"George, could you please take out the trash?" Nora McDonald called out for help from her husband as she prepared Marti's breakfast in the kitchen. The smell of last night's dinner was lingering in the trash and making it hard to concentrate.
"Derek, take out the trash!" George, still in his slippers and robe, pawned off the job to his lethargic son.
"Edwin, take out the trash!" Derek was knee-deep in bacon and eggs; there was no way he was going outside.
Casey couldn't help but recognize how eerily similar Derek and his father were, with the way they abused their power on those younger than them. She couldn't chastise George for his behavior, but Derek was fair game. Derek's lecture on his dictator-like behavior toward Edwin would have to be postponed, though, because Casey had other plans. She was meeting with her best friend, Emily Davis.
Casey snuck out of the house before anyone could ask her to take out the trash. She bumped right into Emily on the way out.
"I thought we were supposed to hang out at your house today." Emily was visiting from college, as well, enjoying what little free time she had with her friends and family.
"I know, but Ralph and Sam are coming over to see Derek. I figured we could go shopping instead, if that's okay with you."
"I'll do anything to get away from my parents. They're on my case about joining their 'new' book club. They think I have too much free time on my hands," Emily sighed.
"What's wrong with joining a book club?"
"With my parents? No thanks. Besides, they hate reading. They're only saying that so I can get out of the house until I'm back in Toronto," she shrugged.
"Well, come on. Let's do some shopping!"
Emily and Casey rummaged through one of the sale racks, contemplating on appropriate Thanksgiving outfits.
"So, how is Derek?" Emily wondered, making small talk. Her eyes remained on the assortment of clothes, hanging a couple of shirts to her chest instead of trying them on.
"He's Derek," Casey muttered.
"Is he seeing anyone?"
"Why? You're not still into him, are you?"
"Of course not. Derek never liked me like that, and it took me way too long to realize it." The only reason he gave Emily the time of day was to tick off Casey.
"So why so curious about his relationship status? Derek would rather be committed to a hospital than commit to a girl. Granted, there was Sally." Sally was mature and ambitious, and Derek's favorite type: blonde.
"Except that relationship needed to end, and it did, thanks in part to you. I don't know, Case; I guess I always wondered why he played the field so much throughout high school."
"Because he's Derek, you know that," Casey said shortly. Emily had an entire portfolio for Derek's dating habits. She should know more than anyone that Derek was a bachelor because he wanted to be.
"Or maybe because the only girl he found good enough was someone who's off limits," she responded.
"Like?" Casey continued to scan through racks, wishing the topic wasn't on Derek.
"You're smart; you know exactly who I'm referring to," Emily raised a brow, tilting her head at her best friend.
"I don't, actually."
She couldn't actually be insinuating that Derek - no.
"Are you this oblivious? You, Casey. I'm obviously talking about you."
"Me?"
"Don't kill me, but at the end of our senior year, before I burned my research book, I noticed a pattern in Derek's dating history. He's been with your friends, your enemies, and your cousin. He dated a cheerleader when you joined the squad, and he dated a waitress after you became one. It's like he's dated these people to distract himself from who he really wanted." Derek dates every walking female. There was no pattern. (And Gabbi was just another coincidence! He didn't know they were friends!)
"For the sake of our friendship, I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."
Thank God Emily burned that book. It was getting to her head and Casey wasn't here for it!
"Okay, Casey."
As Emily walked toward another rack, ending the conversation, Casey followed her.
"Derek insults me to no end, calls me ugly, makes my life a living hell!"
"Derek isn't exactly mature, Case; playfighting is a form of flirting to most guys. And you don't actually believe he thinks you're ugly. He's kissed your cousin Vicki, and she looks exactly like you."
"No, just no. Derek would never," Casey shook her head in disbelief.
"He took you to prom. Twice," Emily added.
"He wouldn't like me."
"He organized your sixteenth birthday party and snuck into the hospital to see you when you couldn't make it."
Wow, Emily really thought this through.
"He organized a party for himself; that proves nothing."
"So why did he go to Queen's when his plan was to take a year off from school? I'm not as smart as you, Case, but I'm sensing some suppressed feelings."
"You're wrong, Em. Can we please stop talking about my stepbrother?!"
Emily threw her hands up in surrender, backing off, as it was clear Casey was getting tense.
Casey was the one who had brought the conversation up again, but the issue was kind of hard not to address.
