"Who wants turkey?" called Jamal as he walked out of the kitchen at Ramsey's carrying an empty planner.
"What turkey, Bro?" asked Jack. "Looks like an empty plate to me! You didn't save any for us?"
"Hey, man. Look… at… the… platter. See? Turkey!" said Jamal as he showed them the design on the platter.
"Yeah, yeah, very funny, Jamal," said Chris. "How soon will dinner be ready, I'm starving!"
"Pretty soon, Allie said about 15 minutes," Jamal answered. "I just had to do the turkey thing! You looked pretty funny when you saw the empty plate!" Jamal and Jack touched fists and laughed at the joke on Chris.
"Come on, me and Allie ain't doin' all the work today, you know! If you wanna eat you gotta help carry the food!" Jamal told the group. Jamal led Jack, Chris and their dates into the kitchen to help Alison carry out the feast.
After carrying out the food, Chris and Jack playfully argued over who got to sit at he head of the table—the owner who paid for the business or the owner who worked the business. Finally, they offered the seat to Alison as the founder of their feast. They were having a fun time, laughing and joking and being utterly silly. Jack had been dating Nikki, an intern from the hospital for a few months and Megan was a waitress at the restaurant. They fit in with the group and Alison was happy not to be the only girl present.
Chris stood up and said, "I get to say grace, okay?"
The group started playfully grumbling and teasing Chris, until Jack stood on a chair and shouted over them, "Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub! Dig in, everybody!" to which everyone laughed and started passing the plates.
About halfway through the meal, there was knock on the door to the restaurant. "Don't worry, I'll get rid of them," Jack told the group as he went over to the door. "Sorry, we're closed for the holiday, this is a private party! Come back tomorrow!"
"Jack… is that you, Jack?" called a woman's voice.
"Uh, yeah, it's Jack. Who's this?" he answered without opening the door.
"Elizabeth. I'm looking for my daughter. Have you seen her?" Jack turned around and looked at Alison and Jamal—Jamal was making gestures and mouthing "NO! NO!" and Alison was shaking her head and pointing at the door.
"Sorry, Elizabeth, she's not here! Did you try her apartment?" Jack said. Chris was groaning in the background. His brief relationship with Elizabeth had ended badly and she was the last person he wanted see on his holiday.
"I've been to the apartment and I've been to Lucy's… she's not at either place. I have some bad news to tell her, and I'm afraid of what she might do," Elizabeth hollered through the door. "Rafe and Livvie are at Lucy's and I don't know what she'll do when she finds out!"
Alison had gotten up from the table and went over and opened the door. She was furious with her mother. "Why aren't you in New York where you belong? Can't you keep your nose out of other people's business? I know all about Rafe being at Lucy's… she's my friend… she told me all about it! Now we were trying to have a good time until you decided to ruin it!"
"Oh, Alison, baby… I've been so worried about you!" Elizabeth fawned over her. "When I saw Rafe and Livvie, I was sure you'd gone and done something to yourself!"
"Mother! You know me better than that! That's what YOU would do! Not me!" Alison said indignantly. "Where's Raoul or Ralph or whatever his name? I thought you were spending the holiday with him!"
"Oh, Alison," Elizabeth sobbed dramatically. "He's spending Thanksgiving with his WIFE! I just knew I had to come and be with my baby because you're the only one who understands!"
"Actually, Mother, the only thing that I understand right now is that you're trying to ruin another holiday! I suggest you go back to the hotel and order room service. We really don't have room for you today… and besides, Chris is here." Alison told her mother firmly.
"Oh, Chris is here is he? Well he and I have some unfinished business," she said as she pushed her way into the restaurant. "Why Georges…I mean, Chris! It's splendid to see you again!"
"Oh, no," Jack muttered and Jamal replied, "You can say that again, bro!"
It would be many years before Jack and Chris decided to hold another Thanksgiving dinner. After Elizabeth's intrusion, the whole party fizzled. Finally, Nikki and Megan went with Alison to the kitchen to split up the food so that Alison and Jamal could take Elizabeth back to Alison's apartment. After they left, Jack, Chris and their dates headed over to Jack's house for the DVD's they had rented. Later Jack and Chris promised each other that they would rather not celebrate Thanksgiving again than spend it anywhere but at Lucy's tofu turkey feast.
Elizabeth's intrusion fortunately didn't last very long. As soon as she had seen Rafe and Livvie talking to each other, she left in search of Alison. Being Elizabeth, she had jumped to another wrong conclusion, but Lucy was just glad that she had left. There was no room in Lucy's heart to forgive Elizabeth for what she had done to Ian, and she was glad that she didn't have to pretend to be happy to see her for more than a few minutes.
Livvie reminded Lucy of the girl she was when she first came to Port Charles. She was wearing simple clothing and jewelry, none of the Frederick's of Hollywood style that she had affected when she was with Caleb. Her make-up was natural and she wore only a light application of lip-gloss instead of bright red lipstick. She arrived with Kevin, Colleen and Erin about half an hour before Lucy was planning to serve dinner. She shyly walked up to Lucy and gave her a hug and thanked her for allowing her to come. Since everyone had been warned of her arrival, they were all friendly and took their cues from her behavior.
