Thanksgiving Dinner with Zachary Goode
Based off Ally Carter's young adult books, the Gallagher Girls series.
There's only one more week until Thanksgiving. We didn't have any school this week because some people are leaving to be with their families early, especially if their families are normal civilians who have no clue we go to a spy school. Bex, Liz, and Macey are also leaving early to be with their families for the holidays. Even most of the faculty is leaving the mansion to go have Thanksgiving somewhere else. I, on the other hand am staying here to have Thanksgiving with my mom, and it's the first Thanksgiving we'll have with Mr. Solomon. I can't believe it's been almost eight years since my father went missing. It's so strange to think about it; he's never coming back. He's never coming back. On the other hand Zach's been solemn all week and keeping to himself lately. He won't let me get close to him and when I catch his eye he always looks away. He's barely spoken a word to any of us. His eyes are masked off and he never shows any emotion on his face.
There's only three more days until Thanksgiving. The hustle and bustle of girls leaving and people saying goodbye is over. Bex, Liz, and Macey left today to be with their families and everyone else in the mansion is gone besides my mom, Mr. Solomon, Zach, and me. It's extremely quiet and the halls are empty; void of laughing girls that are going to watch movie marathons in the common room.
I heard that my Aunt and Townsend won't be able to join us because of some top secret mission their on together. They haven't told anyone, but I'm pretty sure they're in a secret relationship with each other. I see the looks they give each other and all the arguing they do is just their way of flirting. It's quite funny actually when you listen to them quarrel, especially when they go off talking about Buenos Aries. It really makes me wonder what happened on that mission.
Zach's still acting weird and always has his hands in his pockets and his head down. He doesn't talk to anyone anymore and is rarely seen. I feel bad for him; I just don't know what to do.
Today's Thanksgiving Day and I'm going to ask my mom if I can invite Zach to dinner. Right when I get there I hear,
"Come in," before I even knocked on the door.
I walk in and see my mom at her desk looking at the computer screen.
"Hey kiddo, how are you?"
"I'm fine, mom, I wanted to ask you something though, about Thanksgiving."
"Go ahead," she says folding her hands on her desk and looking up at me as I sit on the sofa.
"I was wondering if Zach could join us for Thanksgiving dinner, tonight? I mean he's been so sad and so closed off, and I think it's hard for him because of his mom and everything that's going on. So can he join us?"
"Sure sweetie. I was going to ask you the same thing, so why don't you go and invite him. Joe will be joining us as well, is that okay?"
"Yeah that's fine; I'm glad he's coming. I'll go tell Zach, thank you."
"No problem, kiddo."
Then I got up off the couch and hugged my mom before opening the door and walking out. First I went to my room to write Zach a letter because I don't think he would want to talk, and I wasn't really sure on what to say. This is what it said:
Zach,
You are invited to come to Thanksgiving Dinner with my mother and me. Mr. Solomon will be there as well. You don't have to dress up if you don't want to, but you're welcome to come if you want. I really want you to come. It's just going to be in my mother's office with some food cooked from the kitchen. (Don't worry I wouldn't allow my mom to poison you. I care for you too much to let her.) It starts at 7:00. I hope you can make it.
Always,
Your Gallagher Girl, Cammie.
I folded the letter up and walked into the empty teacher's wing that Zach was staying in. I walked up to his door, put the card on the floor, knocked three times, and then turned around and walked away. I heard his door open as I got to the corner and from the reflection in the vase to my left I saw him bend down, pick up the card, and start to read it before I disappeared around the corner.
