THANKING THE HEAVENS
Maryah
April sniffed again and cleared her throat. “Thanksgiving doesn’t even feel like a holiday this year. How can I be thankful for anything when my mom is fighting for her life?”
I pressed my cheek against my phone, wishing I could reach through the line and hug her and tell her to be thankful she still had her mom, that even if—God forbid—her mom did die, she still had time to tell her how much she loved her. She’d have a chance to say goodbye. I’d give anything to have had that. But instead, all I said was, “I’m so sorry.”
“Let’s talk about something else. How are you? Any updates on Nut Job?”
“Yesterday, Louise dropped a bomb that Dylan and his wife were coming to stay for Thanksgiving. I figured Nathan would come too, but thankfully he’s spending the weekend with friends.”
“There.” April chuckled. “Something to be thankful for.”
Louise came into the kitchen.
“I should get going,” I said. “Try to enjoy your holiday.”
“Yeah.” April seemed to perk up a little. “River’s coming over later, so there’s one bright spot in my life.”
My stomach tightened. River had been getting more frustrated with their relationship, but I swore not to tell April. It would only hurt her, and that's the last thing she needed. “Good. You two have fun and try to forget about reality for a while.”
As soon as we hung up, I heard the front door open. A gray lab galloped into the kitchen with its tail wagging and sniffed my feet and legs.
“Hello!” a female voice called out.
“We’re in the kitchen!” Louise replied.
A fairly tall girl came around the corner smiling. A flower tucked behind her ear complimented the red highlights in her curly brown hair.
“I brought you homegrown Plumeria!” She set down a basket of colorful flowers and hugged Louise.
“Maryah,” Louise said. “This is Dylan’s wife, Amber.”
Amber turned to face me, but I couldn’t gauge her impression because of her dark tortoise shell sunglasses.
“Aloha, Maryah,” she sighed.
“Hi.”
The gray dog sat proudly by Amber’s side looking up at her. “Oh right. This is Molokai.”
Carson bounded into the kitchen. “Hey Amby! Where’s Dylan?”
“He’s out front showing off his new car.”
“Another one?” Louise asked.
Carson headed for the foyer. “You coming, Maryah?”
I thought for sure Carson would never speak to me again over the Nathan thing, but lately he’d been somewhat nice to me. “Sure,” I replied, hopping down from my stool. Any chance I got to make peace with Carson I took.
Anthony was laughing as we approached the gate.
The guy who had to be Dylan turned to Carson, beaming at the tropical blue Mustang convertible parked beside him. His goatee matched his short brown wavy hair. “Brand new GT Premium, not available to the public yet,” he bragged. “And it’s in Kona Blue, baby!”
“I can’t believe you got them to name it that,” Carson laughed.
“What do you think, Maryah?” Dylan threw his arm around my shoulder.
No hello. No nice to meet you. Just bam, I was part of the family. I liked him already. “It’s awesome. You really named the color?”
“Anthony has friends at Ford. I could have suggested Smurf Blue and they’d approve it. Want to take her for a spin?”
“Me?” He’d known me all of ten seconds.
“She drives like a dream,” Dylan insisted.
“I probably shouldn’t.”
“Come on, live a little!” Veins protruded out of his muscular forearms when he opened the driver’s door. A wave of dark orange seemed to crest across his hazel eyes. “You drive. Carson will ride shotgun as a safety precaution.”
Excitement took over and I hopped into the driver’s seat. I inhaled the new car smell and Carson flashed me a reassuring smile. After carefully backing out of the driveway, I drove under five miles per hour on the narrow street that led out to 179. Once we were on the main road I loosened my grip on the steering wheel and glanced at Carson. “Your family has some serious connections, huh?”
“First of all, they’re your family too. Secondly, it’s not so much our connections but our gifts that help us out.”
“Gifts?”
“Finally, she starts asking questions.” Carson lowered his sunglasses. “If a giant meteoroid fell from the sky and landed on our house, would you notice?”
I stared ahead at the road. How the heck did we end up talking about meteoroids? “Um, yeah. I’d notice.”
He laughed. “Are you sure?”
“What do meteors have to do with anything?”
“Forget it.” He pointed out the window. “That turtle is passing us. Let’s see what this car can do!”
In my confusion I hesitated, but then shook off Carson’s random weirdness and pushed the gas pedal to the floor.
∞
Helen, Louise, and Anthony made Thanksgiving dinner while everyone watched football. Amber yelled at the television even more frequently than the guys. Edgar put on an apron at halftime, and in-between prepping food he’d tickle Helen or dip her like they were ballroom dancing. She’d tell him to stop, but always said it with a giddy grin on her face.
