Page 39 of Tizzy's Little Thanksgiving

“That it is, angel. And I will go first to kick things off.” He cleared his throat and looked around the table and Eddie could have sworn the older man’s eyes were filled with tears. “I am thankful for all of you,” he said simply. “Each year I look around this table and see even more friendly faces than the year before. You all are friends who have become family and I will never stop being thankful for you.”

“Hear hear!” someone cried. They were too far away for Eddie to see who it was, but it started a litany of agreements, cheers and glasses clinking together.

“Oh oops,” Master Derek said, “I think that’s why I usually go last.”

“Is it my turn, Daddy?” Sadie asked, quieting the room.

“Go ahead, angel.” The room that had been full of noise only moments before was now eerily silent as Sadie folded her hands in her lap and smiled primly. “I’m thankful for my Daddy… and for candy!”

Her declaration gave her away as the hider of the secret sugar stash, and Eddie saw her cheeks pinken when Master Derek leaned over and whispered in her ear, no doubt giving her an inkling of what was to come later, once all their guests were gone.

Hayleigh and Chef Connor went next and then it went around the table rather quickly, with the Littles in attendance making things interesting. They were thankful first, foremost and always, for their Daddies and Mommies, but from there the items got rather interesting. Friends, Care Bears, stuffed animals, glitter, rubber duckies, porch swings, playgrounds and the like. Lucas was thankful of course for Georgie, for having Eddie there to be his best man, and plants. Typical Lucas. Georgie gave thanks for Star Wars Day, little black books, and baby Yoda, as well as her husband-to-be.

Then it was Tizzy’s turn and Eddie found that he was holding his breath, wondering what she’d say. She looked nervous, like she was about to be graded on the answer she gave. With a giant gulp, she glanced around the room, and stared down at her plate. “Um, I’m thankful for my best friend Georgie, her amazing Daddy Lucas, the fact that I got to come all the way to Montana to this amazing place to be their maid of honor, and”—a beautiful blush rose further up her cheeks—“I’m really, really thankful for apples, and roller skates, and coffee mugs and nail art and diners. And that’s it, I’m done.”

Eddie exhaled. To everyone else, it would seem like a very random list of things, but to him, it was practically their love story.

He was so busy staring at her that he forgot he was up next until she elbowed him in the ribs. “Oh right. Me next. I’m thankful for housekeepers who go on vacation, supermarkets between home and work, tornados, and apple-cinnamon crumble muffins.”

He could feel everyone staring at the two of them in confusion.

“Right, well, um, I guess I’m up then,” Wren, who was also in the wedding, piped up from beside him.

“I’m thankful for my Daddy, and for horses, and for Ross, Joey, Chandler, Monica, Phoebe and Rachel.”

Eddie blinked in confusion as she named of the characters from a popular older TV show, but everyone else chuckled, and the task of naming what you were thankful for moved on to the next person.

It must have taken twenty minutes to go around the table, but when they finished, everyone had a full plate and the mood in the room was jovial.

Eddie took the liberty of cutting Teresa’s turkey into bites and adding a scoop of the Brussel sprouts that she’d conveniently forgotten to dish up.

Teresa wrinkled her nose. “Dadddyyy, no! I don’t like ‘em.”

He shook his head, dismissing her protests. “You’re a nurse, you know how important a balanced meal is, and all I see on your plate is starch and protein. You have to have some veggies.”

“Ugh. Fine.” She sighed in resignation and dutifully took a bite, holding her nose while she chewed. Of course, that set off a chain reaction, and soon all the Littles were giggling while holding their noses and making exaggerated gagging noises while forcing down vegetables and salad.

The Daddies in the room rolled their eyes and shrugged their shoulders as if to say, “at least they’re eating their veggies”. Derek let the theatrics continue for several minutes, before raising his eyebrows and clearing his throat. “Remember little ones, Chef Connor worked hard on this meal for several days. Far too hard and long for you to be gagging while you eat it.”

Eddie noticed he’d waited to voice his protest until most of the vegetables had been cleared off their plates. As soon as he’d spoken, two dozen Littles had swallowed hard, set down their forks, let go of their noses and chorused, “Sorry, Chef Connor! Thank you for dinner.”

The rest of the meal passed without incident, allowing Eddie to savor each and every delectable bite. It seemed the tales he’d heard about the chef’s famous mac and cheese were true as those bowls quickly emptied onto Littles’ plates. The mashed potatoes were the best he’d ever had, and the stuffing was to die for. He wondered if Chef Connor would give him the recipe to pass on to Jeannie.

As plates began to clear and Chef Connor began to tease about dessert, he noticed a change in the mood of the room. Well, a change in the mood of the Littles, anyway.

“Don’t forget to leave room for dessert, people!” Chef Connor called. “We’ve got pies! Lots and lots of pies! Pumpkin and pecan, sweet potato and apple, cherry and chocolate silk. Though oddly enough one of my chocolate pies did mysteriously disappear overnight…”

He trailed off and never asked the question directly as Eddie would have, but Eddie noticed the shift. Several Littles became suddenly fascinated in their surroundings, commenting innocently on the centerpieces, the china pattern, and each other’s dress clothes. They were also anxiously glancing toward the front door every few minutes.

Giving Tizzy the side-eye, he was pleased to observe she seemed to have no part in whatever was going on, though the same could not be said for his sister. If the other Bigs in the room noticed, they were pretending they didn’t as no one commented on the odd and telling behavior.

The service subs came out and cleared the table, refilling glasses of sparkling juice, champagne and coffee, and eventually, the Littles began to act normal. That should have been the first warning.

He leaned back in his chair, relaxing as the conversation turned to things like the football game, the evening’s turkey trot contest, in which Bigs carried their Littles on their back and raced across the finish line and the hayride with hot cocoa and popcorn, which the Littles were looking forward to the most. Lucas and Georgie’s wedding was also a main topic of conversation as it was only two days away.

After everyone had a chance for their food to settle and the conversation had died down to idle chatter, just as the pies were being served, the front door burst open, and the blast of a trumpet, of all things, filled the air, followed quickly by a harmonica. Fifty plus heads swung in the direction the noise had come from. Eddie’s jaw dropped open at the sight that greeted him.

A Little boy marched over the threshold, dressed in an outfit made up of Swiss Lederhosen, bright knee socks, and well-loved tennis shoes. His wispy hair fell in his eyes, and his cheeks were tinged pink from the cold because who wore shorts in Montana in late November?

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