After Harriet had spent some time making the last preparations of her food, it would finally be time for Steven and the rest of the family to start eating. The house was filled with many different wonderful scents. From the herbs over the cooked turkey, the spices in the pumpkin pie, and the new scent of buttery Hawaiian rolls just being taken out of the oven, each was enough to make Circe and Athena's mouths water. Meanwhile, a football game blared in the living room, with most of Ulysses' brothers, uncles, cousins, and even a few aunts avidly watching the score.

The apron was frayed and stained with many years of use, but it did its job, keeping Harriet's navy muumuu decorated with flowers free from oily residue.

With Harriet just now putting everything on the table, it wasn't long before it was finally time to start eating. The elderly matriarch called out to her husband and other relatives to join them at the dinner table. Once everyone was finally seated, Harriet decided to give them full permission to eat, but not before saying grace first. Steven joined along despite having doubts that there was even a god. He wasn't about to insult his great-grandparents by not joining in. After everyone had said grace, it was finally time to eat.

Steven only managed to grab some of the food items that didn't have meat or were pieces of meat. Harriet couldn't help but look at him curiously when he was doing this.

"Ulysses, why is Steven not getting any turkey?" Harriet asked her son.

"He's vegetarian, Mom," Ulysses simply replied.

"Well, that's no reason to turn down turkey. I spent the better part of the afternoon cooking the damn thing."

Ulysses just looked at his mother flatly. "Mom. Just let him eat what he wants."

"Fine." Harriet then muttered under her breath, "These kids and their gluten-free, anti-GMO diets... I swear to God..."

"Grandma," Keanu scolded her.

Harriet seemed to lower her eyes in shame. "Sorry, baby. Didn't mean to insult you."

With Thanksgiving dinner over with, Steven decided to join his great-grandfather and the other newfound relatives in the living room. Steven didn't pay much attention to the football game unfolding on television. Sports were never really his thing anyway. He instead decided to spend part of his time checking his phone to see if he had gotten any text messages from Connie since he left Beach City. His great-grandfather sat beside him and started striking up a conversation.

"So... Steven," Erich said. "I just want to know how you've been lately. Ulysses has told me and Harriet so much about you."

"Oh yeah, I'm doing fine," Steven simply replied. "I'm actually doing a lot better now than I was several months ago."

"So, uh, what exactly happened to you several months ago? From what I heard, you tried to take your own life. Something pretty bad must have happened to you, huh?"

Steven rapidly shook his head. "Oh, no, no. I don't want to burden you with that kind of stuff."

Erich just lowered his head. "Oh. That's fair, I suppose. People have different ways of coping with life. Some of them aren't as orthodox as others, but it varies on the individual."

"I'm glad you understand."

Erich cleared his throat nervously. "Of course. You're a smart kid, Steven. You know that? You have cared far more about how people feel than you have cared for yourself... but I know that was almost your fatal flaw."

"Yeah, I guess that goes without saying."

"Of course it does, but I wanted to make sure you didn't forget that. You have people who love you, people who have gone to the ends of the earth for you, people who have sacrificed their own hopes and dreams just to be there for you. I want you to always remember the people around you who have cared for you and protected you."

Steven smiled at him. "Thanks. I'll have to keep that mind."

As if in the blink of an eye, the Thanksgiving celebration had wrapped up and everyone started heading out for home. Just as Ulysses and his family were preparing to gather up leftovers to eat over the next several days, Steven hung out with his great-grandparents and told them more about how his life had been going for him.

"Oh, you sweet baby," Harriet cooed at her great-grandson. "You should consider yourself lucky to have a girlfriend like that."

"Yeah, she really is awesome," Steven agreed. "We've been through so much. I don't think I could imagine life without her. We're jam buddies."

Erich chuckled. "That's nice. Be sure to let us know when you plan to propose to her again."

Steven didn't quite know what to say to that, especially given that he'd made the first marriage proposal before his suicide attempt. "Actually, I think I'll hold off on that until she's in college."

"Fair enough. You're both still young. You need time to grow before you can make that big step in life."

"Yeah, I'm glad you understand." Steven started getting up from off the couch. "Well, I gotta go now. It was nice meeting you guys."

Erich practically grinned at his great-grandson. "You too, Steven. You are absolutely remarkable to us and the people around you. I think it's safe to say that Harriet and I are proud to have you as our great-grandson."

Steven gave his great-grandfather a warm smile. "Thanks, that means a lot to me."

"My pleasure. Alright, hopefully, we'll get to see each other again around Christmas."

Steven had already made plans to introduce Ulysses and his family to his grandma and aunts, but he decided to quickly say something. "Me too. If we can't, well, there's Zoom."

"You know, I still don't understand what that is. Is it like a phone service or something?"

"It's a video conference program. You use it to hold meetings with people you can't necessarily meet up with."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense. Will you show me sometime?

It was Ulysses' turn to speak up. "I could show you, Dad. Alright, Steven, we gotta go. It's almost nine."

Erich looked intrigued. "Thanks, son. Alright, everyone. Be safe. Hopefully, I'll see you all next year."

Steven, Ulysses, Penelope, Circe, Athena, and Keanu all waved and said their goodbyes to their loved ones while they made their way to the car. As quickly as he could, Ulysses pulled the van he was driving out of the street and onto the road for what was sure to be a long ride home.