Even with his white hair, Edgar looked younger than I had pictured. He had been so quiet since our first meeting. The only words he’d actually spoken to me were, “Welcome home, Maryah.” And that had been weeks ago. On the rare occasions I did see him, he was either napping or had his nose buried in a book. I was shocked when he asked me to set the table.
“Sure,” I said, jumping up from my seat.
Carson and Dylan cleared away the extra dining room chairs, but left one extra. Were they hoping Nathan would show up? What if he wasn’t coming home because of me? Was I keeping a mother from spending Thanksgiving with her son? I knew the holidays would be hard for me, but this Nathan issue added a new degree of difficulty.
I placed the last fork and knife on the table. When I looked up, Edgar was almost standing on top of me. He stared at me for an uncomfortably long time. My attention darted between his bifocals and leather loafers until he said, “It’s been too long since we have all gathered at this table.”
I swallowed hard, trying to think of something to say, but all I came up with was, “Yup.”
He grinned, mussed up my hair, and then called everyone into the dining room for dinner.
Halfway through the meal, just when I had finally recovered from the awkward encounter with Edgar, Dylan stood up and tapped his fork against his glass.
“Amber and I have an announcement.” Amber held his hand and blushed. “Amber is four months pregnant.”
Happy cheers erupted around the table, but Louise looked like she already knew.
Carson smiled through a mouthful of potatoes. “I’m gonna be an uncle!”
They all looked so happy, so bonded. The way a family should be. The way my family had been, when I still had them.
Everyone chatted about names and whether they hoped for a boy or girl, but I excused myself. I needed to call my aunt and uncle to arrange going home for Christmas break. Louise would never skip two major holidays with her son, and I didn’t want to be hanging around when Nathan—the maniac—came home to see his family.
∞
“Happy Thanksgiving, Pudding,” Krista said sadly. She understood how rough the holidays would be for me.
“Happy Thanksgiving.” I replied, trying not to sound gloomy.
“How was your day with the family?”
“Good. I met Dylan and his wife. He let me drive his Mustang.”
“Awesome.”
That was it? She had nothing else to say? “How are things in your world?”
“Mom’s side of the family came over, so we’ve had a house full of people all day. Oh, and I have the most exciting news!” Her voice sprang up several octaves.
I smiled at her contagious enthusiasm. “So, tell me already.”
“Mom and Dad are taking me to Egypt for Christmas next month! Can you believe it? I’m going to visit the pyramids!”
My smile fizzled. Krista had always been fascinated with Egypt. This was a dream come true for her, but the greedy part of me was devastated. They were leaving the country for my first Christmas without my parents and Mikey? Had they not even considered that I’d want to spend the holidays with them? Talk about out of sight out of mind! How could they do this to me?
“I’m looking through my Egypt books and planning all the places I need to see.”
I couldn’t ruin Krista’s moment, so I faked excitement. “That’s amazing. Make sure to take pictures.”
“Definitely!”
It wasn’t Krista’s fault that my aunt and uncle didn’t consider I might want to come home for Christmas. I felt bad making up a lie, but if I kept talking she’d know I was upset. “Louise needs me for something so I have to go, but tell everyone I said Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Okay. I will. Love you and miss you.”
“You too.” I hung up the phone, stood on my bed, and ripped down Krista’s photo.
∞
A dark-haired stranger slid my peacock ring on my finger then kissed me. His warm breath against my ear, ocean waves, and ukulele music faded away as my dream of being on a tropical island dissolved into the sunlight pouring through my bedroom windows.
My dream catcher swayed above me. It looked lonely without Krista’s photo hanging next to it, but whatever. She was obviously doing just fine without me. I’d do the same.
A delicious, sweet smell made my mouth water, so I climbed out of bed and made my way to the kitchen.
“Just in time!” Amber stood over the stove, wearing a flowered apron and a luminous smile.
Dylan swallowed his food. “Morning, Maryah.”
“It smells amazing in here,” I said.
“It’s our Black Friday tradition, macadamia nut pancakes and fresh pineapple.” Amber handed me a plate. “Homemade macadamia butter is on the table.”
Molokai barked as the front door opened.
“Amberrrrr!” Faith sang, barreling through the kitchen until she had her locked in a hug. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Amber scuffed up Faith’s hair. “Missed you too, Pinkerbell.”
Shiloh kissed Amber on the cheek as I chuckled at Faith’s perfect nickname.
