Okay, there's a teeny bit of homophobia in this chapter. It will be addressed. Consequence of writing about children from 2012.


With the play over, Cary and the rest of Team Pines had shifted from theater mode to Thanksgiving mode.

Abuelita had been cooking all week, with Cary and Melody assisting her whenever it was possible.

Soos had his own very important job- getting everything ready in the gift shop for Black Friday. Wendy had been put to work marking up prices, and Melody was learning how to operate the cash register when she wasn't helping Abuelita. It was very, very exciting for everyone.

For a little while, at least. By Wednesday, Wendy's enthusiasm was dampened a little. She mostly just looked annoyed.

Cary noticed immediately.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"My brother's a turd."

"Which one?"

"Kev."

"Well, we knew that already."

Wendy laughed but she still seemed frustrated.

"What did Kevin do?"

"I told them. Real casual while everyone was watching TV last night. Marcus was chill because he doesn't care about anything, and Gus is too young to be stupid, but Kevin acted like I was going to give him gay cooties."

"That's so dumb," Cary said.

"And now I'm worried he'll do something obnoxious tomorrow when you come over."

"Don't worry about it, Wendy. Dumb Kevin can't ruin our Thanksgiving."

Cary leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "It's going to be great."

They couldn't promise perfect, nothing in their life was perfect, but Cary was still looking forward to their first Thanksgiving together.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Plus if your brother acts like a turd Ryn will eat him."

"Maybe don't bring up Ryn around my dad," Wendy recommended.

"I thought he was cool?"

"He is cool! He just also has a lot of axes. Sharp axes."

"I'm not threatened by axes," Ryn said pointedly.

"We'll be on our best behavior," Cary promised.

"Hey, Cary! Come help me dig up the extra Stan bobbleheads from the attic," Soos called.

"I've got to get back home anyway, dad's really stressed about getting everything ready for tomorrow. He's not really good at holidays-" Wendy stopped herself from mentioning how different things had been when her mom was around. It would do her no good to get hung up on the past.

But it did remind her that even dumb Kev was dealing with not having a mom on Thanksgiving. So… Maybe she would cut her idiot brother some slack.

"I'll see you tomorrow, love you," Cary said.

"See you, Feathers. See you, Ryn."

"She addressed me this time. That's nice."

"Yeah, she likes us."

"She likes you. She will get used to me."

"I like you," Cary thought as he went upstairs to find the bobbleheads.

"I like you too. I have lain dormant in your mind for so long. Your life is mine, is ours to protect."

"So this isn't your first Thanksgiving?"

"It is the first one where I will have a voice."

"Any requests?"

"I like the parade."

"Then we'll definitely watch the parade."

"The bobbleheads are behind that mirror."

"Thank you!"

After work, Cary helped Abuelita with the finishing touches of their feast, getting really excited for what the following day had in store. A big family Thanksgiving had never been in the cards for Cary until now. Stan had always spent the holiday prepping for Black Friday. They'd watch the parade and eat chicken wings and that would be that. As hyped as Cary was for the next day, he couldn't help missing Stan.

So, before he went to bed, he called up his dad and Uncle Ford.

"Hey, Carebear! It's kind of late, don't you have school tomorrow?" Stan chuckled to himself, he'd never cared about school as a kid but being a parent had given himself a reason to care about the education system.

"Dad, tomorrow is Thanksgiving."

"Shit, really? I've already lost track of time. Is the Shack ready for Black Friday?"

"All the prices have been raised and then "lowered" accordingly. Your bobbleheads have been the hot item since you saved the world."

"As they should be."

"Do you have any big plans for Thanksgiving?" Ford asked, not wanting the conversation to be derailed by profit talk.

"Yeah, we're going over to the Corduroy's to celebrate, Abuelita has been cooking all week. And Melody came down from Portland, so it's going to be a whole big fiesta."

Stan was glad that this wasn't a video call, so he didn't have to hide the look of sadness that briefly crossed his face. He was glad Cary was getting to have a big family Thanksgiving but he regretted not being the one to give it to them.

"That sounds really special, sweetie. Have a piece of pie for me."

"I will."

"How are things going with the beast?" Ford asked.

"Oh, Ryn is good. We transformed again on Monday, for Handsel. I'm getting the hang of flying."

"Be careful, Cary," Stan said.

"Both of you," Ford said.

