I don't own Sailor Moon, nor did I create it. Naoko Takeuchi created Sailor Moon, this is just my alternate universe version, a sort of "If I created Sailor Moon" story...
Note: Any dialogue written like this, unless another language is specified, is in Japanese. Furthermore, any dialogue in Japanese will use Japanese naming convention, which puts family(last) name first, followed by given name.
CHAPTER 10: A DAY TO GIVETHANKS
NOVEMBER 27, 1986
John McCoy got up around 7:30. He got dressed, putting on a blue and white striped button down shirt with short sleeves over a blue T-shirt, blue jeans, and black and white checkered Vans slip-ons, along with a blue denim jacket, decorated with pins and patches of some of his favorite bands. He went downstairs, and made himself a glass of Tang. "Hope you didn't forget what today is," Caryn Frehley, his mom, said as he drank it.
"I'm sure you didn't forget," John said. "After all, you were there."
"Seventeen years ago today," Caryn said. "I entered Tripler Army Medical Center as a mother of one, and left as a mother of two. Happy birthday."
"Thanks," John said.
"You ready to go to breakfast?" Caryn asked.
"Of course," John said. "Where are we going this year?"
"Arthur's," Trish Frehley, Caryn's twin sister, said.
"The place in La Habra?" John asked.
"Yes," Caryn said. "On the corner of La Habra and Harbor. We'll meet you there."
John got in his car, a 1966 Ford Mustang convertible, in red. He drove to Arthur's Coffee Shop, a restaurant in La Habra, on the corner of Harbor Boulevard and La Habra Boulevard, across the street from both Meltebeke Volkswagen(on La Habra) and Burch Ford(on Harbor). He parked between a black 1962 Volkswagen Type 2 microbus and his mom's 1985 Mercury Cougar. He entered the restaurant, and was greeted by his mom and aunt, who were accompanied by two younger women, who appeared to be about 7-8 years older than John. One of the women, a blonde, was wearing a white peasant blouse worn off the shoulders, blue skirt hemmed halfway between the knee and ankle, nylons, and black ballet flats, while the other, a redhead, was wearing a tan sweater worn off the shoulders, brown leather belt, and slim cut stonewashed blue jeans tucked into knee high brown boots. "Happy birthday, little brother," the blonde said, hugging him.
"Thanks, Michelle," John said.
"Happy birthday, John," the redhead said, hugging him, and giving him a peck on the cheek.
"Thanks, Penelope," John said. "What are you two doing here, anyways?"
"We were in the neighborhood," Penelope said.
"Actually," Michelle said, "We talked to mom last week, she invited us down for Thanksgiving dinner. And also, since Thanksgiving falls on your birthday, we thought we'd come to see you."
After breakfast, they all went back to the house, where Caryn and Trish began making Thanksgiving dinner. They were having the usual: turkey, with stuffing(both cooked in the bird and on the side), Honeybaked Ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams, green bean casserole(made with cream of potato soup), cranberry sauce, corn, rolls with butter, pumpkin and pecan pies(Penelope was allergic to pumpkin, so her family always had pecan, which Michelle preferred), with ginger ale to drink. They weren't going to be alone, they had invited guests. Naoko and Ami Mizuno, as well as James, Cecily, and Mina Aino, since for both families, this was their first Thanksgiving in the United States.
Meanwhile, at the Tsukino house, they were also having Thanksgiving, despite the fact Kenji, Ikuko, and Shingo were Japanese, although Kenji and Shingo, as well as Kenji and Ikuko's adopted daughter Usagi, were all born in the United States. Like most families, they were having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, although instead of turkey, they were having a Honeybaked Ham, along with dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams, corn on the cob(Shingo had deduced from depictions that corn on the cob was served at the first Thanksgiving), cranberry sauce, rolls with butter, and pumpkin pie. Like Caryn and Trish Frehley and their son John, the Tsukino family was also having guests for Thanksgiving. Sharon Hino and her daughter Rae, as well as Jessica Kino, and her daughter Makoto.
Later that afternoon, Naoko and Ami arrived at the Frehley/McCoy home. "Thank you for inviting us," Naoko said.
"You must be John's girlfriend," Michelle said to Ami.
."Hello," Ami said, in halting, but improved since she first arrived in the United States, English. "My name is Mizuno Ami."