Victor and Mary brought Frank and Neal with them. Serena was so happy to see her friend; it had been a couple of years since Neal had moved to Europe to live with his mom. They went into the family room to check out Serena's collection of movies and music, and the younger kids played around the adults.
When Christina ran over to give Erin a big hug, Livvie looked at Lucy and said, "This is little Christina?" At Lucy's nod, she bent down and asked the little girl if she remembered her big sister. Christina shook her head, but then gave her a hug and said she liked having sisters and one more would be great. Livvie sat down in the floor to play with Christina, and was joined by Danny and Erin. Ian carried Caroline around on his shoulder, proudly showing off his daughter for everyone to see. He looked more relaxed than he'd seemed in weeks, and Lucy was relieved at his good mood.
Rafe was pleasant to everyone, although Ian and Lucy both noticed he didn't say much about where he'd been for the last year. He was very vague, which probably meant that he was still meddling in the supernatural. As long as he didn't talk about it, though, they were willing to just enjoy his visit. Even after everyone was there, Rafe kept looking at the door, as if he hoped Alison might decide to show up. Lucy felt a pang of pity for her cousin, because she knew it was wishful thinking. She had gotten up early with Caroline for a quick breakfast at Alison's—in spite of all the work she had to do—she couldn't help but worry about her. Lucy considered Alison much more than a friend, and Alison still considered Lucy the closest thing to a mother she'd ever had. Alison told Lucy all about their dinner plans, and Lucy was satisfied that Alison was in good hands with "the boys" as she called them.
The afternoon and evening were spent in pleasant conversation and camaraderie, but seemed to end too soon. Although Lucy was exhausted, it was a good kind of tired. She and Ian walked each of their guests out to their cars, genuinely happy for the events of the day. They returned to the house arm in arm, and went into the kitchen to find a special bottle of wine to share.
"I'm so glad you hired the caterers. The last thing I wanted to do tonight is clean up a mess!" Ian told Lucy.
She smiled and kissed him before pulling out the bottle of wine and handing it to him. "It was a wonderful day, wasn't it?"
"Aye, it was. And did you notice how Caroline enjoyed all that attention? She loved it—being passed around and played with. She'll never be the shy one, I'll wager."
"As if any of our children could ever be shy! Did you notice how Christina latched onto Livvie? It was so nice seeing Livvie! And I never thought I'd feel that way again. It's like the girl I knew has come back—and that other witch is gone forever. Doc seemed pleased, didn't he?" Lucy said with a smile.
"Yeah, Kevin was in a good mood tonight. I like him and Colleen together—and I love the way they always include Erin! You know, our children would be so sad without their friend. I can't believe that Colleen kept her hidden away from us for all those years," Ian commented.
"I don't exactly think she kept her hidden, she just kept her personal life… you know… personal. It was never anyone's business that she had a sister with Down's syndrome. If her parents hadn't left her with so many decisions to make about her care, we might never have met her; but I'm glad it forced Colleen to confide in Kevin—our children are richer for knowing Erin. She's a wonderful playmate, and I've noticed Serena is very gentle around her."
"Is this a private party, or can I join you?" Rafe said as he entered the kitchen.
"Sure, the more the merrier!" said Ian.
"Hey, wait a minute! That's how we got into this mess in the first place!" Lucy said as she playfully tried to tickle him. "What you got there, Rafe?"
"It's the Book for Ian. I went to the bank yesterday and got it for him. Take your time with it. I've added you both to the safety deposit box, so you don't have to decide anything this weekend," he answered her.
"Thanks, Rafe, I'll just run this up to our room," Ian answered as he took the book from the younger man's hands. "I'm honestly not ready to read this, so I'm glad you understand."
"I promised you all the time you need—and I meant it," Rafe said softly. "You're the only family I have, and you're too important to risk losing over a Book."
"Do you want some wine, Rafe?" Lucy asked as she poured a glass for herself and Ian.
"If you don't mind, I think I'll go for a walk. I need to clear my head before I go to bed. I'll see you in the morning, okay?" he said.
Lucy nodded and said, "Bye" as he let himself out the door.
Ian returned to the kitchen after putting the book away in their bedroom, "Where's Rafe?"
"He's trying to absorb it all, I think. He was convinced that Alison couldn't resist seeing him—now he's got to face the fact that he's probably lost her for good," Lucy said softly, handing him his glass.
They went to the living room and sat on the couch, with their arms wrapped around each other. "Have I told you lately that you're my favorite wife?" Ian asked her playfully.
"Well, I better be," Lucy answered with a twinkle in her eye. She tried to stifle a yawn, but Ian just yawned with her.
"Ahh, I think it's time for me to be heading to bed, love," he said softly. "Perhaps I could interest you in joining me?"
Lucy's eyes danced as she answered, "Why Dr. Thornhart, whatever do you have in mind?"
Ian growled low in his throat, "Come with me and find out!"