cartoon turkey on the front, along with the words gobble, gobble, and Capri jeans.
"Where's the little one?" she asked, looking around.
"Tory's showing her how to play pool." Ben pointed over his shoulder, which his cousin corrected the term was "shoot pool."
"I get corrected many times by our kids. Must you also correct me?" he asked sarcastically.
Ariel playfully laughed at him. "You're just too easy, cuz." She shrugged.
"You don't have any kids, Benny Boy."
Ben clenched his jaw, pointing his eyes up towards the ceiling when he heard his mom, Dinah, join in the conversation from catching up with Kayla.
Kayla instantly changed the subject, asking how his mom was doing. "Besides not getting any younger."
Dinah stood there with her fists on her sides. "Well, the goats got out the other day, so Herb has been putting in a new fence."
Kayla noted Ben mentioned it after they had talked.
Dinah glared up at her only son. "He should be over helping."
"I told Dad I would have to come in the morning, but Dad said he had work assignments."
"Of course, that's what mornings are for." The tone in her voice told Ben exactly what she was implying, remembering why he was struggling with that first chapter of the book the men's bible study was reading. It was a relief the later chapters weren't as bad as he thought.
Ariel stepped in, reminding everyone it was Thanksgiving. "The new rule for dinner at our house is to leave disagreements at the door." She then offered Ben and Kayla something to drink.
Kayla accepted a bottle of water while Ben accepted a beer, something he didn't have as often as he used to. Kids in care sometimes had traumatic experiences with parents or relatives having a drinking problem. So Ben and Kayla stopped keeping beer in the house. As far as they knew, there wasn't a history for it in Kimmy's family and Ben had asked that morning if she would be okay seeing adults drinking beer.
Ben and Kayla took a seat at the island to catch up with Oliver and Ariel while they continued getting the turkey and everything else prepared. Occasionally, their cousins and their husbands briefly joined them.
Right before dinner was called, Ben noticed Kimmy sliding along the wall of the hallway and motioned her over with his head. Kimmy hesitated but picked herself up off the wall to timidly go over to him.
He lowered his head to ask how she was doing.
Kimmy answered by showing him a folded five-dollar bill.
"Where did you get that? Did you win that?"
Her eyes moved to the side. Ben followed where his dad was reclined on the couch, talking with one of his other cousins' husbands while watching the game.
Ben turned back to the kid. "My dad gave it to you?"
She timidly nodded.
"To all the kids? Or just you?" He repeated the first part when Ben remembered to go slow.
She nodded some more.
"Yeah, he likes to give out money to the kids." Ben smiled to show it was okay to accept the money. "Are you having fun with the other kids?"
Kimmy glanced up at him again to shrug this time.
One of the guys came over to them and held out his hand for Kimmy to give him "five." She looked from him to Ben, who assured her he wasn't talking about her money. To demonstrate, Ben slapped his cousin-in-law's hand, which the guy returned before fist-bumping.
"I'm Tyler," the guy told Kimmy and offered his hand once more.
Kimmy stared at it but didn't slap it.
"I never met a kid this quiet before," Tyler commented.
After Tyler moved on, Kimmy timidly patted Ben's arm to get his attention and used the sign language for "bathroom" Mrs. Johnson had taught her. He reminded her it was back where the rooms were, motioning down the hall. Before she left, Ben offered to hold onto the five-dollar bill so Kimmy wouldn't lose it, but she stuffed the money in the pocket of her basketball shorts.
-- & --
Kimmy made her way back down the front hallway.
The bathroom door between the two rooms was open, a crack. It didn't look like the light was on, so she pushed it open. When she saw the bathroom was clear, Kimmy reached for the light switch only to get the fan vent instead and quickly shut it off before drawing any attention.
Shutting and locking the door, Kimmy looked around. There was a candle lit by the sink that made her nervous. Why was that lit with no one watching it? What if it caught the place on fire?
Kimmy kept an eye on the candle while she used the bathroom and washed her hands. The hand soap was one of those Christmas scents. Stella wasn't one of those who cared for specific scents. So, being at these houses with clean bathrooms, with scented hand soap and a candle was odd. It was a power struggle not to blow it out for fear of getting in trouble. But Kimmy also was afraid of what could happen if something happened.
