It was Thanksgiving. I was in the kitchen. Rose was basically begging Kirsten not to cook. I heard that she wasn't the best cook, but was she really that bad that people had to beg her not to? Granted, I had never had anything that she had made, but there was no way it could be that bad, right?
"This is Rhiannon's first Thanksgiving with us and I want us to make dinner together as a family." Kirsten replied as I sipped my grape juice.
"Seriously, where's Rosa?" Rose questioned. I was pretty sure that they had given her the day off.
"Rosa is spending Thanksgiving with her own family." Kirsten explained. Rose grabbed her head. I had to admit that it was interesting to watch. "I, for one, am up to the challenge."
"Dad, please stop her." Rose begged.
"You sure you wanna do this, Honey?" Sandy asked with a sigh.
"No, we can't ruin Thanksgiving." Rose declared.
"Who said we are?" Kirsten asked. This was still less dysfunctional than any Thanksgiving I had ever had. "Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday."
"My family was never really into the holidays." I explained. Usually one or more people would end up drunk.
"All the more reason to make it special." Kirsten proposed as Rose threw up her hands. "Now, are there any pans?"
"You're not exactly inspiring a lot of confidence, Darling" Sandy pointed out.
"We should start the turkey." Kirsten announced as she held the bird upside down. At that point, I realized that she had no idea what she was doing. We all took turns to get her away from any food. I felt bad, but I also didn't want diarrhea.
"You'll thank us." Rose told me.
"What am I supposed to do?" Kirsten asked as the phone rang. "I'll get that."
"You own the phone." Sandy complimented.
"Yes, I'll accept the charges." She stated. What did she mean charges? "Yes, she's right here."
Apparently someone was calling for me. I was a bit nervous because usually when someone wanted to talk to me, they called my cellphone.
"It's your brother." She explained. I had written to Trey and even sent him a picture of me, but I hadn't actually talked to him since I started transitioning.
"Hi, Trey." I declared. I decided to leave the room because I didn't want them eavesdropping. "Yeah, it's me. Do you really need me to do this today? I know I haven't seen you. I guess I can come. I love you, too. Bye."
"How's Trey?" Sandy asked as I reentered the kitchen. I expected that question. It seemed like they had stopped doing everything to wait for me to return.
"He's okay." I answered. "He wants me to visit him today. It's the holidays and he doesn't want to be alone."
"Can you blame him?" Sandy retorted.
"Are you going to go?" Kirsten replied.
"Is that alright?" I asked.
"Yeah, you should go see your brother." Sandy told me. I was kind of scared of going to a prison.
Later, it was just me and Rose in the kitchen.
"Do people actually make stuffing?" She asked.
"No, it only exists in movies." I quipped.
"You should probably get going soon." She told me.
"There's so much more that needs to be done." I replied.
"Well if you find enough to last three to five years, Trey will be out." She said.
"I know he wants something from and I'm really nervous about going back." I replied.
"Maybe he just wants to see his sister on Thanksgiving," She countered. "It would be the first time after all."
"You don't know Trey." I pointed out.
"That's because you never talk about him." She stated.
"There's not a lot to talk about." I shot back.
"He's your brother." She reminded me. "I can go with you if you want. I would like to meet him."
"You really wouldn't." I told her.
"Legally, we are all related now." She said. That wasn't how adoption worked.
"Someone has to keep your mom away from the food." I pointed out. "Besides, Vicki's coming over."
"Yes she is." She declared. I wasn't sure if I had won the bet. We hadn't even decided what the prize was. At that point my own phone began to ring. It was Kaitlin.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I'm trying to figure out a way out of spending Thanksgiving with your grandpa." She replied. "What are you doing today?"
"I'm going to see my brother in jail." I answered. "I don't have time to talk now."
I quickly got changed into a navy dress and red cardigan. I wanted to look nice but not too nice to the point that I would get mugged. I knew it might be a good idea to bring some mace with me. I then headed to Rose's room.
"I need to get going." I declared before I saw what she was giving me. "Trey doesn't like comics,."