An hour later I walked into my mother's office in a one strap purple dress that went to my knees, and nude colored wedge 4-inch heels. I had my hair hanging loosely around my shoulders with some natural curl, light brown mascara, and dark purple eye shadow. I sat next to Mr. Solomon and across from my mother, and the table was set with candles; the food was in decorative dishes and a beautiful table cloth set on the table. They were telling old stories about missions and going out with spy friends, they were always the wildest. We were all laughing at an old memory when I heard a knock at the door and excused myself to answer it. When I opened the door I saw Zach standing there in a black suit, white pressed shirt, and a blue and black tie. In one hand he had the letter that I had given him, and in the other he had a small bouquet of flowers and a single rose. I smiled and hugged him tightly before turning to my mom and Mr. Solomon, announcing that Zach was here. They came and greeted him before we all sat down for dinner. Since Zach was here, Mr. Solomon went to sit next to my mom and Zach sat down next to me. Zach leaned in and whispered into my ear,
"You look amazing tonight, Gallagher Girl." I blushed and leaned over to reply,
"You don't look half bad yourself, Blackthorne Boy." Then I smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm really glad that you could make it also."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Then he gently placed the rose that had a simple black ribbon tied around the stem and placed it in my lap and the other flowers he gave to my mother. "Ms. Morgan, flowers for the mother of the girl I love, and thank you for inviting me to this dinner."
"You're welcome Zach, and please call me Rachel."
"Will do," he nodded, smiling. I just sat there in awe that Zach said he loved me to my mom.
Then I felt Zach's hand on my leg and looked down, and then at Zach to see him looking at me. He smirked, winked, and turned back to talk with my mom. His thumb was lightly moving back and forth on my lower thigh as they were laughing at another memory. The bright smile on Zach's face was enough to make me smile along with him because it isn't every day that I get to see his bright smile. I also smiled at how everything was going along perfectly, so I reached down and held Zach's hand in my own as he drew patterns on the top of my hand. Some of them were hearts, and Z and C's with plus signs. I smiled at those and felt warm against his touch. All throughout dinner we laughed and talked about old times and funny things that have happened to us.
We had a small turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, and sparkling cider. During the whole dinner Zach's hand never left mine and stayed rested on my thigh. When dinner was over Zach and I left my mom's room where Mr. Solomon and my mom were still talking and laughing about old times. Zach and I walked in silence to his room that was at the end of the hall. There was a small light on right outside his door that made the hallway brighter in the late night.
"I had a great time tonight," Zach said, turning to me.
"I did too."
"Thank you for inviting me, and I'm sorry that I was so distant this last week." His hands were stuffed deep in his pockets and he rocked back and forth on his heels nervously.
"No problem, it's nothing really. I understand why you were so distant. I didn't take it personally if that's what you were worried about."
"I know I just-" I cut him off by lightly pressing my lips to his in a tender kiss. His arms wrapped around my waist after a moment, bringing me closer to him. After a few seconds he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine.
"You looked beautiful tonight, Gallagher Girl."
"Thank you. You looked pretty good in that tux." I smiled as I looked into his dark eyes. Their color was so captivating.
"Aw, I knew you thought I was handsome."
"I never said that you were handsome. I said you looked good in a tux. But, yes, you are incredibly handsome." He pulled back to look at me fully, biting his lip for a minute or two before finally speaking.
"You remember what I said to your mother, don't you?" I faintly nodded, allowing him to continue.
"Well, what I said was true. I do love you, more than anything. I just wanted to make sure you knew that."
"I do, and I never got to tell you how I felt. I love you, and before you ask why I love you I'm going to tell you. You don't see yourself as perfect. I know that, but I don't just love all the good things about you. I love you because of all the imperfect things about you. That's what makes you perfect to me."
"You always know what to say and when to say it."
"I know, I'm just that Goode."
"You did not just steal my smirk," he said raising his eyebrow at me.
"Ah, but I did my dear Blackthorne Boy."
"Well I'll just have to do something about that."
Before I could ask what he was going to do his lips were on mine again and I could feel his smile against my mouth. Oh how I loved that smile. His hands wound themselves around my waist as mine tangled in his hair. When we pulled away he had a large smile on his face that reached his eyes. I smiled at that and kissed the corner of his mouth before pulling away.
"I'll see you tomorrow, okay Gallagher Girl?" I just nodded before turning around and walking down the hallway; my heels making noise against the hard wood floors. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as I made my way to my room.
The End.
Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this Thanksgiving inspired story. I also hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving, and hope you're having a great weekend.
Fun Fact About Me: I'm the youngest person in my family as well as in my extended family. Also my family had Thanksgiving at our house, so there was about fourteen people over for the afternoon. We all had a lot of fun.
Anyways, I hope you liked it.
-GymGirl904.
