Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for the squeal-inducing feedback. You're the best, ladies! Thanks to Mari for always being willing to bounce, and lots of hugs for Sammy.
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing feedback! It is always appreciated. Hard to believe this is our 7th Thanksgiving marathon!
Hope you enjoy!
Favorite Holiday (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"Okay, I think that's all the supplies," Grace said as she set the final items on the deck tables.
"Why we makin' dese t'ings, Gwace?" Angie asked, diligently collecting feathers of every color in her left hand.
Grace smiled at her youngest cousin and explained, "They're place cards for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, Angie. To put at everyone's seat at the table."
"Why?" Angie asked.
"We have such a big family we want to make sure everyone knows where to sit."
"I sit next nex' to Joanie," Angie said decisively, waving her fistful of feathers at her cousin beside her who beamed back.
"Aww," Grace said, smiling at the two with their identical ponytails, one blonde and one brown.
"An' I sit nex' to Gwandma," Angie continued. "An' I sit nex' to DJ. An' I sit nex' to Pun-kin. An' I sit nex' to Mommy. An' I sit nex' to Gwace. An'–"
"Silly girl," Grace said, leaning over to tickle her under the chin.
"We didn't have place cards last year," DJ said, gathering his own assortment of feathers in front of him.
Grace winced. "Yeah, I kinda dropped the ball on that, but we had all those great decorations that Joan made."
"Yeah!" DJ agreed.
Joan beamed at the praise. "I like that we're making decorations together this year. It's more fun this way."
Grace smiled. "I think so, too."
"Shouldn't we wait for Jacob and Kaitlyn to get here?" DJ asked.
"We are here!" Jacob said from the doorway.
"Hi!" Angie said, waving excitedly. "Kaitlyn!" She looked back at Grace. "I sit nex' to Kaitlyn too."
Grace chuckled and explained to a confused Kaitlyn, "Angie is listing the people she wants to sit next to at Thanksgiving dinner. We're up to about half the family already."
"Maybe we'll just have to make it a musical chairs Thanksgiving," came a familiar voice behind Jacob and Kaitlyn.
"Casey!" Joan said, smiling excitedly at one of her newest favorite people.
"Hey, everybody," Casey greeted them as the three Allens stepped out onto the deck.
Grace squealed and bounced over to give her a hug, quickly followed by Angie. Joan rushed over as well, despite the fact that Casey had flown back to the island with her the previous day, and DJ was right behind her. Jacob and Kaitlyn exchanged a look, shrugged, and joined the group hug.
"Oof." Casey laughed as her back hit the doorframe. "I guess I should leave and come back more often."
"Do you wanna stay and help with the place cards?" Grace asked as they finally let her go.
"I was gonna just drop Jacob and Kaitlyn off and say hello, but I've recently rekindled a love of arts and crafts," she said, winking at Joan.
" 'Cause she does crafts with me!" Joan said, smiling proudly.
"That's right." Casey grinned. "I think I'm still finding glitter from the last project."
"No glitter today," Grace promised.
"No glitter?" Joan asked, her face dropping.
"Not for the turkeys, sweetie," Grace said.
"Whoa, that's … a lot of feathers," Casey said as the group rearranged themselves around the table.
"We haf biiiig family, Casey," Angie said seriously.
Casey grinned. "That's right, we do."
Grace matched her grin. "So we better get started."
They set up an assembly line of sorts, with DJ and Jacob gluing the turkey bodies onto the cards and adding wattles and faces, Joan and Angie attaching the feathers with help from Grace, and Kaitlyn and Casey were in charge of adding the names, it having been decided that they had the best handwriting of the group.
As they were finishing the place cards, Steve and Catherine joined them on the deck.
"How are things going out here?" Catherine asked.
"Mommy! Daddy! We makin' tu'keys fo' da table!" Angie told them.
"You sure it wasn't an actual turkey who came through and shook loose all its feathers?" Steve asked, eyeing the deck which was covered in colorful feathers.
"We'll clean it all up," Grace promised.
Steve smiled, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm kidding, Gracie. These look great," he said, picking up one of the place cards that had dried.
"They're so everyone knows where to sit at Thanksgiving, Daddy," DJ explained. "Grace said we didn't have them last year but she's made them before."