"That's because he hasn't seen The New Titans." Rose pointed out. I hadn't read that either. I then noticed that she had a bottle of perfume.
"I didn't take Vicki as the girl who likes girls who wear perfume." I stated.
"I wouldn't wear perfume for Vicki." She stated.
"Well you like her, don't you? You like her." I teased.
"Suddenly, the idea of having a little sister isn't as appealing." She commented. "On Halloween, Summer attacked me with her lips. She swore she would kill me if I told anyone. She's got an interesting take on romance. Basically, the first sixteen years of my life, I have no women and now I have two."
"It's the boobs." I joked. "It's not like there are worse problems you could have."
"I wish I wasn't rubbing off on you." She declared.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. It was Jimmy, Marissa, and Kaitlin, the latter was wearing a white tank with grey cotton pleated miniskirt and a black wool unzipped jacket.
"We wanted to stop by before we went to our mom's." Marissa declared as I gave her a hug and Kaitlin a kiss. "So how has Thanksgiving been?"
"Can I see your brother with you. I need an excuse to get out of here." Kaitlin asked out of the blue.
"Let's go to the pool house and talk?" I suggested.
We did more than just talking. In fact, as soon as we got there, we started to kiss and touch each other.
"Are you sure that you want to come with me?" I asked. "I mean he is in jail, after all."
"Which is all the more reason that you shouldn't go alone." She argued. "Safety in numbers is better. Plus, I want to see where you grew up."
"Maybe you should tell your mom. I think despite her many, many flaws, she really does love you." I explained.
"I want to know more about you." She declared. "If there's anything about my childhood you want to know, I'll tell you."
"My life there really wasn't that great." I responded. "When you grow up dirt poor with abusive parents and don't feel comfortable in your own body, all you want to do is get out. The only reason that I'm seeing my brother is that he's the only member of my family was who there for me, but if you really want to come, you can come."
"I'll wait outside and meet you at the car." She said. Technically, I wasn't supposed to drive, but they were willing to let me go alone. As long as I drove carefully and didn't break any laws, I would probably be fine.
I then went back into the house.
"Are you sure that you don't want me to drive you?" Kirsten asked. I shook my head. "Okay. Here are the keys and I got something for Trey."
She presented me with a pie.
"Don't worry. It's store-bought." She assured me.
"Thanks." I responded as I took the pie and headed out to the car. She was already inside. I supposed Newport was one of those places you could leave the windows down.
"So, we might as well get going." I remarked.
"It helps if you turn the car on." She quipped. "Do you want me to drive?"
"No, you don't know how to get there and I'm pretty sure Kirsten wouldn't be okay with that." I replied.
I put the car in drive and began to drive to Chino. Within an hour, we were at the prison. I had the pie and the comic in hand. We got some visitor passes and headed inside.
"You know I hope that this will be the last time that I ever have to go to a prison." She declared.
"Your dad's going to be fine." I responded. I would think that the fact that he hadn't been charged with anything after several months meant that he wasn't going to be charged. We met him outside. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit and a bloody lip.
"Wow, you look so beautiful." He told me before I gave him a hug.
"This is my girlfriend, Kaitlin." I replied nervously.
"I just can't believe that this is you." Trey remarked.
"I'm sorry that I haven't been here." I apologized.
"I heard that you've been doing pretty good for yourself. Those clothes don't look cheap." He commented. At that time, all I was thinking about was who he had gotten into a fight with.
"You don't look so good." I declared. I then decided to cut to the chase. "What do you want from me?"
"Can't a guy want to see his sister on Thanksgiving?" He asked. I looked at him. "Okay, I didn't want to have to call you, but I'm in trouble. I kind of owe some people six grand."
"How do you lose six grand?" I asked, trying not to raise my voice. Needless to say, I was pissed. I couldn't believe what he was doing to me.
"You know that I have bad luck." He replied. "The people I owe it to have friends in here that like to remind me about it. It keeps getting worse."
"I don't have that kind of money on me." I replied.
