Thanksgiving Surprises
Mercedes sat in the airport terminal, flipping through Vogue while waiting for her flight to Lima for Thanksgiving. It was a much-needed weekend away, although she second-guessed herself on how smart it would be to leave school when finals were right around the corner. Kurt sat down next to her, holding a pumpkin spice latte over her magazine. "Thank you," she said, smiling at her friend.
"Seeing anything good in there?" He asked, leaning over to look at the page she was on. "Feeling inspired?"
She shrugged and sipped her drink. "A couple of things here and there. I don't know about feeling inspired, but I do like the colors this season."
Kurt nodded just as both of their phones started going off. They looked at each other, confused, but laughing. He had a phone call and she had a text message from Sam. Smiling, she opened it.
Hey beautiful! Made it to the airport? It read.
Yep! Kurt and I are here, all checked in and everything. Did your family make it in last night?
She sat her phone on her lap while she waited for his response. Kurt had excused himself, probably on the phone with Blaine. Since moving to New York a year and a half ago, her friendship with Kurt had been looking up. They weren't going to the same school but still made sure to see each other as often as they could, making up for the lost time in high school and now their relationship was stronger than ever. Her phone buzzed again.
Mom, Dad, Stevie and Stacy are all here and accounted for. They told me to say hello and they miss you. But none of them miss you as much as I do. ;)
"Awww," Mercedes said out loud just as Kurt sat back down.
He looked at her and asked, "Sam?" She nodded. "Awww, aren't you cute?" He dramatically batted his eyelashes.
"Whatever, Kurt! Don't act like you weren't just talking to Blaine," Mercedes replied as she quickly sent her message: I miss you, too. Just a few more weeks until I get to show you how much. ;)
They were planning a week away together over winter break as their Thanksgiving and Christmas to make up for school forcing them apart. While she had gotten out of Ohio to New York along with Rachel, Kurt and Tina, Sam had gone back to Tennessee to live with his grandparents while attending Vanderbilt.
They had been together for almost two years with a really dark period after their first semester of college, unsure about whether or not a long distance relationship would work and teetered dangerously close to breaking up. However, they'd managed to overcome it through video chat "therapy" sessions with Tina and Mike, and a game-changing conversation when Mercedes went to visit him in Tennessee. Some days were harder than others, but they found a way to push through it by counting down to visits, phone calls and frequent video chats. Sometimes they even wrote letters. Tina had been a huge help. She and Mike were also in a long-distance relationship and made it seem so easy. They always had good advice.
Kurt scoffed, placing a hand on his chest. "I wasn't!" She shot him a look of disbelief. "Okay, I was. He said hello, by the way."
"How is he doing? How's school?"
"He's doing well, school is going well. We're going to go see a movie tonight. You're welcome to come along, though I'm sure you'll probably have other plans," he said ominously.
"I'll think about it. I don't want to impose on your datewith Blaine."
"It's not a date."
"It is."
"Finn's coming."
"No, he's not."
"How do you know?"
"You haven't asked."
"How did you know?!"
"Kurt, I know you!"
Kurt and Blaine broke up amicably not long after the move to New York with the possibility of getting back together once Blaine transferred to a university in the Big Apple after wrapping up his core subjects in Ohio. They both went out on dates, but as far as Mercedes knew, neither was dating anyone seriously.
Another message from Sam was waiting for her: Ms. Jones! You can't put those thoughts in my mind so early in the morning and in my grandpa's house...
Cocking an eyebrow, she bit her lip, containing her grin as she typed her reply: You know you like it.
"Oh my GOD!" Kurt exclaimed with an exasperated sigh once the text sent. "You two are totally sending dirty texts to each other right now. You've got your 'I can't wait to do unspeakable things to you' face on."
Mercedes gaped at him, a smile tugged at her lips. "We're no-" Pursing his lips, Kurt dared her to finish the lie. "They're not that dirty. Maybe implied dirty..." She ended in a mumble.
He shook his head. "For shame, Mercy..." he said, a playful twinkle in his eye letting her know he was joking.
"Says the guy who's not going on a date with Blaine. And I have my what face on?" She asked in a laugh just as her phone called for attention again.
Keep talking like that and I may have to see you sooner than a couple of weeks.
Not like I'm going to stop you. She sent back.
"That one! Right there!" Kurt said, pointing excitedly as she drank more of her latte. "Your eyebrow goes up, then you poke your lips out a little, but then draw them back and bite your bottom lip while smiling like a seductress." He acted it out as he explained it to her and Mercedes nearly spit out her drink. After swallowing, she couldn't help but throw her head back with a loud laugh.
"I do not! Do I really?"
He nodded frantically. "You really do. I pay attention to these things."