"That's right, she has," Steve said with a smile for his niece. "Everyone always loves them."
"Ohh remember the one when you were pregnant with Angie, Auntie Cath?" Grace said.
Angie's ears perked at the mention of her name and she looked at her mother.
Catherine smiled. "Hold that thought."
She disappeared inside and returned a moment later with a large shadowbox.
"That's from you and Daddy's room," DJ said, recognizing it.
"That's right," Catherine said, gently setting the box on the table. She pointed to one of the items in the box. "And that is the Thanksgiving place card from four years ago that Grace made."
" 'Auntie Catherine and Niblet,' " Jacob read and grinned. "I remember that!"
"Yeah, it was after Uncle Steve accidentally told everyone about Angie," Kaitlyn added.
Steve hung his head, chuckling at the memory.
"It was a secret?" DJ asked.
"We were going to tell everyone on Thanksgiving," Catherine explained, grinning over at Steve, "but Daddy just couldn't help himself."
Steve rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "What can I say? I was excited."
"It was pretty big news," Casey agreed, fighting a smile.
"But I'm kinda glad you spilled the beans because then I could make the place card more accurate with Niblet," Grace said.
"Why doesn't it say Angie?" DJ asked.
"Well, we didn't know it was Angie yet," Catherine said. "We'd only found out I was going to have a baby a few weeks before Thanksgiving. We needed a nickname and Grace came up with the idea for Niblet."
"Niblet was Charles' favorite from Pound Puppies and I thought that would work since seal babies are called pups and baby dogs are puppies …"
"And baby butterflies are pupa," Kaitlyn added.
"That's right!" Grace said, smiling at her. "I forgot that one. So yeah, everyone liked Niblet."
"So that's what we called her," Catherine finished, kissing Angie's head. She smiled when her daughter looked up at her. "Our Niblet." She pointed to the turkey place card in the shadowbox. "And so Grace made the place card with me and you. That's you in the baby blanket."
Angie tilted her head to examine the place card. Furrowing her brow, she looked back at her mother. "Dat not me, dat's baby tu'key."
Catherine chuckled at her serious face and hugged her. "Okay, baby turkey, okay." She glanced over at Steve and Grace with a smile. "We'll try explaining that one again when you're a little older."
Later before bedtime, Steve came upon DJ who was looking pensively at the finished turkey place cards now on the sideboard waiting for tomorrow's big meal.
"DJ, you okay, buddy?" Steve asked, stepping over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I was just thinking …" DJ started slowly, still putting his thoughts together.
Catherine, Angie on her hip rubbing tired eyes, stepped into the room behind them. She immediately caught the mood and moved closer quietly, letting DJ take his time as she had done so often with Steve.
"You said you found out you were going to have Angie a little before Thanksgiving and you were going to tell everybody then, right?" DJ asked, looking up at them.
"That's right," Steve confirmed, watching him closely for a sign of what he was thinking.
"And …" he bit his lip, "and you found me a little before Thanksgiving last year …"
Steve's eyes flashed to Catherine who was blinking back tears as they both realized what dots DJ had connected.
"And you told everybody you were going to adopt me and I was going to be official on Thanksgiving …"
"That's right," Steve repeated quietly, tears pricking at the corner of his own eyes.
"So it's kinda like … me and Angie … we both joined our family at Thanksgiving."
Steve wrapped an arm around him. "I never thought about that but you are exactly right, DJ."
Catherine reached out a hand to cup DJ's cheek, smiling down at him through her tears. "That is a beautiful thought, honey." She leaned down so she could kiss the top of his head. "I'm so glad you shared it."
He beamed up at them. "I think Thanksgiving is going to be my favorite holiday now."
Steve wrapped his other arm around Catherine and Angie, the three-year-old shifting to rest her head on his chest, and tucked DJ in close to them. He swallowed hard and smiled. "I think it's gonna be my favorite now, too."
"Fav'wit," Angie murmured sleepily, snuggling against her father.
Catherine smiled at Steve, teary-eyed, and leaned carefully over their daughter's head for a kiss. She ran a gentle hand over DJ's hair and sighed contentedly. "That makes it unanimous."
Hope you enjoyed!
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