The drive home seemed to last an eternity for Steven, and yet it had given him time to reflect on his first Thanksgiving with his great-grandparents. He never could've imagined that Harriet and Erich could be so affable and relatively easy to get along with. Then again, he never could've imagined that he'd have a set of great-grandparents that were still alive. That was certainly a pleasant surprise. Still, Steven couldn't help but think about what the meeting between Ulysses and Whitney would probably be like. He played out a number of scenarios in his head, one of which ended with Ulysses and Whitney becoming sworn enemies. Another scenario had Ulysses and Whitney become awkward acquaintances, and that was the scenario that seemed the most likely to him. Even if he did manage to work in a meeting between the two of them by Christmas, what then? Where could they go from there? He'd have to figure that out later when he actually got around to asking his grandmother.

But first, Steven had to go back with the Scheeles to their house. By this point, he was starting to feel fatigued. He probably shouldn't have eaten so much food at his great-grandparents' house, but he didn't want to be rude or make them think their food was terrible or anything. Still, it was only about 7:30. He couldn't just turn in yet. He talked with Circe and Athena for a bit.

"So, uh, how are you guys doing now?" Steven asked his aunts.

"Oh, we're just fine," Circe simply replied. "With how the economy is, Athena and I have been staying here until we can improve our credit scores and move out."

"And I just got engaged to Tariq, the love of my life," Athena added. "Oh, he's been on cloud nine ever since I accepted his proposal."

"So what exactly does Tariq do?" Steven asked Athena.

"Oh, Tariq just became a paralegal. It may take a while before he can actually become a full-fledged lawyer."

Steven had no idea what it was like to be a paralegal or even a lawyer. "Oh, that's cool, I guess. I bet it pays well."

"You bet your ass it does. Lawyers tend to get paid thousands of dollars a year. That's the amount of money Tariq will get whenever he moves up to being a lawyer."

"Thousands of dollars? Wow, that's a lot."

"Yeah, no doubt about that."

"So what about Circe and Keanu? What have they been up to lately?"

"Circe?" Athena tried to think back on what exactly it was her sister had told her. "Oh, right, she's been working as a waitress in a diner since April. She's doing alright, I guess, but she feels like she's not getting enough attention from the customers."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I guess people are sort of ignoring her in favor of the other waitresses. Methinks it might be because she's Black, but I can't be sure. For all I know, it could just be because she's a neophyte."

"So what can we do to help her?"

Athena shrugged. "I don't know. Circe, can you think of anything that might help you at the diner?"

Circe just shook her head. "I can't really think of anything right now sadly. Tammy's the only friend I've made at the diner so far, but she's thinking about retiring soon, so I don't know how much longer she'll be working over there."

"Mmm..." Athena then remembered that she was supposed to have been talking about what Keanu was up to. "Oh, right, Keanu thinks his girlfriend Nevaeh might be pregnant, but he doesn't want Dad to know until the pregnancy's been confirmed."

Keanu nodded as if to confirm what Athena had just said. "Nevaeh has also been worried about what her folks would think of me."

"Why is she worried?" Steven asked curiously.

"Well, her folks are racist towards anyone who's not white. She thinks her folks will disown her if they find out I'm the baby daddy."

"So what are you going to do when that happens?"

"She'll probably move in with me and the rest of the family."

"I'm sorry to hear that about Nevaeh. I hope you guys can get through it."

Keanu couldn't help but look up. "I hope so, too. Otherwise... I don't know if I even want to think about it."

Later that night, Steven decided to turn in. Thanksgiving for him this year had been somewhat pleasant, but at the same time, he couldn't help but sorrowfully think about the Thanksgiving he could've had with his dad, girlfriend, and friends instead. He knew that Greg, Connie, Ruby, Sapphire, Garnet, Amy, Belinda, and just about everyone else missed not having him around for this special holiday. At the same time, however, he was glad to meet new people from a totally different side of the family. He'd have to be sure to make up for it whenever he came back to Beach City.

Right now, the important thing for Steven to do was get some sleep. However, there was that aching feeling that he needed to do just one thing before getting some shuteye. He started a FaceTime call with Connie.

"Hey, Connie," Steven greeted tiredly. "What's up?"

"I'm good," Connie replied. "What about you? How was Thanksgiving?"

"It was great. I got to meet my great-grandparents and great-uncles and great-aunts and everything."

"You did? Cool."

"Yeah, tell me about it. My great-grandfather immigrated from Germany in the late '50s or so, and he has so many stories he likes to tell about his childhood and stuff."

"Cool. Your great-grandparents sound like interesting people to get to know."

"They sure are. Anyway, how was your Thanksgiving?"

"It was alright, nothing too special. Mom and Dad and I spent it with all four grandparents this year. I especially liked my nani's cooking."

"What did she make?"

Connie started listing off the things her maternal grandmother had made. "Turkey and chutney, raita, scalloped potatoes, rice pilafs, pumpkin pie, et cetera. She made a lot of food, Steven." She beamed up. "Oh! She also asked about you, Steven. I had to tell her that you couldn't be here because of your mental health. She must've thought we'd broken up or something."

"Aw, your nani must have been so disappointed."

"Yeah. I promised her that you'd be back for the next Thanksgiving, though."

"Thanks..." A brief pause followed. "Did you tell your nani about... you know?"

Connie shook her head. "I'd rather she didn't, to be honest. She'd probably think I did something to deserve it. If she found out what happened to me at the Halloween party, I'd never hear the end of it. She's one of those people."

"Ah, I'm glad you didn't, then."

"Me too." Connie made a brief glance to something just off-screen. "Oh my God, it's almost midnight. I should really get to bed. I've got homework I should be working on over break."

"Oh, oh yeah! You better go! Talk again soon?"

"I'd like that very much. Love you, Steven."

"Love you too, Connie."

The two young lovers gave each other air kisses over the phone. Steven then proceeded to end the FaceTime call so Connie wouldn't have to and went right to sleep.