Harmony lurked behind them and I decided Harmony’s nickname would be Stinkerbell. Although I’d never actually call her that, unless I had the urge to get knocked out. Faith stepped aside and Harmony hugged Amber, leaving me stunned by Harmony showing someone affection.
“Congrats on the bambino.” Harmony brushed Amber’s stomach with one finger.
“Thank you, Harmony.”
“I’ve been jonesing for these pancakes!” Faith squealed, plopping one on her plate.
“Where’s Dakota?” Dylan asked.
“He’ll be here soon. He and Na—Nicholas were having breakfast.” Faith glanced at me before continuing. “Carson is meeting them then he’s picking up Dakota and coming back here.”
“Ah, okay,” Dylan replied, stuffing pineapple in his mouth.
Na-Nicholas? Did they think I was that clueless? I knew Nathan was in town! He probably had to stay at Shiloh or Dakota’s house because of me. My guilt made me lose my appetite.
“What’s new with you pixies?” Amber asked Faith and Harmony.
“Nada,” Harmony replied bleakly.
Faith danced around the kitchen while eating. “You know what’s new with me. I call you with all my updates.”
“Yes, you do, but telephone skills don’t run in the family.” Amber jabbed Harmony with the spatula.
“If I had news I’d call you,” Harmony said.
“What about school? I noticed college brochures lying around here, are you girls applying anywhere?”
They were my college brochures, but Faith shuffled through a stack sitting on the counter. “I’m weighing my options.”
“I’m not going to college,” Harmony grumbled.
“You’re not?” I said without thinking. “What are you going to do?”
Harmony looked amped up, like one flick of a switch and sparks would fly out of her scary head. “The day I graduate, I’m taking off and searching every corner of the world.”
“For what?”
The determination in her eyes nearly electrocuted me. “My soul mate.”
Soul mate? Dark and dreary Harmony wanted to search the world for love? Was she serious? Nobody else seemed surprised by her answer, or her announcement about not going to college. The last thing I wanted was to pick a fight with her, so I shut up, but I still couldn’t believe it.
“Shiloh, would you mind if we borrowed your truck next month?” Anthony asked. “We’re going to Colorado for Christmas.”
I almost choked on my milk. Shiloh had a puzzled look on his face then he said something in Japanese. Faith replied with more Japanese gibberish. When she finished, Shiloh looked up and said, “Ahhh” like he solved a mystery. “Sure, Chief, you’re always welcome to borrow my ride.”
“Thanks. I’ll leave you the keys to my Mustang.”
Realizing I would most definitely see Nathan, my stomach somersaulted. “We’re going to Colorado?”
Dylan passed me a napkin and pointed at the corner of his mouth. “We’d like you to see our house and show you Colorado Springs.”
Embarrassed, I wiped away milk, or butter, or whatever Dylan noticed on my face. I asked Faith, “You aren’t coming with us?”
“Maryah, we have family of our own that we spend Christmas with.”
“Right.” I had to admit, there were times when I forgot Faith, Shiloh, Harmony, and Dakota weren’t part of the Luna family. “Edgar and Helen are coming, right?” The more people the better—safety in numbers.
“No, Edgar doesn’t like long car rides. It’s a ten-hour drive,” Louise explained.
The total count was in. It would be only the four of us: Anthony, Louise, Carson, and me. My stomach twisted in knots. I glanced up from my plate. Everyone was staring at me.
Faith reached over and held my hand. “Are you okay, Ma-Ma?”
“I’m fine,” I lied.
“You’re worried…about seeing Nathan?”
I wanted to kick her under the counter. Louise and Anthony were sitting right across from us! I couldn’t admit their son terrified me, but I couldn’t ask them to spend another holiday away from him.
“Nathan won’t be home for Christmas,” Amber interjected. “He’s spending winter break in India.”
I dropped my fork, and it clanged loudly against my plate. The recent dream I’d had about Nathan with an Indian princess had to be a random coincidence. Maybe I overheard Louise mention he’d gone to India and forgot about it. But it didn’t explain why my dreams were getting more peculiar, or why some of them felt so real.
I told April about my dreams, and she always researched interpretations on some online dream dictionary, but none of the explanations ever made sense. Krista and I were growing apart so fast it was giving me whiplash, so I couldn’t talk to her about it, and if I told Faith she’d go off on one of her philosophical tangents and make it into a headache-inducing research project.
I glanced around the table filled with people eating, talking, and laughing. I imagined April and River cuddled up on a couch together watching a movie. I thought about Krista planning her trip to Egypt, and Nathan traveling halfway across the world to India.
I had never felt more alone.
