THANKSGIVING

My alarm goes off at 6 am on Thanksgiving morning, but compared to a normal morning, this is actually sleeping in. Instead of making my way downstairs to the bakery, I am going to finish prepping the turkey and get it in the oven. My siblings are here for our Thanksgiving and I am planning on a lunchtime meal. I throw on a fluffy robe, slide into my slippers and make my way into the kitchen. Holden is sleeping on the couch, so I try to stay as quiet as I can.

I did most of what I needed to do last night before we went to bed so this morning, all I need to do is get to bird in the oven and I can go back to bed for a bit. I start to wash my hands and I accidentally drop the bottle of soap in a loud thud. When I go to pick it up, it slips out of my hand and bounces around the sink.

“Shhhhhh,” I hear Holden hiss from the couch.

“Sorry, sorry!”

Holden groans from the couch, now bothered by the lights. He throws the blanket over his face and says a few swear words under his breath. Being the sensitive, loving sister I am, I walk over and yank the comforter off of him and he yelps like a girl.

“Damnit, Holly! It’s fucking 12 degrees inside.”

‘Oh, hush, it isn’t that cold, the heat is on.” He scrambles up and pulls the blanket back from me and angrily lays back down.

“Go back to sleep you baby.”

Holden holds up a middle finger out from underneath the blanket, “Screw you!”

I laugh as I walk back into the kitchen. I pull the bird from the fridge and pre-heat the oven. Once everything is prepped, I toss it into the oven and head back into bed. I slide into bed and pull the covers back over me as my sister, who is sharing a bed with me, stirs in her sleep.

“What did you do to him?” She grumbles.

“He was being an ass, so I pulled off his blanket.”

She giggles, “That’s so mean. Well done, sis.”

Hannah has been here since Monday and Holden came in yesterday morning. I haven’t seen them since Easter, so I am so happy that they both agreed to travel to my small town for Thanksgiving. I planned out the perfect holiday meal for the three of us, but part of that requires getting the bird in early. I’m following the recipe that our mom always did. It never turns out the same, but I try it every year.

I settle back into sleep, taking advantage of a full day off from the bakery to get some real rest. A couple of hours later, Holden barges into the bedroom screaming something at me. I can’t totally tell what it is as I try to come out of my daze, but I realize that I’m really cold.

“What’s going on, Holden?”

“Your power went out, Holls.”

“What? Fuck, you’ve got to be kidding me.” I drag myself out of bed and wrap myself in the robe again. There is an obvious chill in the house and as expected, none of the lights are working. 

“Can you go downstairs and check the bakery?” I ask Holden.

“Yeah, is your breaker down there?”

“Yeah, for the apartment is right at the end of the stairs before you go outside. The bakery one is inside the break room.”

“Okay, I’ll check the bakery and then see if it was just a tripped breaker.” Holden puts on his sweatshirt and shoes and heads downstairs. Hannah comes out of the bedroom already in layers with a blanket wrapped around her.

“Holy shit it got real cold, real fast,” she complains.

“I know. I hope it is just a breaker, otherwise, I don’t know what to do.”

“What about your friend, Stacy? Didn’t she say she would be in town in case you wanted to crash with her?”

“Yeah, we could go there for heat, but her family isn’t around, what about Thanksgiving dinner?” I reply solemnly

“Maybe we can find some food somewhere. It’ll be okay, Holly.” Hannah wraps her arms around me for a hug and for some heat. About twenty minutes later, Holden comes back upstairs. He is rubbing his hands together trying to warm himself up.

“Well, I don’t have good news.”

“Oh crap, what is it?”

“Looks like a transformer went out. This entire side is out of power. Your neighbor said that they called the electrical company already, but with it being Thanksgiving, who knows how long it’ll take. I glanced outside and it looks like it extends all the way down as far as I can see.”

“Well shit.”

“Where does Stacy live?” Hannah says hopefully.

“The wrong side…..”

I frown and sit down on the couch and bury my head in my hands. Hannah comes down and sits on one side and Holder sits on the other.

“What do you want to do, Holly? We’re fine with whatever, as long as we are together.”

“That was so cheesy, Hannah,” Holden teases her.

“Shut up, asshole.” Hannah retorts.

“Okay, stop you two. Let me make some phone calls.”

I go into my bedroom and I’m thankful that my phone was fully charged before the power went out. I called Stacy, but sure enough, she is without power and making plans to drive a few towns over to stay with family. I hang up with her and dial Tiff instead. She answers as cheery

“Happy Thanksgiving, girl, what’s up?”

I sigh, “Hey Tiff.”

“Everything okay, you sound like something is wrong.”

“My power went out this morning. The entire west side of Main Street.”

“Oh no! Are you okay?”

“We’re okay, but we’re kind of cold and Thanksgiving dinner is a bust.”

“Your brother and sister are there, right?”

“Yeah.” I pause for a second. “I hate to ask, but do you think we could come over there so we at least have heat? I promise you won’t even know we’re there!”

“Of course! Bring your bags, my house is your house.”

I breathe a sigh of relief, “You’re a great friend, Tiff.”

“See you soon hon. Drive safe!”

“Bye!”

Hannah, Holden, and I pack an overnight bag, just in case, and make the drive to Jimmy and Tiff’s house. There is slight snow falling today, which is making for a gorgeous Thanksgiving Day. It isn’t so bad that the roads are unsafe or anything. As I pull into their driveway, Tiff is waiting for us on the porch and pulls me in for a hug.

“I look like crap, don’t look,” I joke as I cover my face.

She pulls my hands away from my face. “You look fine! Shut up.” Tiff looks at my siblings and then opens her front door. “Come inside, it is too cold to be out there.”

The three of us step into Tiff’s foyer and take off our coats and boots. I point over to my sister and brother, “Tiff, this is my sister Hannah and my brother Holden.”

“Hi you two, it is nice to meet you. I wish on a little better circumstances, but welcome to my home none the less. Right down here are a couple of guest rooms you can stay in.”

“Thanks again, Tiff. I know this is the worst timing, I promise we will stay out of your hair all day.”

“Don’t be silly,” She waves me off, “in about three hours we’re heading to the ranch for dinner.”

“What?”

“Oh please, there are going to be about 40 people there, what’s another 3?”

I shake my head, “No, it really isn’t a big deal. We’re fine with staying here.”

“And eating what? All the places are closed for delivery today.”

“Holly,” Hannah steps forward and puts her arm around my shoulder, “I know you’re trying to make this about the three of us, but your friend is right, we’re not even getting pizzas today.”

Tiff smiles and pulls me in for a hug. “Happy Thanksgiving, Holly. I love you, you’re going to have a great day.”

“Fine, we’ll come. I guess I should take a shower and try to look presentable.”

“You know where the bathroom is.” She nudges me as she walks by, knowing it is the same bathroom where she cleaned up my hand not that long ago. I roll my eyes at her and settle into the bedroom, pulling out clothes for dinner. I take a shower and borrow Tiff’s hairdryer to dry my hair. I scrunch it up a little to make it a little wavy.

I’m putting the finishing touches on my outfit when I realize that dinner with Jimmy’s family means dinner with Wes. We’ve been friends since our date a couple of weeks ago, but the idea of sharing a holiday with him and his family gives me butterflies in my stomach. If I can just get through the next few hours, I think I’ll be okay.

Maybe.