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“Yes. Please.”
Noah pulls cookies off a hot tray they just removed from the oven, and Claire turns to grab each of us a soda from the refrigerator. The side-eye and smile my aunt flashes me is anything but subtle.
“Anything I can help with ladies?” I ask, swiping away the opportunity for Claire to continue making googly eyes at me.
Noah requests help mixing up the last dessert, a whipped cream based fruit salad. I jump in to help, and Claire says she’s going to go find Rufus and the girls.
The ingredient list is a little long, but Noah calls out each ingredient for me to retrieve from the fridge and cabinets. Once we get to chopping and mixing, the dessert comes together quickly. Noah works to combine a large mixing bowl full of cut fruit, chopped nuts, marshmallows, and store-bought whipped cream. Her hips swivel slightly as she holds the large bowl tight in her arms and works at folding everything in with the thick whipped cream. She complains her arms are getting tired, and I bump my hip into her, snatching the bowl and spatula out of her arms.
“Logan! What was that for?” She smiles and puts a hand on one hip, popping it out to the side.
“What waswhatfor?” Feeling devious, I remove the spatula from the mixing bowl, gently bopping her on the nose with the tip to deposit a small amount of whipped cream. I somehow pull it off, even as she attempts to dodge when she realizes what I’m doing. I set the mixing bowl on the counter and toss the spatula into the hot, soapy water.
“Why?!?” She exasperatedly laughs and chases me from the small kitchen into the living room. My legs are longer than hers by a mile, lending me confidence I can prevent her from reaching me, but she fakes me out and stops short, reversing her direction, and catches me by my button-up shirtsleeve. I could stop her if I wanted to, but I let her recover some of the whipped cream threatening to drip off her nose onto her finger, knowing she’s going to smear it onto my face.
“Ew!” I make a face and grab her around the waist. “That was mean,” I whine.
“Seriously? You started this.”
“If you’re not careful, I might have to finish it.” I look down to continue my joke, but she’s grown serious on me.
“What does that mean?”
Noah doesn’t dance around the truth. My careless words can’t easily be explained away. Instead, I create a diversion and catch her entirely off guard by taking my tongue and removing the whipped cream still on her nose, leaving a trail of slobber where I licked. There’s absolutely nothing sexy about my move, and I may have just turned her off entirely. She wipes the tip of her nose across her long sleeve and shakes her head at me. “You’re weird.”
“You love it!”
“Maybe I do?”
The magic of the moment is broken by Maggie and Rainey’s stampede through the front door. I duck into the kitchen to wipe my cheek with a paper towel before Claire sees us and gets any ideas.
“Does anyone want to go around and say something they’re grateful for?” I ask after we sit down for dinner. This was never a family tradition for Hannah and I—she always said it was too cheesy—but this is my first Thanksgiving with my aunt and uncle, and starting a new tradition would be nice.
“Yeah!” Rainey, who has chatted with Maggie nonstop since we sat down, exclaims. Noah looks at her and laughs before I ask who wants to go first.
“I’ll go first,” Claire says. “I’m grateful for my family—all of you.” She presses a quick kiss to my uncle’s cheek, which causes Maggie and Rainey to clap. Rufus follows his wife with similar sentiments, also mentioning how thankful he is to have connected with Maggie. His adoration of my daughter warms my heart.
We all look at Noah, waiting for her to take a turn.
“Oh, um—I’m grateful for friends who never turn their backs on me.” I can’t tell if she’s talking about Izabeth, me, or both of us.
“Maggie. Your turn!” I push a strand of hair out of her eyes.
“I’m happy for my best friend Rainey and my cat.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Rainey chimes in.
All eyes at the table look at me expectedly, because this was my idea and I’m the only one who hasn’t chimed in.
“I’m thankful for so much this Thanksgiving. For my daughter.” I clasp her shoulder gently and squeeze it. “For my family and their support.” I smile at my aunt and uncle, knowing their help has been instrumental in Maggie and I starting fresh. “And,” I add, “for the ability to honor the past while still looking forward to new adventures.” Claire’s eyes brighten at my words.
The happy, but heavy mood lightens with a change in conversation, and I share about my recent job interview. I should hear something back this coming week.
Noah asks my aunt about her charity work in the community. I probably mentioned it briefly in conversation, and it’s sweet she remembered it. Claire tells her about an organization she works alongside to assist teenagers transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood. Noah’s eyes sparkle. The chit chat around the dining room table quiets down, and Noah speaks. She shares with Claire, and the rest of us who are seated at the table, that she and her brother grew up in foster care from a young age. She asks Claire to let her know about future opportunities to work with the organization.
I’m stunned by her casual mention of her childhood. I figured her passion for remaining Rainey’s guardian came from somewhere, I just hadn’t connected the dots to realize Noah’s efforts on her niece’s behalf may have come from her own past. She once mentioned her brother being her only blood relative, but I’d been angry at him at the time and her comment hadn’t registered with me. When I think of everything she’s potentially overcome to reach this moment in her life, I’m even more in awe of Noah than I was just minutes ago.
I’d been hesitant when Claire insisted I invite Noah to Thanksgiving at the farm, but the day’s gone better than I could have imagined. Noah bonds with my aunt in the kitchen after dinner, while Rufus and I chase Maggie and Rainey around outside to work off some of the sugar high they’re riding. They’ll crash hard on the way home and sleep well tonight. Rufus devotes his attention equally between the girls, and I watch him dote on Rainey right alongside Maggie. My parents failed me, but I hit the family jackpot with my aunt and uncle.
