I didn’t care his mother was right there; I leaned closer to kiss him.
* * * *
We’d made Cecilia promise that she wouldn’t cook all day, and that a nice family dinner was all we wanted. We didn’t need a Thanksgiving feast, especially because we’d be having one back at the rescue on Saturday when everyone could get together.
As we finished carrying everything into the dining room, Cecilia glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Your father should be here soon,” she stated calmly. “Now, I’ve told him he will be thrown out if he doesn’t behave, so if at any point you feel uncomfortable, you let me know and I’ll handle it, dear.” She patted my shoulder in passing.
I felt a bit choked up. She was protecting me in a way I couldn’t remember my own parents ever doing. Not that I needed the protection now, but the thought counted for more than I could ever express.
Somehow, I’d still expected the door to just open and Mr. Harries to walk in. When it was the doorbell ringing instead, I readjusted my expectations.
Ben went to open it while Cecilia fetched something from the kitchen, so I slid myself into the doorway between the kitchen and hall.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Dad.”
I could see Mr. Harries shuffle awkwardly, and then he nodded as if catching himself. “Happy Thanksgiving, son.”
“Why don’t you come in.” Ben stepped back, and it struck me that his tone wasn’t exactly warm with his father.
“Thank you.” The man I’d once been afraid of walked in, lifted his gaze, and saw me.
In the split second I wasn’t sure how this would go, Cecilia stepped behind me and tilted her head.
“Arnold,” she said curtly. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
Mr. Harries cowed immediately. He looked as if he’d taken a beating, and from what I could gather from how Cecilia conducted herself, it must’ve been pretty harsh.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Cee,” he murmured. As if steeling himself, he rolled his shoulders back and made eye-contact with me. “Happy Thanksgiving, River.” Then, he gave me a small, wavery smile and added, “And I’m indefinitely sorry for what I did back then. I should’ve never laid my hands on you.”
I tilted my head and looked at him for a few drawn out seconds. “No, you shouldn’t have. I had actual nightmares for months, and I lost my best friend.”
Ben, hearing about the nightmares for the first time, made a worried sound and immediately came to my side.
“Now, that’s all in the past. I’m not afraid of people like you anymore—” I could see Mr. Harries wince “—and I have the love of my life back.” I glanced at Ben, who beamed at me. I looked back to his father. “So, Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Harries.”
“Come, come,” Cecilia said, clapping her hands once. “We don’t want the food to get cold.”
I guess it could’ve been more awkward, especially when we did the thing of talking about what we were grateful for that year, but it ended up pretty painless.
“I, for one, am grateful that my son has found love, and that we have a forgiving family,” Cecilia started, then glanced at her husband in a way that told us she wasn’tthatforgiving, at least not yet.
Mr. Harries cleared his throat. “Uh, I’m grateful for the truth, no matter what letting it out brings me.” He looked at his plate and then mumbled. “It was about time.”
I felt for him, I really did. I wasn’t sure Cecilia was going to forgive him or let him back into the house, but he’d made his bed a decade ago.
Looking at Ben, I raised my brow at him.
“You go first,” he said, giving me the smile that made the corners of his eyes crinkle in such an attractive way I felt it in my bones.
“All right, well,” I started, then thought for a moment. “I’m grateful for my friends who turned my life in a new direction this year. I’m grateful for my new job, because it’s so fulfilling. But most of all I’m grateful for having Ben back in my life. I love you.”
I barely heard Cecilia’s “aww,” because Ben was looking at me like I was the most precious thing he’d ever seen.
He sounded like his dad when he cleared his throat, clearly overcome by emotion. We sat side by side with Mr. Harries across from us and Cecilia at the end of the table next to Ben.
“I am so, so grateful for you, too. You’re my everything, River, and I wish I’d known that before, but now is not the time for regrets,” he said, voice shaking a little. “We’re still young, but at least you have known we belong together since we were kids.” He fidgeted a little, and I saw his “screw it” expression flit across his face. “I was going to do this on Saturday, but you know what, I can’t wait that long.”
