JD woke up on Thanksgiving morning, being greeted by his Polynesian friend.
"Good morning." she said, seeing him open his eyes.
The moment he woke up, he saw the beautiful eyes of Lailani looking at him. She had her usual yellow eyeshadow on. It was definitely a pleasant sight to wake up to.
"Oh, uh good morning." he said, getting up after a long night's sleep.
Lailani was standing next to him. It looked as if she had been up a little longer than him.
"So, are you ready for Thanksgiving dinner today?" she asked.
He nodded, knowing what today was. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! God, what am I doing with my life? I never really liked Thanksgiving.
He walked into the kitchen to the sight of everything already prepped for the big feast he was having later that day.
"Oh shit..." he said, amazed at seeing the various ingredients, pots, pans, and other cooking utensils laid out all nice and neat.
"Yep! I had everything all set up for you. Well, me too of course. Let's start making Thanksgiving dinner."
He smiled at her, eager to get started on preparing the big feast for him and his Polynesian friends. Well, friend and two of her family members.
As they prepared each and every dish, ranging from aligning the green bean casserole, baking the tropical turkey, and cutting the potatoes to make potato salad, JD and Lailani had several lengthy conversations to pass the time, as preparing food for hours at a time got a bit tedious after a while.
"So..." he said, still cutting some potatoes while she boiled some macaroni.
"So..." she replied, still pre-occupied with her cooking.
"Is this your first Thanksgiving with Kiko or have you had one with her before?" he asked, wondering what her past experiences were with her cousin, if she had any.
"No," she replied. "I've seen her at family gatherings like this before. But..."
"But what?" he asked, curious as to what changed.
She shook her head. "It's not that important. All that matters is that I get to spend Thanksgiving with my best friend."
Although what she said was all sweet and wholesome, he still couldn't help but wonder what the problem with Kiko was.
"Did the family exile her because she's an alcoholic?" Justin asked, trying not to sound like a jerk.
"Eh heh... Pretty much."
He gave the Polynesian girl a hug, knowing how uncomfortable it must feel being one of the few outcasts in her own family. Though, he knew what that felt like.
"It's OK, Lailani. I know you have a complicated family life. Same here." he stated, trying to cheer his friend up.
She nodded, knowing that was something they could bond over. However, there were other things she was considering.
"Speaking of being a family outcast, would you mind if I asked you a question?"
He leaned in, curious as to what his Polynesian friend wanted to ask him.
"Yeah?"
Lailani took a breath, knowing what she was about to ask could potentially be a big step in her life.
"D-Do you think I should move to Commotion City?"
JD gasped, not sure why a cute islander girl like herself would want to move into a gritty, run-down shithole like Commotion City.
"No!" he said, knowing that wouldn't be the best choice.
"Why not?" she asked, not sure why he was hesitant in this suggestion.
"Because it's a shitty place to live." he bluntly stated.
The Polynesian sighed, not sure if he knew the reason she wanted to move.
"Should I move there if that's where my boyfriend lives?"
He tilted his head, not aware that Raymond lived in the same city as him.
"Wait, Ray lives there?"
She nodded, confirming that the one she was currently in a relationship with also lived in the same city as him.
JD sat there for a minute, realizing that he probably didn't have any say in this. She's 23 years old. She's an adult. Even though I hate the scumbags that live in my home city, maybe she should move there, if that's what makes her happy.
"You know what?" he said. "If you wanna move to Commotion City, be my guest. I shouldn't be the one to decide for you. Whatever makes you happy is OK with me."
She smiled at him, glad he somewhat changed his mind on the subject. At the same time he was right.
Later on, the big feast was prepared. The four of them sat at the table, JD being the head, Lailani sitting on the left of him, Tawna sitting on the right, and Kiko, who had another bottle of alcohol, sitting on the opposite side of him.
"Well... It doesn't look too bad." the Polynesian mother said, giving them some credit for how they prepared the food.
"Thanks." he said, feeling like that was some sort of compliment.
Before they ate, it was obligatory to say grace before eating.
"Who wants to say grace?" Lailani asked. However, Kiko had already began to stuff her face full of turkey, which was a tad rude to her.
"Kiko..." she said, ashamed that her cousin began eating before they blessed the food.
"No, no. It's fine, Lailani. We can't force it." he stated.
The Polynesian mother grinned at him, proceeding to shove another bread roll into her mouth.
Even though he was also against it, he knew he should at least give thanks in some capacity.
"How about we say what we're thankful for?" he suggested.
"Good idea, Justin." Lailani said.
"I'll go first then..." he said, sounding as if he were about to give a speech. "I'm thankful for my friends. They've helped me a lot throughout this year."
He then faced towards the left.
"Lailani, I'm thankful to know you. You are an amazing woman and I wish you luck with your boyfriend."
"Aw, thank you." she said, sort of blushing in the process.
"I'm thankful for Tiffany and how tolerant she is. I've had so many mental breakdowns this year, as well as attempting suicide several times. But she never left me once. I really do love her and I wanna spend the rest of my life with that amazing blondie."
This was all so wholesome and sweet. Him complimenting Lailani, as well as showing appreciation to the ones who loved him was nothing but wholesome.
"But, as much as I'd like to thank each and every person I've come to know, I've said it all before. So, Lailani, what are you thankful for?"
She smiled at him. "I'm thankful for you, Justin." the Polynesian said. "You helped me through a confusing time of my life. I know you tried your best when confronting Ms. Belrose. It's sad how it has to be this way."
He nodded, knowing she was still discouraged by his failed attempt at persuasion with the rich MILF.
"And I'm thankful for Aunt Lani." Tawna said, also giving thanks.
Awe...
"Awe, I'm thankful for you too, Tawna."
The Polynesian mother, although still a bit drunk, knew it was a special time.
"And I'm thankful for this alcohol." Kiko said, taking another sip at the thing that's been cursing her for however long.
Everyone looked at her, knowing she still had an addiction even after the incident the week before.
"Okay, okay." she said. "I'm also thankful for the food that my cousin and her sexually-ambiguous friend made for us. Did a bang up job. It looks delicious!"
Everyone shook their head, knowing that the alcohol pretty much did the talking during that statement.
"But, for real: I just wanna say thank you for everything. You've been a great help taking care of Tawna, Cousin."
There we go!
"Alrighty then. Let's eat."
Justin, Lailani, Kiko, and Tawna, all feasted on the food they had spent all day preparing. It definitely seemed well worth it.
Even if this was a downgrade to the year before, it was still an ideal Thanksgiving dinner. Spending time with the ones he loved was all that mattered at this point. It was almost time to fly back to Commotion City. Hopefully, things were going OK back home.