"Anyway, let's change the subject. Tell me again, how's Blaine?" She asked with a wink. Kurt waved her off, taking a book out of his bag and starting to read. Without turning his head, he looked at her and smiled before leaning over and bumping her lightly.
"Love you," he said softly.
"Love you, too."
She saw that she had another message from Sam. Sweet temptation. I'm heading down to breakfast. Call me when you get to Lima. I love you! XXXXXXXX (overkill?)
Laughing, she replied: Maybe a little. I'll call you when I get home. I love you, too.
Going back home was always emotional for her. She had no intention of moving back to Lima, but Mercedes missed being around her family. She missed her brothers goofing off, she miss her mother singing as she did her housework and she missed her father's cooking. After spending an hour talking to Sam once she got home, Mercedes went to help her parents wrap up Thanksgiving dinner for the next day.
She inhaled deeply as she walked into the kitchen. "This smells amazing," she sang, leaning over to see the cake batter in the bowl on the counter. Mercedes started to dip a finger into it when her mother swatted her hand away.
"I'll give you the spoon after I put the cake in the oven," the older woman said, smiling at her daughter.
"Just the spoon? Not the bowl, too?" Mercedes replied, smiling angelically.
"Nope! Already called the bowl!" One of her brothers called from the living room.
"You aren't even in here helping, Adrian! How do you have dibs on anything?"
"Excuse me? We helped this morning," Brian chimed in as he came into the kitchen to grab a Coke. Mercedes made a face at him and he copied her before heading back to the living room.
"Okay," Mercedes said, rubbing her hands together, "What do you need me to do?"
The next day, Mercedes slept in, something she hadn't been able to do in months, reveling in the moment. It wasn't until her father knocked on the bedroom door, saying people were starting to come over, that she slowly started taking the steps to get ready for the day. She narrowed her eyes at the sunlight coming through the window. People were already starting to show up? What time was it? She rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 12:30 p.m. Groaning, she sat up. They usually started eating around 2 or 3, depending on when her parents caught her and her brothers sneaking bites of food.
Mercedes took her time getting ready, coming downstairs after an hour all made up and ready to be seen by people other than her parents and brothers.
"You took your time," Adrian commented with a smirk at the end of the staircase as he was going up.
"Was there a reason I needed to be rushing?" Mercedes asked. "You aren't even dressed!" She exclaimed when she realized he was in his sweatpants and an old ratty t-shirt that she couldn't believe he hadn't thrown out.
"I didn't need to be dressed yet," he said with a shrug and she looked confused. Adrian disappeared into his room.
As she got closer to the living room, the voices in the living room grew clearer. She heard her dad and Brian, but there was a third voice she couldn't place right away. Or rather, it couldn't be. She had to be hearing things. Slowing down her pace, she was almost tiptoeing when she walked through the entryway.
She wasn't surprised to see the football game on or that her brother was already munching on one of the rolls for dinner or even that her father had already cracked open a beer. What did surprise her was that sitting between them on the couch was a third gentleman with slightly messy dirty blond hair.
"Sam?" She asked tentatively, stopping right behind the couch.
All three men turned to look at her, and her breath caught in her throat when Sam smiled up at her.
They stared at each other for a moment before her father broke the silence. "We didn't think you were ever coming down," he joked. "I thought I was going to have to send Sam back to Tennessee," he added, patting Sam on the back.
"Daddy!" Mercedes exclaimed, slightly embarrassed as her father laughed. Brian excused himself to go change clothes. She turned her attention back to Sam. "What are you doing here?!" Sam stood as she walked around the couch and walked right into his open arms.
"Surprise!" He said as he hugged her. When she looked up at him, there were tears in her eyes. Mercedes went up on her toes to kiss him gently.
Her father got up from the couch. "Don't get too frisky get here."
"Oh my God, you did not just say 'frisky'," Mercedes said into Sam's chest as she hugged him again.
Mr. Jones smirked as he turned to leave. "Yes, I did. I'm the head of this household and I can say what I please." With that, he exited the room, repeating the word 'frisky' over and over as he left.
"I swear he only gets like that when you're around," she mumbled with a small laugh. "What are you doing here?!" She asked again, backing away and smacking his chest.
Sam laughed. "I'm here for Thanksgiving!"
"What? Didn't your family just get to Tennessee on Tuesday? You just left them?!"
"I'd like to think you're kind of my family, too, Cedes." She smiled, but her eyes narrowed at him accusingly. "This has been planned for months. I had a pre-Thanksgiving with my family last night and then flew in this morning."
"I can not believe this... how long will you be here?"
"Until Saturday morning."
"Sam..." Mercedes said, unable to stop a tear from rolling down her cheek.
"Don't start crying now," he said with a chuckle, brushing a thumb softly across her cheek to wipe it away.
