Chapter 3

XXXXXXX

Viv opened the oven door and was instantly greeted by a blast of heated air. She peeked at the color of the turkey, deciding to give it another fifteen minutes and it should be done to a nice golden brown. She basted the bird and quickly shut the oven door.

She turned around to find Reggie assaulting the potatoes as if he had a vendetta against them. "Reg, I think the potatoes are good and mashed."

He looked up at her and shrugged. "Can I go watch TV?"

Viv sighed and replied, "Sure."

Reggie darted out of the kitchen to the living room. She could still remember when he used to beg her to let him help and she sometimes missed the sweet little boy who would do anything to please his mama. Now, he was a sullen teenager who acted like the simplest task was the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. To say that she was looking forward to him moving out of this stage of adolescence was the understatement of the year.

Viv walked to the fridge and started pulling out all the ingredients for the salad when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She braced herself against the refrigerator door, closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. When the pain subsided she placed all the veggies on the counter and sat down on the stool. This was not good.

The doorbell rang and she heard Marcus's voice, "Hey, Jack. How are you? Hello Hanna and Kate."

Jack and his kids were here.

Viv closed her eyes, took another breath and got to work on the salad. She refused to think about what this little episode meant today. It was Thanksgiving, damn it, and she was going to be thankful for being alive to celebrate it.

XXX

"Need any help?' Jack asked as he hovered in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Sure," Viv replied as she waved him over. "Can you grab those plates over there?"

Jack nodded his head, rolled up his sleeves, and picked up the stack of dirty plates. Viv turned back to the sink and continued rinsing off the glasses before placing them in the dishwasher. He placed the dishes next to the sink and began scraping the random bits of food into the garbage disposal.

"As usual, dinner was great," Jack said casually.

"Thanks." Viv noticed that the entire evening Jack was subdued and that things seemed to be tense between him and Hanna. "So, how's the visit going with the girls?"

"It's fine, good. Kate seems to be having fun."

"And Hanna?"

A look of anguish crossed his face and he looked down as he quietly said, "Hanna…..hates me."

She shook her head and said, "I'm sure she doesn't hate you. She's just trying to deal with everything…."

"She found out about the affair." Jack looked up and met Viv's gaze.

"How?" She could not imagine how difficult it would be for Jack to know that the daughter who already had enough reasons to pull away now had a new big one.

Jack clenched his jaw and said, "Maria told me that 'Bernie' her attorney was over for dinner last week and Hanna overheard them talking about it. She said she thought Hanna was asleep in bed."

Viv sighed sadly and said, "Jack, I'm so sorry. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I have no idea what I could tell her. No matter how many ways I could put it, I'm still the father who was never around and cheated on her mom. How do you put a positive spin on that?"

Viv just looked at him, not knowing what to say. He was right. There is no way to explain the reasons a father has an affair to his pre-teen daughter. So she just rubbed his arm and gave him a sympathetic smile. Jack gave her a sad smile in return before they both returned to the task at hand. They worked in companionable silence for a couple of minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Hey, I thought we had a deal? You cook, I clean," Marcus announced as he walked into the kitchen. "You said you were coming in here for more wine."

Viv looked back and forth between the two men in the kitchen and said, "You're right. Here." She handed Jack the plastic dish brush and walked over to fridge and poured herself a glass of white wine. "Well, get to it men; those dishes aren't going to clean themselves."

Marcus and Jack both shook their heads and laughed before getting to work as the lady of the house instructed.