"I thought maybe with the two of you out of the house, away from your parents...nevermind. If you say there's nothing, I won't bring it up again."
"There never was, isn't, and won't ever be anything going on with D...with Der...ugh, I can't even say it!" She cringed.
Casey wished she had stayed home to hang with Lizzie instead of going out with Emily, because this was utter torture.
Emily Davis was the second person to comment on her supposed strange relationship with Derek, and it wasn't sitting well in the pit of Casey's stomach.
Needless to say, what could've been an all-day affair with Emily was cut rather short in fear of more questions.
When Casey arrived home, she found George and Derek working on the Prince. Technically, George was working, and Derek was telling him what he was doing wrong.
"I thought the Prince was totaled," Casey said.
"A total disaster." Derek wiped the sweat from his forehead and dried his dirty hands on his green button-down.
"That's what they want you to think. I'm not giving up on this baby, and neither should you, Derek," George said.
"We should be hiring a mechanic."
At this rate, it was clear to Derek that he wouldn't be able to drive the car to college anytime soon.
"We don't need to hire a mechanic. I can fix my own car!" George's denial was more reliable than this mechanical skills.
"Well, good luck with that, Dad. I need a break."
Derek followed Casey inside and into the kitchen. Instead of grabbing a drink from the fridge, Derek used the side spray of the faucet to quench his thirst.
Casey, behind the refrigerator door, watched as Derek lifted his shirt to wipe his eyes. She tapped her fingers on the fridge nonchalantly before turning to look for something to drink. Suddenly, she was very thirsty. She hoped she could find her water bottle, knowing that big turkey would be in the way.
With her eyes blinded by the refrigerator light, she thought back to all the times they fought in this very kitchen. Those fights always resulted in broken dishes or her falling into various objects. Of course, there were some good times, like when they cleaned dishes together, discussed college plans, and shared a midnight snack. But cooking together? How was she supposed to get through something as big as Thanksgiving with Derek? (Especially with Emily's comments very much in the back of her mind.)
"Space Case. Anybody home?"
"Wait, what?" Casey blushed, unaware Derek was talking to her.
"Marti wants to go to Smelly Nelly's. I need your car, unless you're coming with."
"Is that an invitation?" She asked.
"If you're paying, it is."
Once at Smelly Nelly's, Casey found the three of them a booth, while Derek, trailing behind as per usual, bumping into a familiar face at the entrance.
"Sally?" He asked, taken aback. He never thought he would see his ex again after she moved away.
"Derek?" Sally whipped her head up in his direction, surprised to see him, as well. She looked exactly the same, blonde ponytail and all.
"You're not working at this dump again, are you?" He noticed she wasn't wearing a uniform only after asking that question.
"No, my friend used me as a reference to get a job here, so I figured I'd vouch for her while I'm in town; I'm only here for the holidays. How have you been?"
"Great. I'm playing hockey at Queen's, taking in the college scene. And get this: I'm rooming with Casey."
"As in McDonald? Wow, with her influence, you may graduate after all," she laughed.
"Hey, I don't need Casey's help to graduate." That was a lie.
"I know that, Derek. You're smarter than you give yourself credit for, but having Casey around must help."
"Uh, sure, yeah, it does. What about you? How's life in Vancouver?"
"It's great. However, the dating scene is a little disappointing," she smiled.
"Not everyone can be Derek Venturi." Modest was not his strong suit.
"Yeah...you're definitely one of a kind, I'll say that," she laughed.
"You know it," he smirked.
Sally smiled back, looking down at her watch.
"I'm sorry, Derek, but I have to get going. Do you want to catch up some more before I leave town?"
"Catch up?" He raised a brow.
"Yeah, catch up. For old time's sake."
Oh. He was picking up what she was putting down.
A year ago, he would've jumped at the chance to spend time 'catching up' with Sally, but things were different. He wasn't in the mood to revisit an old relationship, especially one he now knew was doomed from the start. He no longer had any romantic feelings for her.
Something, an invisible force of some kind, made Derek glance over Sally's shoulder. Through the glass, he could see Casey laughing at something funny Marti said, and he desperately wanted to be included in whatever was so funny. Their smiles were contagious, and Derek smiled to himself, adjusting his eyes back to Sally.
"I can't. My holiday is pretty much booked up. I'm in charge of Thanksgiving and er -"
"Getting together with your ex isn't the way you wanted to spend your holiday. I get it; I really do. Hey, even if we don't get a chance to catch up, it was really good seeing you again. I'm glad you're enjoying college life."
