Wonderfully Normal
2024 Thanksgiving Marathon
Part Two

Joseph consulted the list of things he wanted from Home Depot to complete a few small tasks that needed to be done around the condo.

"One more quick stop in the plumbing fixtures aisle should do the trick," he thought.

As he rounded the corner and headed that way he noticed DJ carefully studying a display of Christmas yard decor while Steve and Aaron looked at some more lights for the outside of the beach house.

After finding what he needed he headed back towards the rest of the group and saw that DJ was still enthralled by a large train being ridden on by various Disney characters in festive hats and bearing gifts.

His mind immediately went back to their trip to Disneyworld and he couldn't help but smile.

"That's pretty awesome, isn't it?" he said as he walked up next to DJ.

"It is." The young boy smiled. "It reminds me of our trip."

Joseph dropped his arm across his grandson's shoulders. "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Angie would absolutely love it," DJ said. "She wasn't very happy when we had to take down the Halloween decorations."

"Angie would love what?" Steve asked as he and Aaron finished picking out lights.

"This train," DJ said, his eyes sparkling. "With all the Disney characters. Wouldn't it look good in the yard?"

Steve smiled. "Are you trying to get me in trouble with your mom? She gave me specific instructions not to buy any more big decorations." He eyed the train. "And this is definitely a big decoration."

"I know," DJ said, looking slightly disappointed but not wanting to let it show. "She says we're running out of room to store things."

He looked at the picture on the box. Even snapped apart, the pieces were each still the size of an outdoor chair.

"Well, your mother must have forgotten Grandma and I rented a garage at the condo complex to keep our extra stuff in," Joseph told DJ. "You could store it there."

Aaron leaned in towards Steve and whispered, "I see he's adopted Elizabeth's philosophy on shopping."

DJ brightened momentarily then said, "I don't know." He looked at the train again, clearly torn. "I don't want mom to get upset."

Joseph pulled out his phone with a flourish, took a picture of the train, sent it off to Catherine, then dialed her number.

"Hi, Dad," she said with a tone that told him she knew exactly what was coming.

"It's absolutely adorable, sweetheart," he said. "Personally I'm ready to bring it home right now. But we have a little bit of an issue."

Catherine put him on speaker phone. "What's the issue?"

"DJ is concerned you might be unhappy because you told Steve no more big decorations," Joseph said.

"Steve and I agreed we weren't gonna buy any more big decorations this year," Catherine clarified.

Joseph winked at DJ. "Luckily, I wasn't part of that agreement."

"You're right, Dad. It's really adorable. But we're running out of places to store things," Catherine said, knowing before the words even came out that the argument was futile.

She looked at her mother who had arrived a few minutes prior after a meeting at Tutor Time and knew she wasn't going to find any help to discourage the purchase there.

"You can keep it in our garage," Joseph said. He surveyed the size of the box then turned to Aaron. "Could you please run and grab one of those big dollies."

"I honestly hadn't thought of that," Catherine said.

"How can I not buy it?" Joseph asked. "It's like the return of the Disney Grandparent's FunTime Express."

"You definitely need to get it," Elizabeth said. "And remember-we apologize for nothing."

Catherine barked a laugh.

She knew when she was beaten.

"Get the train."

"Are you sure, Mom?" DJ asked hopefully.

"I'm positive," Catherine assured him.

They said their goodbyes and as soon as Joseph hung up he fired off another text. After only a minute or so his phone dinged with a reply, just as Aaron returned with the large cart.

"Let's get two of these loaded up," Joseph said.

Aaron looked confused. "Two?"

Joseph nodded. "I texted a picture to your dad. He asked me to pick one up for him to give to Joan to have at your house. Apparently all the Home Depot's by you have been sold out for weeks. We'll ship it out in the morning so it'll be waiting for you when you get home."

"At least you called to ask permission," Aaron told Jospeh with a laugh. "Our front yard is already overflowing with decorations he's gotten for Joan. We may have to move some of them to the backyard."

Steve chuckled and elbowed Aaron playfully in the ribs. "Looks like that shopping thing isn't isolated just to Hawaii."

As they loaded up the boxes Joseph nodded towards where DJ was pointing out his favorite parts of the train to Steve and said softly to Aaron, "Doing something to put that kind of look on your grandchild's face. It's every grandpa's dream. They're only young once and it goes by fast. Go ahead and fill up the backyard too."

The kitchen was bustling with conversation while dinner was being made, and the air smelled deliciously of the sauteed garlic and onions used to start Nonna's gravy. Catherine stood at the stove, her hair pulled back in a loose bun as she stirred the pot, glancing over her shoulder at the kids who were setting the table.

"Okay, what are you all planning for the Thanksgiving table decorations?"

"Sparkly pumpkins!" Angie said immediately, her eyes dancing with excitement. She bounced on the tips of her toes.

Joan giggled, "Sparkly pumpkins sound fun! Maybe we can draw some leaves to put on the table and the buffet table, too."

"Leaves are good," DJ agreed, reaching for the napkins to set out. "But we need more than just leaves. What about candles? Mom, can we use those battery ones?"

Catherine turned around, her hands resting on the counter as she smiled at her son. "We have some in the pantry."

"Ohh, that will make the table look pretty!" Angie said, her curls bouncing as she nodded fervently. "We can put the candles in the middle of the table with the pumpkins and leaves. It'll be like Thanksgiving in fairyland!"

Mary entered the kitchen with Aunt Deb, chuckling at the sight of the kids animatedly discussing table decor. "Fairyland? I like the sound of that, just remember, we still need to eat at the table, so you have to leave room for all the place settings."

DJ was deep in thought, his brows knitted before he looked up and said, "What if we added some string lights? You know, the ones that look like little stars?" He knew his sister absolutely adored them.

"I love lights!" Angie squealed, spinning to face her mother. "Can we, Mommy?"

Catherine laughed softly, "I love that idea. We can definitely use some lights."

Aunt Deb took a seat at the counter. "What about a banner? One that says 'Happy Thanksgiving'."

"DJ can draw it!" Angie declared, her face lighting up at the thought. "Me and Joanie can make it colorful!"

# TBC Thanks for reading