It's The Hard-Knock Life

 Nori was furious when her mother told her in the kitchen on Thanksgiving that she deserved better. Of course, she couldn't lash out about it then. She would not make a scene, especially with Jared around.

"You don't even know him," Nori said over the phone to her mother the next day.

"Oh, I know what you see in him," Her mother came back with. "Is he that good in bed?"

Nori was shocked. She was practically shaking when her mother said those words. She could hardly breathe. Where had her mother learned to talk that way? If she called Mel, she would just laugh about the matter, but Nori was serious about Jared. And it hurt that all her mother could say was something nasty.

Finally, she called her cousin Roman, who was there for Thanksgiving dinner with his significant other, Eddie.  She blurted out her troubles with her mother over Jared. She couldn't even nurse her cup of tea. She felt like she might be coming down with something. "Momma doesn't like my choices in men."

"Lil' Sis, you could have brought home Jesus Christ, and she still wouldn't be satisfied. Don't pay attention to her. You're the one who needs to be happy." Roman's little pep talk did her good. She was coming to her senses. She was not going to let her mother have the last say.

After the last phone call, she took some deep breaths on the couch and stared at the ceiling for a minute or two. Of course, she sniffed back a tear or two, wondering if this would work or not. On one hand, she hadn't been serious about anyone in a good long time. She'd tried the dating apps, but it was different with Jared. The moment she'd laid eyes on him, the chemistry was there, and she thought it kind of funny how he stammered around her, but was always full of smiles. Yes, he'd made her a little dizzy, and she liked the idea that he was up for whatever she wanted to do. Although she didn't think of herself as being that bossy. 

It took her a good twenty minutes to think it through, but then she made the call. 

"How about you move in with me?" She could hardly keep from laughing. Not a thought in her head was thinking of rejection.

"Really?" She could hear the laugh in his throat.

"Really." She told him he had better hurry before the Arctic blast got here. After all, it would be nice to have someone snow shovel the driveway.

That's me in the corner

 "I don't know, I just don't know," Jared could feel it all unraveling with Nori. He didn't think her parents liked him, but it felt like an all-day afair. He thought he was sweating under those conditions. It was all so foreign to him, yet he knew he was the outsider. 

He knew what kind of man they wanted, and he was too pale for them. For starters, they kept questioning him, constantly. They couldn't understand a word he said.

He fell back on the couch and hugged a pillow, while Randy was unmoved and stared at the TV. It had begun to snow outside, but Randy kept watching some old black and white TV western.

"How in the hell is this supposed to help you?" Jared yelped, evidently to no one. He just wanted to cry.

"Jesus, J, just chill, all right." Randy finally sighed, but he was investing his time in TV. Listening as if he were memorizing it.

Finally, the boy and his tall father hugged, show ended, and Randy clicked the TV off with the remote.

"You're just trying to scare yourself. You don't know anything." Randy tilted his head with a serious gaze.

"You don't know the half of it. I almost choked on collard greens and cornbread." Jared sat up as if it were some sort of initiation he didn't know he'd go through.

Randy yawned. "It probably won't be the last time you're there." He shrugged.

"Oh, God, don't say such rot."  Jared winced at the thought of ever seeing Charles and Vivian again. "How do you do it?" He knew Randy spent plenty of time at Monica's.

"You have to be helpful. Take out the trash. Wash the dishes. I've even mowed the lawn." He told him.

"Are you kidding me?" Jared practically shrieked.

Randy shook his head, no.

Jared nursed his bottom lip. That was a lot to take in.

"You need to show them that you are not afraid. You can be a part of their family."

It gave Jared the shivers. He wasn't sure he was ready for that.  Of course, Justin was still at Carmen's parents. "Did you tell Justin about this?"

"Well, yeah, he's just like you." Randy chuckled.

And you say all kinds of crazy things

 "Well, when I was growing up, we never had a Thanksgiving like this," Trish started in on a story at the end of the late dinner that didn't quite get made until late, due to everyone getting there late.