Kimmy dried her hands on her sweatshirt as she left the bathroom, trying to push the thought of the candle out of her mind.
Ben was letting the other kids know it was time to eat when she emerged and offered to help make her plate. He got a festive paper plate for the both of them, passing one to Kimmy before getting in line, buffet-style. TV and movies always showed families all sitting around a long table, passing food around so again this was not at all like Kimmy expected.
While they were getting their food, Ben's dad got in line behind them, quietly asking how he was doing. The men made small talk, the keyword being small. It must have been where Ben got it from.
Kimmy had to sit with the other kids at the kitchen table while the adults either ate in the living area or outside on the patio. Someone accidentally let in a white and gray dog that looked like something someone would call a mutt because she did not look like a specific breed. The dog had long fur around her snout like a Schnauzer while the other half was a Jack Russel or something similar. She sniffed around the kids' feet before getting to Kimmy, who held her hand out for the dog to sniff.
The dog stood on her hind legs, leaning her front paws on the edge of Kimmy's chair. She sniffed at Kimmy's hand as if there was food, following it when Kimmy tried to pet her. One of the kids noted the dog's name was Maple because their uncle Oliver was from Canada.
Kimmy moved her hand to rub the dog's back. She always preferred the bigger dogs since the small ones seemed more aggressive. Maple was the most friendly so far and was soon jumping onto her lap. Kimmy wrapped her arms around the little dog to keep Maple from grabbing her food.
Ariel came over to see if the kids wanted or needed anything. "Maple, are you making friends?" She rubbed the dog's head, who happily panted. Ariel took Maple from Kimmy so she could eat and asked if Kimmy wanted anything to drink. "We have orange soda and root beer for the kids."
Ariel slowed down and asked what Kimmy wanted one at a time before grabbing a root beer from the fridge, and even opened the can for her.
Once Kimmy finished her food, she threw her plate in the trash can and took what was left of her root beer with her outside where Ben and Kayla were sitting with some of the other adults. They were discussing football stuff, both college and pro. Not something she was familiar with other than what she had seen Ben watching.
Kayla quietly acknowledged Kimmy first, asking if she got enough to eat.
Kimmy nodded.
"Did you need something?" she asked next.
Kimmy shook her head that time.
One of the guys who sat at the end of the table next to them was watching. He was reclined in his chair, holding a can of beer on the metal arm. "You sure she ain't yours, Ben?"
Ben looked over at the guy with a full scuffle on his face and long hair like Mr. O'Reilly's, but messier. He glanced back at Kimmy. "I'm sure, Jeff."
The guy took a sip of his beer. "Hell, she looks it."
Ben reached for his bottle of water. "We can probably pass for any stereotypical white person."
Jeff shrugged it off. "Maybe. But I do see stuff the two of you got in common."
"Like what." Ben twisted the thin cap off.
"The eyes, for starters. Not to mention the shape of your heads." Jeff asked for his wife's opinion when she stepped out.
"She definitely looks almost like the way you did when you were her age," she told Ben, nudging the air in his direction.
"Guys, knock it off," Ben told them, insisting he and Kimmy looked nothing alike.
"You got that right."
Ben dropped his head when his mother, Dinah stepped out.
"Don't be putting ideas in Ben's head," she scolded Jeff and his wife. "It's bad enough he's babysitting the kid when he should be having his own."
"Mom, you promised," he reminded her.
"I'm just saying, Benny. I didn't think much of it when you took babysitting jobs in middle and high school. But to pursue it as a career?"
Ben rubbed his hand along his face.
Kimmy watched him squirm in his seat as his mom belittled his career choices until Kayla got her attention and suggested she go play with the other kids. It wasn't something she wanted to do but did it anyway.
Kimmy slipped around Ben's mom, who was standing in front of the back door, and opened it.
Ben's mom focused on her to ask, "Didn't your parents teach you to say excuse me?"
"Mom, just let her go," Ben said, briefly explaining her struggle to talk in new, uncomfortable places calmly.
But his mom placed her hand on the door handle. "Just say excuse me and you can go," she told Kimmy. She sounded nice about it at least.