Nice to meet you, Ami, Penelope said. What do you expect? I took four years of Japanese in high school, plus an additional two in college.
I learned it from my dearly departed stepfather, Michelle said. Nice to meet you, Ami.
A few minutes, Mina arrived, along with her parents, James and Cecily. "Thank you for inviting my family and me," James said.
"This is our first Thanksgiving," Cecily said. "At least, our first Thanksgiving in America."
"It's our first Thanksgiving in America as well," Naoko said. "At least, my first American Thanksgiving. When I was a teenager, I spent a year as an exchange student living in Regina, Saskatchewan, and I got to experience a Canadian Thanksgiving."
"I didn't know they had Thanksgiving in Canada," Penelope said.
"Oh yes," Cecily said. "I was born in Ottawa, and lived there until I was 15. They have Thanksgiving there, it's the second Monday in October."
Meanwhile, at the Tsukino home, Makoto had just arrived with her mother. "It's nice of you to invite us for Thanksgiving dinner," Jessica said.
"The same goes for Rae and I," Sharon Hino said.
"You're welcome," Kenji said.
"It smells delicious," Rae said.
"I hope nobody minds," Ikuko said, "but we normally have ham for Thanksgiving instead of turkey."
"That's not a problem," Sharon said.
"I believe Thanksgiving isn't about what you eat," Jessica said, "but about family, and what you're thankful for."
"Isn't family about traditions?" Rae asked.
"That's a good point," Kenji said. "Family is all about tradition, and sometimes, family traditions revolve around food or beverages."
"But families also have traditions that don't revolve around food," Rae said.
"True," Ikuko said. "Traditions can be anything. And you're right, family is about traditions."
"Like how eating ham instead of turkey is a Tsukino family tradition," Makoto said.
"You could say that," Ikuko said. "Another tradition we have, before dinner, everybody has to tell one thing they're thankful for."
"Is it okay if I tell mine first?" Makoto asked.
"Please tell us," Kenji said.
"I'm thankful I'm at El Dorado," Makoto said. "There, I'm not labeled a troublemaker, and I actually have a few friends."
"I'm glad things have worked out for you," Usagi said. "Anyways, I'm thankful that after my mother died giving birth to me, Kenji and Ikuko Tsukino adopted me, and took me into their home, and made me part of their family."
"Well, I'm thankful for the First Amendment," Shingo said. "I like the fact that there's a law to protect my right to call President Reagan a nincompoop."
"Good point," Jessica said. "I'm thankful for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who put their lives on the line to protect Shingo's right to call President Reagan a nincompoop."
"I'm thankful for rock & roll," Rae said. "It give me an outlet to express my feelings and creativity, and to let out my aggression in a healthy manner."
"I'm thankful to be surrounded by friends and family," Ikuko said.
"I'm thankful I decided to become a teacher," Sharon said. "At first, I thought it was just a paycheck, but every day, I get to mold the minds of the young, and shape the future."
"Well, I'm thankful we live in a time where putting a man on the Moon is something to read about in a history book instead of a science fiction magazine," Kenji said. "I know the first Moon landing was over 15 years ago, but the advancements in science and technology are still improving life as we know it."
Meanwhile, back at the Frehley home, everybody was about ready to sit down to dinner. Everything had been set on a serving table, almost buffet style. They had both turkey and Honeybaked Ham, 3 different types of stuffing(cooked in the bird, baked on the side, and cornbread with walnuts), mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams, green bean casserole(made with cream of potato soup instead of cream of mushroom, one of Caryn's traditions), buttered corn, cranberry sauce, and rolls with butter, and several 2 liter bottles of Canada Dry ginger ale. Before they ate, everybody joined hands in a circle. "John," Caryn said, "Time to say Grace. Care to do the honors?"
"Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, yay God!" John said.
"Now that's out of the way," Trish said, "Anyone care to say Grace for real?"
"Dear God," Michelle said, "Thank you for this bounty we are about to receive, please bless this food that will nourish our bodies as you nourish our souls. Please bless the United States of America, and bless the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Please bless those gathered here to enjoy this bounty, and bless those less fortunate. In Jesus' name I pray, amen."
"Amen," everyone else said in unison.
"So what was that what John said?" Cecily asked, as everyone started fixing their plates.