"Yeah, both of you," Stan agreed.

"They're learning that we're separate. This is good," Ryn said.

"It's a two-way street, we'll be careful if you will." Cary wanted to say that she needed them to make it home safe. That she missed them and wished they were celebrating together. But it hadn't even been a month yet, and she didn't want to hold them back, so she left it at that.

"We will, we've got each other's backs. You should get some sleep Cary, I'm sure you have a big day tomorrow."

"Happy Thanksgiving," Cary said as she settled back in bed.

"Happy Thanksgiving." Stan also wished he could be there, but it was all too hard to say. So like Cary, he kept it inside and just hung up.

"They will be back," Ryn said. "I foresee it."

"Yeah… Wait, you can see into the future too?"

Ryn didn't say anything.

"Come on, I know you can hear me."

"I have some insights you do not yet possess. Just think of it as if I read ahead in the script. You will catch up soon enough."

"Oh. How's tomorrow going to go?"

"Time is malleable. Tomorrow is not set in stone and so I cannot foresee it. But some things I know for certain. We will all celebrate Thanksgiving together one day."

That was enough of an answer.

Cary spoke aloud now, "Good night, Ryn."

"Good night, Cary."

Once Cary's head hit the pillow, sleep came fast and morning came faster. The Shack was already alive with noise, as if there were thirty people in the kitchen instead of three.

Cary joined Melody, Soos, and Abuelita in the kitchen and looked around for something to do.

Melody waved her over.

"It's useless, Care, they're in sync. I've just been doing dishes all morning. If you want, you can dry."

Cary was grateful for a task, they were a little nervous about today.

"I've never seen two people make enough food for fifty people before," Melody said with a laugh. "In my family, there's like thirty people and only seven of us actually bring a dish. I will not miss all of us fighting over not enough sweet potato casserole."

Cary laughed too. "I don't know, at least you come from a big family. Before this year it was just me and dad and we didn't really celebrate Thanksgiving."

Cary attempted to imitate Stan, "Black Friday is the real holiday."

Melody chortled. "No wonder it's been so busy around here."

"Yeah, everything has to be perfect for Black Friday. The fortune-telling is even half off, $100 per fortune."

"I thought it was already $100 per fortune."

"We raised it." When Stan had been running the Shack it had been a 40/60 split with Cary making a little less but with the price hike and new management, it was now an even 50/50.

"Smart."

"But I'll read yours for free," Cary joked.

"I know weird stuff happens here, but…"

"But is any of my Oracle gimmick actually real? Yes and no. I can see the future sometimes but I can't really control it yet. The other stuff is all true though."

"The part about you being born from an egg and occasionally turning into a giant bird monster who eats people who don't spend enough money at the gift shop is true?"

"Well, I don't eat people. But yeah, the egg and the bird monster stuff is all true. Their name is Ryn."

"Whose name is Ryn?"

"The bird monster. Don't worry, they already like you."

Melody seemed a little shaken. "Soos told me this family was special, I just never would have guessed how special."

It was refreshing that Melody believed them without needing proof. Cary liked when they didn't have to perform to prove themself.

"Well, you're pretty special too. I'm glad you're part of our family now."

"Me too."

Cary dried the last dish and looked around, seeing a break in Soos and Abuelita's concentration.

"Are we ready?"

Soos took a mental inventory and then nodded. "Let's go."

Wendy was also up early, frantically getting ready for their celebration. Kevin and Gus were being useless, per usual, but Marcus was actually helping straighten the dining room and set the table.

Suspiciously, her dad was nowhere to be found.

"Kev, do you know where dad is?"

"No." Kevin paused, his face scrunched up as if he was trying to think of the perfect insult. Fortunately, Kevin was an idiot so his comments didn't get any more scathing than, "Try not to get your gayness on the food. I don't want to catch it."

Wendy's blood boiled and she was about to snap back when Marcus stepped in.

"She's not gay, she's bisexual."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means she likes girls and guys. And it means more girls will be interested in her than will ever be interested in you."

Wendy snorted, grateful Marcus was on her side since he'd seemed pretty indifferent when she'd first told him.

Kevin huffed and shoved his hands in his pocket. "I'm gonna go find dad."

When he was gone Wendy turned to Marcus. "Thanks, man."

"No big deal. It's important to you, so I googled it yesterday to make sure I didn't get anything wrong."