"I'm not asking for the money. I just need a favor from you." He declared.
Later, we were back in the car,
"So, where are we going now?" I questioned.
"I'm taking you to the bus station because my brother wants me to pick up a stolen car." I replied. "I have to pay back a debt that he owes. I know this sounds crazy, but he's my brother and I have to help him."
"There is no way that I'm letting you do this alone." She countered. "You're my girlfriend and if you're doing it, I'm doing it too."
I really couldn't help but love how she was so headstrong. It seemed like it could get her in trouble if she didn't think before she acted, but she seemed pretty good at that. She smiled at me.
"So, do you have any good Thanksgiving memories?" She asked. "My dad and I used to watch football together. My mom and Marissa have never been into sports."
"I'm hoping to make some nice memories of not getting arrested." I commented. "So does Rose inviting Vicki over for Thanksgiving count as winning the bet?"
"I think that would depend on how much kissing is involved?" Kaitlin remarked. "What does the winner get anyway?"
"The satisfaction of being victorious?" I questioned as I stopped in front of the house before her phone went off.
"Fuck." She cursed. "Marissa just texted me that my mom and Caleb came over and I didn't exactly tell her that I was going with you. This could not be worse."
"Yeah, it could." I pointed out before we got out of the car and I headed to the door. I hoped that I wouldn't be recognized. The door was answered by the last person that I wanted to answer it.
"Hi, I'm here to see Arturo." I declared. I really hoped that she wouldn't recognize me. I hadn't told her and didn't plan on doing it.
"Ryan?" She asked. Damn it. "That new city really has changed you."
"It's Rhiannon, Theresa." I corrected. "I need to see Arturo."
"Are you really going to just ask for my idiot brother and not explain where you've been for the past few months or why you're a girl now?" She questioned. If I could get away with it, yes I was.
"I'm Kaitlin Cooper, her girlfriend." The brunette declared as she held me possessively. "And for your information, she has always been a girl."
"She wasn't when she was with me." Theresa pointed out. "I lived next door."
"Well maybe you weren't that close." Kaitlin countered.
"Where's Arturo?" I repeated. It looked like the two of them were about to fight.
Theresa took us inside of the house. I hoped that she wouldn't out me to her whole family.
She did. The first thing that she did was tell her mom. She did give me a hug, but it was weird.
"I need to see Arturo." I declared. I really wanted to get out of the uncomfortable situation that Theresa had put me in.
"Are you here for the car?" Arturo asked as he walked into the room. I couldn't help but wonder if his mom didn't know it was stolen, or just didn't care. Arturo was talented. There were probably things that he could do that weren't illegal.
"This is Kaitlin." I introduced.
"Come on. Let's go." Arturo declared as Kaitlin and I headed to the car with him. I wished that I had just given him the money because it would be a lot less embarrassing than what I had just been through. I had to tell Trey that I would probably never come back.
"So what's the story between you and Theresa?" Kaitlin asked.
"We went out on a few dates in middle school, but we were never serious," I explained.
"This car is hot. Your brother must owe someone a lot of money." Arturo explained as he pulled the tarp off of it. "That dude must be crazier than he is. So why are you back here doing Trey's bitch work? You've got a sexy new body and you don't need any of this. I know he was my best friend, but the guy is trouble."
"I've noticed." I commented as Arturo got in the front seat.
"You don't have to do this." Arturo pointed out. "You've got this cushy new life. What's Trey gonna do?"
"I just want to get this over with." I told him. Also, getting rid of the car would make it so he didn't get in trouble for stealing it. "I want to get it over with and leave."
"You're a lot better person than he is." Arturo declared before I got a text from Rose saying that Summer had come over. It looked like I would lose the bet now. He got the car running and I got in the driver's seat.
I was glad that I was dressed like I was because I looked like I could afford a car like that. There would be questions of what I was doing in Chino with a car like it, but I looked the part. I wished that I had some sunglasses because they would hide my nervousness.
"So did you anything like school plays or the arts when you were younger?" She asked.
