CHAPTER 19
Will eventually consented to my idea of dressing up for Thanksgiving dinner. Incorporating the costume making into the twins’ lessons, we spent the next couple of days scouring through the trunks for clothing that could be creatively modified to pass as Pilgrim and Native American garb. We even made an elaborate headdress for Chief Will using multi-colored construction paper for feathers. While making the costumes, we carried on the lessons by talking about why the Pilgrims came to the new world, what life was like for both the newcomers and the natives, and the reasons behind the first Thanksgiving dinner.
Once the lessons were over, we continued working on the costumes without the educational conversation topics. As Dawn glued a yellow piece of paper in the shape of a buckle to a Pilgrim hat, she asked, “Is Wesley going to be our new daddy?”
I immediately stopped what I was doing, shell-shocked, and flashed a petrified glance at William. How were we going to get out of this one? The twins knew very little about Wes, certainly not about the kiss shared on Halloween, and all we had told them was that he was just a friend of mom’s.
“Why would you think that, Dawn?” Will deflected the question with another question.
“She was really happy when she was talking about him and she did go away with him. I just thought he might become our new daddy.” Dawn shrugged her shoulders.
“Plus she said she was going to be his date for the Christmas party. I thought mommies only dated daddies.” Connor added.
“Well, I think she likes him, maybe more than a friend, but I wouldn’t say he’s going to be our new daddy.” Will said.
“This girl Janice in our class back in LA had a step-father because her parents got divorced. That means they are no longer married to each other,” Dawn explained to Will and me, “so she got a new daddy. He lives with them and everything. I was just wondering if this was the same thing.” It amazed me at how much more knowledgeable Dawn and Connor were at this age than I was. I didn’t know anything about divorces, remarriages or new daddies when I was this young.
“Dawnie, no matter what happens, Hank Summers is still your father even if mom does end up marrying Wes. He might fill a parental role in your life, but he’ll never replace dad.” Will explained while I toyed with my locket, holding back tears.
“I think it would be okay if Wes became our new dad.” Connor piped in. “I mean daddy’s in Heaven, so he can’t throw the baseball around with me anymore. Maybe this guy will play with me until I go to Heaven with daddy, too.”
Will looked up at me sadly and saw the tears I had tried not to shed running down my cheeks. I couldn’t listen to the simple way Dawn and Connor talked about our dad’s death. Rather than sticking around for Will’s reply, I left the attic to head for the soothing comfort of a bubble bath.
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I awoke on Thanksgiving morning thinking about years past. The day would start out to a warm house and the smell of turkey cooking downstairs in the kitchen. We would all join mom downstairs early for a big breakfast, since we wouldn’t be eating again until dinner. When Will had entered high school a few years ago, we had started going to the big homecoming football game against the school rival together as a family. The next year as a freshman myself, I had joined the cheerleading squad and everyone was there to watch me perform at the half-time show along with the marching band and the color guard.
This year, rather than standing at the top of the cheerleading pyramid waving my pom-poms for the star quarterback, I was standing stiffly along with my siblings in a stark room watching grandmother serve us oatmeal.
“Since it is Thanksgiving, there will be no lunch today. Dinner will be served at 4 pm.” Dru looked back at us as she put the last of the bowls on the serving table. “Even though your mother isn’t here, she made sure that you would still have a proper turkey dinner. We have not celebrated Thanksgiving here at Rayne Manor since your mother humiliated your grandfather on this day all those years ago. Ethan forbade it. I think she’s quite lucky that Mr. Price asked her to go away for the holiday. Ethan may have enjoyed watching her get another thrashing from my whip instead.“ A cruel smirk formed at her lips.
I wasn’t quite sure what grandmother was talking about. I had no idea what mother had done to grandfather on Thanksgiving that would bring about the forsaking of a major holiday, unless that’s when he found out about her being pregnant with Will. I was also unnerved by what she said about the whip. Did grandfather know about the other punishment that mother received when we first arrived? And what kind of evil man watches as his daughter is abused? I took a sideways glance at William, but his expression gave nothing away.
“Wesley is a respectable man. He’s polite, intelligent and a fellow lawyer, a man after your grandfather’s own heart. Not like your miscreant of a father. It’s all his fault, you know? If it wasn’t for him, your mother wouldn’t be begging for her father’s attentions now and you wouldn’t be here. She’d be married and living happily with her family and her father’s love. But God saw it fit to punish her by taking Hank away from her.”
“Stop it!” I yelled confronting her, not being able to hold back any longer. “My father was a wonderful man, a better person than you’ll ever hope to be.”
Eyes burning with fury, Drusilla backhanded me hard across the cheek. “Foolish child! You know nothing about your father, nothing but lies.”
“Hey!” William immediately pulled me close to him, out of her reach. He glared at her as he placed a gentle hand on my cheek, soothing the sting of grandmother’s hate.
Drusilla shook her head in disgust at the display. “Someday the Lord will see fit to open your eyes to the truth.” She spun on her heels and left the room in a flourish.
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Drusilla had left us all in a dampened mood. Her outburst only highlighted the fact that we were spending our first Thanksgiving without dad because of his death, and without mom because of her gallivanting. We tried to get into the spirit of the holiday by doing some crafts in the attic, making paper turkeys using outlines of our hands and playing some other board games, but everyone was unusually quiet. The easy banter between siblings was missing, leaving an uncomfortable silence hanging in the room.
When it got closer to dinner time, we changed into our costumes and talked a little bit more about the lives of the Pilgrims and Native Americans up until dinner was served. Adam arrived promptly at four with all the fixings of a traditional Thanksgiving feast – a golden brown turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, corn, cranberry sauce and gravy. For dessert, there was both a pumpkin pie and an apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream
Before eating, William asked for each of us to say something that we were thankful for. This was something that our father made us do every year and we all hated it. Knowing that Will was trying to keep a family tradition going made this request bittersweet, especially since there wasn’t much to be thankful for this year.
As was the family tradition, Connor started since he was the youngest, having been born 15 minutes after Dawn. He thought about it for a minute and then said, “I am thankful that I got to be a pirate this year for Halloween because I didn’t think I was going to get to be anything.” He looked up at Will and smiled. “And I really wanted to be a pirate.” Will laughed and patted Connor on the shoulder.
Dawn was next, “I am thankful that we were allowed into the attic. There’s a lot of neat stuff up there and it makes living here better, especially since we don’t have a TV.”
Then it was my turn. I really didn’t know what to be thankful for. Everything this year had been so hard, so I thought of the last time I had been really happy and it came to me. “I am thankful that I got to spend my birthday with the entire family. It meant a lot to have everyone with me to celebrate my special day like old times.”
William was the last to go. “This year has been very tough for the Summers family and I would not have made it through without all of you sitting here at this table. I am so thankful for my sister Elizabeth, who has guided me through some of the toughest times with her strength and her kindness. I am thankful for my brother Connor and my other sister Dawn, who both give me focus and remind me everyday why life is still worth living despite its tragedies and its hardships. I am thankful that I get to wake up in a world with all of you in it. You are my greatest support and my number one priority. I love you all and I don’t know what I would do without you.” Will gave us all a brilliant smile before saying Grace.
As we sat and ate dinner, the gloom that Drusilla had left over us had been lifted.
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Thank you everyone for the reviews and to my beta! Go read her wonderful new story 'In God's Eyes' under the name the_bends. It's really good and it's her first time posting here so go show her some love!