"One of our traditions," Caryn said. "Every year, John says that before we actually say Grace."
"When he was 4," Michelle said, "our grandpa asked John to say Grace, and that was the only prayer he knew. Even grandma thought it was funny, and she's as serious as anything when it comes to prayer. Of course, she knew that asking a 4 year old to say Grace on Thanksgiving isn't the best idea, so after everyone stopped laughing, she said Grace for real. Every year since then, before someone says Grace for real, John says that. It stopped being funny around 1979, but it became a tradition. To be honest, I could just picture John at 40 still saying it, it's that much of a tradition."
"It's like how some bands have to play certain songs in concert," John said. "It's expected."
Meanwhile, back at the Tsukino home, it was time for dinner. "Who wants to say Grace?" Ikuko asked.
"I will," Sharon said. "Dear God, please bless this bounty we are about to receive. May it nourish our bodies, to give us the strength to do Your bidding. In Jesus' name we pray, amen."
"Amen," everyone else said.
Later that evening, John was in his room, practicing his guitar. He had a small practice amplifier, and had his guitar plugged into it, and was listening through headphones. He was playing the lead parts of "The Oath", one of his favorite KISS songs, when he heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" he asked, putting the guitar on a stand next to his bed, and turning his amp off.
"Mind if I come in?" Penelope Wright asked.
"Sure," John said, as Penelope came into the room. She was wearing a strapless nightgown, with the skirt hemmed just a couple inches above the ankles. She was barefoot, and her toenails were painted fuchsia, while she had a French manicure.
"I just wanted to talk to you for a bit," Penelope said, putting a French manicured hand on John's shoulder. "Of course, you probably guessed Michelle's already asleep."
"Of course," John said "It's been like that every Thanksgiving as long as I can remember, except for the last couple years, since you two moved to Berkeley. Michelle has dinner, and is out for the count by 7:30."
"She wasn't like that the two years we lived in Berkeley," Penelope said.
"What did you do there," John said, "not eat until 8:00?"
"How'd you know?" Penelope asked.
"Lucky guess," John said. "She has her quirks, but there's nobody I would rather have for an older sister."
"I think she's pretty groovy myself," Penelope said.
"Did you just say groovy?" John asked. "Need I remind you, in just 5 weeks, it'll be 1987. Nobody uses that word anymore."
"Tell that to my students," Penelope said. "They talk like they learned English from watching reruns of The Brady Bunch. Sometimes, I would like to remind them that it's 1986, not 1968."
"I'd thought about going into teaching myself," John said.
"The money's not all that great," Penelope said. "And contrary to popular belief, you don't always get summers off. But the rewards do make up for it. And that's one thing I like about being in Berkeley. Some places, the minute they find out I'm a lesbian, and in a committed relationship with another woman, they'd just about have an aneurysm, or fire me. Or both, I suppose. But where I am now, it's not all that big a deal. The school where I teach now, the principal's gay, and I have a few students whose parents are same sex couples, both male and female. It just really depends on where you are."
"Yeah," John said. "I know Berkeley's a lot more liberal than Orange County. Seems like the Bay Area in general is a lot more tolerant about gays and lesbians. Come to think of it, there are a lot of things they're more tolerant of in the Bay Area than Orange County. And since I've been in Berkeley, I've seen a few things I'd never seen before. Like, for example, two of my students this year are twins."
"I thought after kindergarten, twins were separated," John said.
"There are a few exceptions," Penelope said. "A small school, only one class for that grade or subject, parents request they be put in the same class, or, in the case of the twins in my class, they're conjoined."
"How are they joined?" John asked.
"At the torso," Penelope said. "A band from the base of the sternum to the navel. They could easily be separated, but their parents opted to wait until the girls decided whether or not they ever wanted to be separated. Anyways, it's good talking to you. I know you're Michelle's brother, but you've always been like a brother to me. Speaking of Michelle, she and I are planning on getting married."
"I didn't know that was legal," John asked.
"It's not," Penelope said. "At least, it won't be legally recognized by any of the 50 states. But that doesn't matter to us. All that matters is we're in love, and we don't need official recognition for it. We haven't decided on when we're going to do it, Maybe this summer, so you can come. We definitely want you there."
"I'd love to be there," John said.
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