Soon the Thanksgiving holiday rolled around, and the denizens of Elwood City all celebrated it (or didn't celebrate it) in their unique ways.

The sizable Frensky family rented a local lodge to accommodate all of the clan. Francine once again had the pleasure of hearing great-grandpa Frensky tell his stories of deprivation and misery in the Warsaw Ghetto. Once again she neglected to write them down, supposing that she knew them well enough.

In faraway Chicago, Buster and his parents enjoyed a simple, intimate meal together. Arthur was delighted when Buster phoned him and let him know that the Baxter-Mills family would return to Elwood for a visit over Christmas.

The Coopers decided to forego the traditional observance in favor of a day of prayer for the safe return of Odette, who still had not been found.

The Crosswires, who had plenty to be thankful for, hosted a lavish gala at their mansion. Several of Muffy's friends from Uppity Downs, including Mavis, Connor, and Neville, dropped by her house for a social call. Muffy's parents allowed her to spend time with the Coopers, but only when police investigators were involved.

The Powers family enjoyed a humble dinner at their home, with a few relatives in attendance--as well as Jason, whom everyone in the family addressed as "Alan's cousin". Jason ate very little, and seemed more concerned with some mysterious and terrible event that would soon take place.

As a result of winning a coin toss with Muffy, Fern had the privilege of inviting Mrs. Stiles (whose relations with her own family were less than warm) to the Walters extended family dinner. Everyone present was amazed at the change in the former teacher, who was now cheerful and animated instead of moody and distant. One of Fern's relatives, an executive at a Hollywood studio, even discussed the possibility of giving Mrs. Stiles a small role in a new movie.

Angela Ratburn, still a persona non grata among her family, was not invited to their holiday dinner--but, in her usual dramatic fashion, showed up anyway. After seeing that the woman was determined not to leave, Mr. Ratburn and Rodentia decided to simply ignore her. Making matters worse was the fact that Angela's pregnancy was becoming all too obvious.

At the Messersmith family dinner, Marina was hard-pressed to hide from her relatives the fact that her enhanced senses eliminated the need for a cane. As she sat at the large table and enjoyed turkey and cranberry sauce, she came to realize that she could tell exactly what was going on in the minds of all her family members and relatives...simultaneously.

As for Beat and her parents, they flew to England and watched as David Beckham led his Manchester United team to a narrow victory over Wolverhampton. Beat spent much of her time wishing that Francine could have been with her.

The prospect of seeing her parents again made Sue Ellen forget about her painful breakup with Arthur. She and Carla traveled to Botswana, where they met up with the Armstrongs, who had flown in from Jakarta. Rather than engage in any sort of traditional holiday celebration, they departed into the Okavango Delta for a safari.

Thanksgiving at the Read house was as hectic as Arthur had ever remembered it. Swarms of relatives descended upon the spot--Grandpa Dave, Grandma Thora, Cousin Lucy, Cousin Mo, Uncle Fred, etc., etc., etc. Nadine and her mother, who lacked the means to visit their nearest relatives, were invited as well.

As the afternoon wound down on Thanksgiving day, Arthur decided to invite Alan, Francine, and Fern over for a little jazz performance (sans Sue Ellen, of course). To the delight of the extended Read family, they played one jazz standard after another to the accompaniment of Fern's silky-smooth voice.

As Uncle Fred played with D.W. and Nadine, the Tibble twins appeared, their bellies grotesquely swollen. "Hi, D.W.," said Timmy. "Guess what we did."

"Uh...you had a contest to see who could eat the most," D.W. conjectured.

"That's right," said Tommy, groaning and clutching his stomach.

"So, who won?" asked Nadine.

"I did," said Timmy.

"No, I did," Tommy shot back.

The twins then started to fight, but soon found that they couldn't reach each other with their fists because of their planetoid-sized bellies. Within seconds they had landed on their backs, hardly able to support their own weight.

"Ooooohhh," moaned Timmy. "I've fallen and I can't get up."

Another hour passed. The Read relatives were having such a good time that they stubbornly refused to leave. The phone rang and Mrs. Read answered it, struggling to hear the voice over the din of music, conversation, and merriment. As she listened, her expression turned into one of fear and concern.

Arthur and his friends were in the middle of an Irving Berlin song when Mrs. Read interrupted them. "Arthur!" she called. "Everybody, listen. I just got off the phone with Hank Armstrong. Sue Ellen's been hurt."

The kids fell silent. Their faces looked pained, especially Alan's.

"Oh, no!" cried Fern. "What happened?"

"Their plane had to make an emergency landing," Mrs. Read explained. "Sue Ellen broke her left arm very badly. She's in the hospital."

"The hospital." The words echoed in Alan's troubled mind.

"Will she be all right?" asked Arthur.

"I think so," Mrs. Read replied.

"What part of Africa are they in, Mrs. Read?" asked Alan, his voice quivering.

"Somewhere in Botswana," said Arthur's mother. "I don't know exactly. He said that she'll be moved to the capital soon so she can get better care."

"Knowing the Armstrongs, they're probably way off the beaten path," Francine remarked.

"Botswana has one of the highest AIDS incidences in Africa," said Alan quietly.

"Yeah, but she's in a hospital," said Arthur. "Everything's sterilized in the hospital, right?"

"How do you know so much about AIDS rates in Africa?" Francine asked Alan.

The boy didn't answer, but simply stared into space.

Returning home ten minutes later, Alan found that his parents were still cleaning the mess left behind by their humble dinner. To his relief, Jason was still present, assisting with the cleanup.

"Jason," Alan called. "My room. Now."

His curiosity piqued, Jason laid down his rag and followed Alan into the bedroom. Alan closed the door behind them.

The two boys didn't bother to sit down. "Jason," said Alan seriously, "I've never told anybody what I saw when I went into the future with the time tricycle. I'm guessing that at some time in the future, I'll tell you."

Jason nodded. "That's right."

"Mr. Armstrong just called from Africa," Alan continued. "They had a plane accident. Sue Ellen's in the hospital. I get the feeling she's not in one of the nicer hospitals."

"According to my timeline, Sue Ellen will die of AIDS two and a half years from now," Jason told him. "Whether that's a result of her hospital stay in Botswana, nobody really knows."

"But what else could it be?" said Alan, his voice rising in pitch.

"You and your friends will ask yourselves that question many times," Jason calmly informed him, "and you'll never find an answer. I think you should just leave it alone."

"But Sue Ellen could die!" Alan snapped.

Jason shrugged his shoulders. "Everybody dies, Alan."

Alan sat down on the edge of the bed and groaned plaintively.

"I could go back in time and stop her from going to Botswana," he suggested.

Jason sat on the bed next to him. "Remember what we talked about," he warned Alan. "You don't know what the consequences would be. You can't even be sure if it would save her."

Alan looked at Jason earnestly. "Is that what you came into the past for?" he asked. "To prevent me from trying to save Sue Ellen's life?"

Jason turned his face away from Alan and didn't speak.

(To be continued...)