Thanksgiving

Chapter One

Steve stood in the middle of the kitchen, watching Jaime flit from the oven to the prep counter to the refrigerator and back to the oven, and his heart swelled with the same love and tender pride that he'd felt since their wedding day, more than a quarter-century ago.

"Can I help, Sweetheart?" he offered for the third or fourth time.

"Got this down to a science," she said happily. She finished basting the turkey, took off her oven mitt and turned to embrace her husband. "But thank you. Oh, Steve, it'll be so wonderful, all of us together for Thanksgiving!"

"It's been a few years," he agreed.

"Eight," Jaime told him. "I counted." The first of those years, Steve had been overseas, on assignment. The next, James and Lauren were both clear across the country, in their Freshman year at USC and Berkley. The trend – someone always missing for the holiday – had continued, until today.

The Austins had all been planning for this very special day for the last two months. James, his wife and their daughter, were coming from New York. Lauren, living less than an hour away in Virginia, would – of course – be there. She'd let her father on in the secret that she'd be bringing a very special guest to surprise her mother, and Steve had helped her with the arrangements. Hannah, in her first year at Yale Law School, would be laden down with books but was also on her way. Jaime was the co-conspirator in this case, with Steve about to be surprised, because Hannah was also bringing her newest crush, a med student she'd met at Yale. Jaime knew this one had to be serious, if she was bringing him home to meet her parents. Jenna and Crystal, now Sophomores in college, were expected to be bounding through the front door any minute, as well. The house would once again be bursting at the seams, just like when the children were little, and Steve and Jaime were overjoyed.

They had just finished setting out cheese, crackers and bowls of snacks in the den when Jenna and Crystal nearly knocked each other over on their rush through the front door. Their parents had been concerned when the identical twins - who'd been side by side throughout childhood – had chosen the same college. Jaime and Steve had both suggested a separation, to allow each twin to establish their own individual identity. They needn't have worried; the two girls who barrelled in to hug them couldn't have been more different.

Crystal, the more athletic of the pair, now wore her hair shoulder-length and was dressed in new, dark blue jeans and a college polo. Jenna had kept her hair long, softly curled, and wore khakis and a light tan blouse. They'd remained extremely close, sharing a dorm room, but no one would mistake one for the other any longer.

"Crystal has news!" Jenna bubbled as they all sat down together.

Her twin slugged Jenna in the arm. "News I get to tell."

"So tell, then – or I will!" Jenna turned to her parents, so excited that she nearly bounced in her seat. "This is so great! You're gonna love it - just wait 'til you hear!"

Steve smiled; some things apparently never changed. "I'm sure we will, as soon as you let your sister share the news."

"Sorry."

"I...finally chose a major," Crystal said, suddenly shy. Her parents stayed silent, giving her the full spotlight of their attention. "Education. I want to teach."

Jaime's eyes misted over as she embraced her daughter. A year earlier, they'd actually been estranged; it had been Crystal who'd been missing from the previous Thanksgiving dinner. The summer before the twins left for college, right after they'd turned eighteen, Jaime and Steve had sat down with them and fully explained the reason behind 'Uncle Oscar' visiting as often as he had, before they'd both (for the most part) retired. The 'fluke' abilities the twins had witnessed through the years were fully explained, as well, and the girls had listened quietly and intently to their parents words. Later that night, Jaime had found Crystal sobbing in her bed, feeling betrayed at not having been told sooner. She'd resented both parents deeply, for many months, before being slowly and gradually dragged back into the family fold by her sisters and brother. Jaime's relief at the suddenly renewed closeness with her daughter was beyond words. Steve merely smiled with happiness; he'd known all along that mother and daughter would eventually have a full emotional reunion, although the Education major was a pleasant surprise for him, as well.

Everyone was just settling back into their seats, still chattering happily, when Hannah arrived, a quiet, shy knock announcing her entrance. As she stood in the doorway to the den, a very handsome young man stood beside her, holding her hand. Jaime, who'd known he was coming, was thrown for a loop by something she couldn't quite put her finger on. "So this is Daniel," she said, smiling to put her daughter and the young man at ease.

Steve was stunned, needing to know exactly who had obviously become so close to his daughter. Steve had always been a bit extra-protective of Hannah, since she was the only Austin child without a twin's support to lean on. Both parents rose quickly, followed by Jenna and Crystal, to meet the new man in Hannah's life.

"Mom, Dad, this is Daniel," she told them proudly. "Daniel Marchetti."