Kimmy forced herself to look up at the woman. That's when she saw where Ben got his eye color from. It didn't last long when Kimmy had to look away.
Kayla also asked for Dinah to let Kimmy go when Ariel came to the door to see if anyone wanted to play a card game. That's when Kimmy grabbed her chance to go back inside. Even though she wanted to stick with Kayla and Ben, Kimmy wanted away from there as soon as possible. Thankfully, Ariel didn't make a fuss, and stepped out of the way to let her pass, staying focused on the adults.
Kimmy headed down the front hallway. The younger kids were in the guest room watching a Christmas movie someone put on for them. She found a spot on the floor and slid her back down the wall to watch with them, trying her best to hold back the tears.
One of the kids said she could sit on the bed with them. Kimmy stayed where she was.
-- & --
Kayla insisted on going inside the house with some of the others to de-escalate the situation.
Most of the family played a few rounds, starting with a few dollars in the middle. After a few games, Ben noticed the time, realizing they needed to go pick up Claudia.
Ariel at least invited them to come back tomorrow for dessert. "If I knew you had to leave early, we would have done dessert sooner."
"It's fine," Kayla assured and offered her cousin-in-law, a hug good-bye.
Ariel switched over to hug Ben, thanking them for coming. She switched to Kimmy, to thank her for coming. "You're welcome here anytime."
Oliver offered the kid a high-five. When the high-five was rejected, he said, "Maybe next time."
Before they left, Dinah came over, wanting to hug her son and daughter-in-law, good-bye.
"You're coming to Christmas this year, right?" she asked Ben, still holding onto him.
Ben rubbed her back. "We'll see, Mom. We might have Kimmy again." He glanced over at the kid.
"Well, when are her parents coming to get her?"
Ben sighed in defeat. "Mom."
"What?" Dinah asked if unaware that it was uncalled for.
Ben started to speak. He wanted to say something. But stopped himself. "I'll call you the week of Christmas to let you know what's going on." He kissed his mom on the cheek before letting go.
Ben turned to open the front door. "Let's go, kiddo," he told Kimmy, letting her go first and heading outside to his truck.
Kayla came out once the two of them were already in the truck. On the way to Claudia's grandmother's home, she asked Kimmy how she liked it, receiving the usual shrug.
"Once you get to know my family, they're pretty nice people, and that includes my mom," Ben recalled what he had told Kimmy that morning. "Her attitude isn't personal, either. I have three cousins and two of them already have kids, and I'm her only offspring."
"She's got grandma blues," Kayla said in sympathy.
Ben glanced over at her out of the corner of her eye. "That's one way of putting it, I guess. Doesn't make her attitude any better."
She shrugged. "No, it doesn't."
Ben dramatically breathed out. "Maybe we should have stayed home."
"No, Ben. It's good we went. Ariel did all this for us. For you."
He leaned an arm on his door with the hand he was holding the steering wheel with, staying silent for a moment. After a minute, he asked Kimmy, "Were the kids nice to you?"
Kimmy looked from her window at him and nodded.
Kayla twisted around to look back at her. "Did you like the movie you were watching?"
She gave a one-shoulder shrug.
"Ariel and Oliver invited us back tomorrow for dessert and to help eat the leftovers..."
"Damn!" Ben hit the steering wheel.
"What?" Kayla asked at once.
"I left our dish there."
"We can get it tomorrow," she pointed out.
"I know we can," he sighed. "That is if my mom doesn't use it to get me over to her house."
"I mean, it wouldn't kill you to visit your parents more."
Ben gave her a quick side eye, doubting that sentence.
The truck fell into silence. Kayla switched on the radio to find some Christmas music.
While driving, a thought came back to the surface from earlier.
"Be honest."
"I usually am," Kayla reminded him.
"Do you think we look anything alike?" he asked, unable to purge the curiosity itch.
"Who?" It took Kayla only a second to remember what Jeff had said. She glanced over her shoulder at Kimmy, where Kayla had a view of both of their profiles, and shrugged. "I can see what he was getting at. Sure."
Ben stared ahead of them, pondering on that thought some more.