"I can't help it. You caught me off guard! I can't believe you! I don't even know what to say right now." She said, turning away from him and walking across the room. Sam caught her by the arm when she came back to him and pulled her close.
"Then don't say anything," he replied, looking at her in that way that made her knees go weak before leaning down to capture her lips with his own.
Stuffed with their Thanksgiving meal, Sam and Mercedes relaxed under a blanket on the hammock in the backyard, away from the last of the guests. "I think I definitely ate more here than I did in Tennessee," he said with a groan, rubbing a hand over his stomach. Mercedes covered it with her own.
"Because you're a pig," she joked. Sam pouted then snorted loudly, making her laugh.
"I just happen to be able to spend the holidays with people who really know how to cook. Think there's any pie left?"
"You're still thinking about food?"
"That's all I think about..." he said dreamily. "Besides you, of course."
"And school, I hope," Mercedes added for him.
"And school." He sighed and got quiet.
"Something wrong?" Mercedes asked, turning her head to look at him.
No-yeah-no, well, no...not really. It's just...you know how you can be really certain about some things while others just seem really foggy?"
She nodded, but remained silent.
"I'm just afraid I might be wrong."
"Wrong about what? Your major? Your college?"
"No, none of that, just what happens next, you know? It's like, I know graphic design was the right choice for me, I've been working on some designs of my own and that comic book I told you about, but once I'm out of school and in the real world," he said, putting "real world" in air quotes, "where do I go from there? It's a big gray area."
"That's normal, I think. I feel the same way sometimes..." Mercedes said. "You could do some research, maybe talk to some counselors or something?"
"Yeah, I haven't really done any of that yet."
"Try not to get too freaked out about it. You want to be ahead of the game, but you still have time."
"Ugh, why does school seem to take forever? I just want to get it over with so I can see what else is out there. The only thing I'm really sure about post-college is marrying you and leaving Tennessee," he blurted out in his frustration. Mercedes saw his eyes go wide before he looked over at her shyly. "I mean...Tennessee is great and all, but-"
"You want to marry me?" She asked. That was something she wasn't expecting to hear.
"I was hoping you missed that," Sam said before sitting up. "I'm sorry. Forget I said it."
Mercedes got up from the hammock before she fell off of it from his sudden movement. "That's not exactly something I can immediately forget..."
"Have you ever thought about it?" He asked, hopefully.
She had. A lot, in fact. Mercedes had even practiced writing her first name with his last, but that wasn't something she planned to share with him. "Yeah, of course I have," she admitted. Were they really about to have this conversation right now?
"I'm not about to propose to you any time soon or anything. It's just something I've been thinking about...a lot...lately."
"Me too..." She felt bad that she didn't have much more to say about it, but once again, he'd caught her by surprise.
"Sorry for freaking you out," he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. Mercedes walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest.
"I would love nothing more than to become Mrs. Samuel Evans someday." He kissed the top of her head. "It's just not the talk I was expecting to have tonight."
"Too heavy, huh?"
"Considering all the food we ate tonight? Yeah, way heavy." He laughed, wrapping his arms around her. They stood in comforting silence for a while before Mercedes spoke again, "What are you thankful for, Sam?"
He pondered for a moment. "Er...hmm...I'm thankful for my family and my friends, the new Green Lantern comic book and being able to have two awesome Thanksgiving dinners when a few years ago we couldn't even afford one." Mercedes squeezed him a little tighter, remembering when the Evans family went through that difficult time. "And I'm thankful for having a girlfriend who doesn't flip out on me too badly when I stick my foot in my mouth." He kissed her forehead as she giggled, then leaned down to kiss her sweetly on the lips. "What about you?" He asked.
"I am thankful to be home for Thanksgiving after missing it last year. For my family and my friends. Aaannnddd for my mama's sweet potato pie."
Sam cleared his throat. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"No, I don't think so..." Mercedes said, hiding her smile.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive." He tickled her side, making her squeal. "Sam!"
"I think you're forgetting something, Mercedes. Your list sounds incomplete."
"You can't criticize someone's list of what they're thankful for!" She said, squirming as he continued to tickle her. "Stop!" She exclaimed through laughter.
"Says who?"
"Says me!" He didn't let up. "Sam... I had a lot of soda...tickling me... is not... okay..." she managed to say. He kept at it. "Okay, okay! I'm thankful for having an amazing boyfriend named Sam!" Mercedes escaped his grasp, then added quickly, "Who wants to marry me."
Sam blushed but didn't deny it, just fondly looked on as Mercedes laughed at herself and his embarrassment. She slowly walked back over to him, an eyebrow cocked and biting her bottom lip in an attempt to contain her smile. He knew that look and couldn't stop his body from reacting to it. As they kissed on the back patio, Sam knew this was as far as they'd get tonight, but the future looked really bright.