“Oh! Oh no!”
I start patting my pockets looking for my keys. Thanksgiving is two freaking days away! I need to go to the store!
“Avery? Hey!”
Easton snaps my way, knocking me out of the spiral enough to focus on him with pleading eyes.
“I need to go to the store! I…I forgot! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Thanksgiving is in two days and, and, and, I don’t even have a turkey! I need to go to the store!”
His hands come up in a stop motion.
“Whoa, calm down, Avery. It’s not a big deal. We don’t need a big fancy dinner. I can’t even remember if we had Thanksgiving last year.”
My mouth drops open hearing that and my eyes flash to Zack and Ryker who both just shrug.
“But…what about your families? Don’t you celebrate with your families?” I ask in confusion.
Easton answers for all of them. “It’s just us. We don’t have any relatives to get together with.”
A soft “Oh” is all I can say to that. They’re like me then. No family. I straighten my shoulders in determination. It’s all the more reason for me to get to work on giving them all the best Thanksgiving dinner I can create. If ever there was a year to celebrate all that I’m thankful for, all that they’ve done for us, it’s this year. I open up my grocery app and start making a huge list of everything I’ll need to make it happen.
Zack laughs and snatches the tablet from my hands setting it off to the side and replacing it with another slice of pizza.
“Eat, Aves, I’ll take you to the store tomorrow.”
I nod and go to work on the slice in my hands glancing over at Chloe to see how she’s making out on her plate. I’m surprised to see that it’s almost empty and she’s eyeing the boxes like she wants to go in for more. She’s usually such a dainty eater but it looks like pizza was the key to unlocking her appetite.
I look her over and can’t help but smile at how happy she looks but when she starts peeling the foil from her cast, I have to ask, “Baby, why did you cover your cast with tinfoil?”
She grin’s Zack’s way as she answers. “I wanted to be a superhero like Zack!”
My gaze swings his way with a questioning look and all of a sudden I feel tension in the air. He keeps his eyes down as he tears part of a crust into pieces to slip down to Kanga.
“I, uh, I’ve got a prosthetic leg.” He mutters.
When I realize he’s not going to say anything else, I gush, “Wow! You really are a superhero!”
His eyes dart up to meet mine and I can see the uncertainty in them so I push as much admiration into my expression as I can. I’m assuming that he lost his leg in the service. I reach across the counter and place a hand on his arm.
“Thank you, Zack. Thank you for fighting for us, for making the world a better place.”
His eyes stay steady on mine for a few beats and I see a question in them that I don’t understand before they drop back down to the crust he’s pulling apart. I don’t want to make him self-conscious so I turn to glance at the others.
“All of you, thank you for fighting for us.”
The words have a double meaning for me. These brave beautiful men fought to make things better for the world and also for Chloe and me. She breaks the awkward silence.
“I’m going to be a soldier when I grow up! And a ballet dancer and a pony rider!”
Zack laughs. “Hey! How old do you think the little bug needs to be before we can take her to play paintball?”
Ryker grunts, “Ten.”
Zack asks, “Eight?”
Easton points a stern finger at him. “Twelve!”
Chloe counters with, “Now!”