"I didn't want to do any of that because I couldn't play the girl parts." I replied. "I don't want to keep talking. I just want to get rid of this car and be done with it. You know your mom is looking for you and she's going to blame me for taking you here. I just want to get you home already."
"I don't want to go home. I want to stay with you." She replied.
"Kaitlin, we're teenagers." I told her. "There's no way that you could move in with me. I knew I needed to change the subject fast. "So, I'm pretty sure that Rose is two-timing Summer and Vicki right now."
"When did Rose become such a womanizer?" Kaitlin joked as we arrived at the destination.
I sat in the car outside. No one was there outside. I didn't want to do it and I wasn't even sure if I could trust the guy that Trey owed money to. I still had my mace, but I kind of wished that I had more. I was putting Kaitlin in a life-threatening situation and her mom definitely wouldn't be happy about that. I would probably not tell anyone about what happened, probably not even Rose because there was a risk that she could tell someone else.
"I'm delivering this car for Trey Atwood." I declared. The owner was a shady bald guy with a beard. He was eating some noodles.
"It's hard to believe that Trey could pull this off considering what a fucking idiot he is." He declared.
"Does this mean that Trey is off the hook or not?" I questioned.
"Well there's something that we call interest Sweet Cheeks." He declared with a perverted grin. I reached into my purse and sprayed him and the two of us started to run. Fortunately, we didn't have to go that far because it turned out that Arturo had followed us. He drove us back to his house and we decided to get back on the road.
I was still breathing quite heavily as we drove. I hoped that my nervousness wouldn't cause me to do anything like run a stop sign or go too fast. I was glad that it was over and I also knew that I was never coming back. No one could pay me to come back to Chino ever again.
I couldn't help but wonder what was happening at home. I wondered if there was a disaster in the kitchen. I couldn't help but wonder if things always went wrong when you had a bunch of people in a house. I figured that there was no way that Rose was smart enough to keep it from Vicki and Summer that she had invited both of them over. I had a feeling that one or both of them was going to hit her and then there were going to leave angrily. Hopefully Rose would learn something from it and never do it again.
I went to the prison to tell Trey that it was done and I was never going to do anything for him again. He was grateful even after everything that I had gone through. I was going to make sure that he paid me back for this someday.
"Now do you see why I didn't want to bring you with me?" I questioned.
"I wonder what's going on at home right now." She declared. "I know my mom and dad are in the same house and Marissa is probably bored out of her mind. Rose probably has her sworn to secrecy so she won't tell Summer. Maybe we should change the bet. If Rose dates Summer, you win and if she dates Vicki, I win. Winner gets 30 bucks."
"How about loser pays for dinner?" I suggested. "That is if you're ever let out of the house again. I need to remind you that what happens in Chino stays in Chino."
"I am so hungry right now." She stated. "Do you think they would mind if we got Chinese?"
"We might as well before you're locked in the tower." I responded. "I don't really like turkey that much anyway."
Suddenly, my phone began to ring. It was Sandy.
"Are you close?" He asked.
"Yeah, and yes I have Kaitlin with me." I replied. "I'm sorry we didn't tell anyone about it."
"How would you feel about picking up some takeout?" He asked. "The bird is kaput and everyone's pissed off and Rose lost both of her dates."
We walked into the house with a bunch of takeout. I was pretty sure that they were not only thrilled to see Kaitlin but also that he had food.
"Honey, I have been worried sick about you." Julie declared. "Why didn't you tell us where you were going?"
"Julie, it's Thanksgiving." Caleb interrupted.
We walked into Rose's room. Apparently, Marissa had left with Summer. She was on her bed with her horse.
"What are you doing?" I asked her.
"Definitely not playing with Captain Oats." She told me. "I screwed up."
"Can we sit with you and Captain Oats?" Kaitlin requested.
"You'll figure this out." I replied as we took a seat.
So there was the Chino part. Theresa is played Camila Mendes (aka someone actually Hispanic.) Also Rose learned the problem with having two girlfriends. Please don't forget to review.