"Thanks. It was good seeing you, too, Sally. Happy Thanksgiving."
Sally waved goodbye to Derek and went on her merry way.
Derek, taking a deep breath, walked inside the restaurant and took a seat next to Casey, as Marti was hogging the middle of the other side of the booth.
"How was your run-in with Sally?"
Casey didn't miss a beat. She immediately questioned him about his ex while moving all the way against the wall to give Derek (and herself) some breathing room. Only their knees touched, but still, it was quite unsettling for her.
"I ran in and ran out. Best not to repeat history."
"I'm surprised," she admitted.
"I'm full of surprises."
The elderly lady in a booth next to them interrupted their quiet conversation.
"Hi, is that your daughter? She's adorable. She looks just like the both of you."
Both Derek and Casey burned with embarrassment by this woman's accusation. This situation was way worse than when Lizzie acknowledged Derek was taking Casey to the prom.
"Thank you. My dad says I get my charm from his side of the family, but my mom begs to differ."
Casey nor Derek corrected Marti. Marti often loved to play house, and although she was getting too old for the game, they didn't have the heart not to play along with her. Marti had missed her older siblings terribly, and this was her way of compensating for the time lost.
"Casey, a charmer? Please."
At first, Casey was taken aback by how quickly Derek added to this made-up story, but she quickly recovered.
"How else would I have landed you, dear husband?" Casey said, trying not to come off as bitter.
"Well, one would say I'd have to be crazy to marry you, dear wife," Derek said.
"We can agree with the crazy part," she taunted.
"They're always fighting like this," Marti said. "That's how you really know they love each other."
"Uh.." Casey and Derek said in unison.
"Now, Dad, tell Mom you think she looks pretty." Really?
Derek gave Marti the biggest of glares only a parent would give, and yet Marti only smiled in delight. That little troublemaker was enjoying this too much! When they got home, Derek and Casey were gonna have a word with her!
The older lady continued to smile at them, seemingly believing this charade.
"She's uh, you're uh, not bad," Derek coughed.
Casey began to laugh at Derek, who was struggling to get his words out, until Marti turned to her next. For a moment, Casey forgot they were both victims here.
"Mom, do you have something to say to Dad?" Oh, she had a lot of stuff to say, but nothing good.
"Yeah, Princess. Anything to add?" Derek embarrassed himself, so it was her turn!
Derek only ever called her Princess when he was being condescending, so hearing it in a means to be endearing was very odd.
"Uhm, well...you're...you?" She just couldn't. Casey couldn't give him the satisfaction of a compliment.
"Really? You can't find one nice thing to say about me?"
Casey was under the impression they were playing a game, but it felt like Derek was taking this a bit too seriously by the way his voice raised an octave.
She felt a little guilty, so she attempted to give him a compliment.
"Fine. You can be sweet when you want to be." Casey said the words so fast that she wasn't sure if anyone heard her.
"I'm sweet? That's my compliment? I thought you were my wife, not my grandma." He folded his arms in front of himself, elbows stiff on the edge of the table.
"You said that I was 'not that bad'. How is that a compliment?" What a double standard!
The waitress started to walk closer to their table, and Derek continued to pout like a big baby.
"You can order; I'm suddenly not hungry."
"Derek, you're always hungry. And would you knock it off? That poor woman isn't even paying attention to us anymore."
Derek relaxed his shoulders, realizing the sensitive side of himself that he usually managed to bury deep, deep down was showing. He had to play it cool.
"Right. I didn't realize."
What was wrong with him?
"What's wrong with you? Did Sally hurt your ego earlier or something?"
It wasn't about Sally. It was about...
Dammit to hell, it was about Casey, but he was trying not to admit it. Not to himself. Not to her. Not to anyone.
She was on his mind heavily since they got here. From sleeping in the same bed, to wearing his clothes, to pretending they were married. It was all too much! She was becoming a horrible distraction.
Not to mention, his ego was now entirely bruised. She never has anything nice to say about him, so he shouldn't be surprised. (In all fairness, he prided himself on being a jerk to her most of the time.)
Whatever it was that he was feeling, he had to nip it in the butt. Or bud. Whatever the saying was.
He wouldn't dare tell Casey what he was thinking or what he was upset about. Instead, he shrugged her question off with a vague answer.
"Something like that."