"Well," Wendy said, "you got it mostly right. It's not just guys and girls though. There are people who are neither. Or both."

"Huh. Cool." Marcus tilted his head. "I think someone is at the door."

"Oh!" Wendy dashed off, not wanting Kevin or Gus to get to the door first.

All of her lingering nerves melted away when she saw her Cary. She threw her arms around him, not caring who was around or who saw them. Once Cary was in her arms she couldn't resist, kissing him deeply.

Cary laughed in surprise and kissed back, just as passionately.

That was when Manly Dan walked in the other door, hiding something behind his back.

"Whoa! PDA!"

Wendy pulled away sheepishly.

"Sorry, dad," Wendy said, but she wasn't.

"Glad you guys could make it, let's set up in the kitchen."

Cary leaned over to Wendy and whispered, "Can we watch the parade for a minute? Ryn wanted to see it."

"Of course. Dad, me and Cary are going to watch the parade in my room until lunch."

"Keep your eyes on the TV and your hands to yourselves," Manly Dan said.

"Yessir," Cary agreed so they could leave without a fight.

Wendy thought the rules were pretty goofy since her dad hadn't minded them sharing a tent on Fright Night. But Ryn, who was watching the parade through Cary's eyes, had changed all of that.

Wendy flopped back on her bed and glowered at the ceiling. "Why can't everyone just be cool?"

"Because you used up all the coolness."

"Smooth," Ryn complimented.

"Yeah, yeah. I just wish my family was as chill about all of this as yours is."

"I thought everyone except for Kevin was chill."

"They don't care that I'm bi, but dad does care a whole lot about the beast, and if my brothers found out they'd probably freak out too. I mean Marcus barely just learned about nonbinary people how would he react to witches being real?"

"Did you tell Marcus I was nonbinary?" Cary asked, turning away from the parade.

"Of course not! That's yours to tell people about or not tell people about. I just mentioned that some people don't fit into the guy or girl category."

Cary beamed. "That's really cool, Wendy. Thank you for advocating for me without outing me."

"I messed up by telling dad about the beast. I'm gonna let you tell the rest of your story when you're ready."

"Be quiet, the Santa float is almost here," Ryn snapped.

Cary turned back to the TV, still grinning from ear to ear about what Wendy had said.

By the time the parade was over and the dog show had begun, lunch was ready.

Manly Dan came in (without knocking) to inform them of this fact, shocked and relieved that Cary and Wendy were actually abiding by the no-touching rule.

"Grub's up," Manly Dan said.

They followed him out to the kitchen, where a mismatched assortment of chairs had been crowded around the table. Manly Dan sat at one head of the table, it took Soos a second to realize he was supposed to sit at the other head.

Cary and Wendy sat next to each other, of course, so close that their legs were touching. They had to be that close since there were so many people crowded around a fairly small table, but neither of them was complaining about it.

For the next 30 minutes, everyone was almost entirely focused on eating and complimenting Abuelita on the food. Cary was aware that Kev kept staring at them, mostly because Ryn kept pointing out, but they tried to ignore it.

Even with Kevin's stink-eye, things were going better than Cary could have imagined. It felt so cozy and welcoming. This was her family. It was mismatched and a little crowded, but it was good.

When everyone was done eating, Manly Dan stood up. "I know you said you'd handle the food, but I wanted to pitch in with dessert."

Wendy realized then what her dad had been up to all morning. He revealed a beautiful (only slightly burnt) pie. It was butterscotch apple pie, Wendy's favorite, which she hadn't had in years.

"Mom used to make that," she blurted.

"Yeah. It was always one of my favorite traditions. I wanted to bring it back and share it with all of you. You're, uh, you're family now." Manly Dan offered them an awkward smile, confirming what Cary had felt only minutes earlier. They were a family now.

Wendy reached for Cary's hand underneath the table. Neither of them had expected today to be perfect, but for them, it had been.


Oh no oh shit oh no the ending was happy that wasn't supposed to happen there was supposed to be at least a sliver of angst to lead into the next chapter now I need to re-outline my un-outlined story.

Anyway, my vague plan for the new year is to have at least one new chapter out every month which is not a lot but it's something to aspire to.

Also, I don't actually know how old any of Wendy's brothers are, I used to assume Marcus was older than Wendy but now I'm not sure, either way, I imagine they're pretty close in age so they have each other's backs.