"Aw, Ma." Tristan shook his head, no as if he knew this story. But Carmen smiled back and clasped her hand over her foster mother's hand.

"Let her tell it."

"Usually, we ate right at noon. My grandmother would be out scalding a wild turkey and picking feathers at three in the morning. But that tough bird got in the oven early. We had dressing, never stuffing. God knows, how we didn't get sick with so many trying to get it just right." 

"Oh, Ma."  Tristan rolled his eyes and sipped on his generic brand of Dr. Pepper while his dad winked a smile and drank his third cup of hot coffee.

"Look, we had to help cut venison as soon we cleared the table. Thanksgiving meant deer hunting for those relatives that came out to the country," Trish pressed her lips tight. "I hated Thanksgiving. It's just a family gathering of hunters. And I always had to help skin  the deer, too." She was straight-lipped, but Carmen knew how sad her mother was as she talked about the past. 

"I didn't have the best cousins either." She looked straight at Tristan as if he should know. He sighed and gave Olivia a quick smile, who was giving them all a dead stare, as if no way she wanted to be a part of this family.

That was when she told him how a twelve-year-old pulled a switchblade on her and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

"Ma, you just had a crazy family, and you got away. You've got Dad, and you've got us. So-" Tristan quickly said before she could say anymore. She went back to her Merlot, and the men cleared the table, and Tristan cut the pumpkin pie into even triangles. 

All was quiet until the Black Friday stories began over coffee.

I'll be at the zoo

 

It felt like he'd just seen her. But here Olivia was with a hand-held basket while Tristan was pushing a grocery cart. Both were casual in old jeans and a heavy sweater. The north wind finally got here and their was an icy chill outside.

"It's almost Thanksgiving," he felt a little dizzy to say, especially since the word was floating above her head to advertise the Thanksgiving specials.

"So?" Her dark eyes were tense as usual. He should have expected it.

"So you want to go to the zoo with me?" He caught her off guard and saw her little smile. Naturally, she covered her hand over her mouth.

"Zoo?"

He pushed on with a sigh, and she walked with him with an empty basket.

"Yeah, my parents live there. They invited me to Thanksgiving. Carmen will be there," he looked at her as if that would be a plus. They seemed to hit it off at the Friendsgiving.

Olivia nodded as if she'd think about it. 

"You can even wear your pajamas if you want, I mean, flannels. Its a casual affair. Kind of an ugly sweater party without the glitz."

"Sounds tempting." She told him.

"My Dad's Chinese, but he'll make enchiladas, or maybe Carmen will." Tristan found the Hawaiian rolls on sale. His mother's favorite.

"What will you bring?" Olivia asked.

"This and some salsa and chips." He nodded.

"Should I bring anything?" Her basket was still empty.

"So you are coming?" Tristan smiled.

"I got nothing else to do," Olivia shrugged. Her family wasn't here, and her college friends were away.

"You don't need to bring anything," he practically winked with a smile. "Now, just don't let my mom scare you. Hopefully, she'll just be on Carmen's case."

"Why?" Olivia looked at him blankly as if she wanted to know.

"About Justin, she can't stand him. She thinks Carmen deserves better. She's crazy that way." Tristan nodded.

Olivia was even lipped. He said when to expect him. It would be mid-afternoon.

"You've got my number?" She looked at him as if it were a surprise.

"Uh, maybe I don't." He got out his phone. "You could call me, and then I'd have it." He knew for sure she had his because of work. Only she never called him.

"OK," but she didn't call him right that second, she went to get what she came for, plain Greek yogurt, cereal and some nuts.

Olivia

 

I should have known Tristan would have such good friends. He always makes me look forward to the weekends when we work at the Animal Clinic. Even the pets trust him. 

He's not cold like Holden who owns the place. I'm always afraid I'll do something wrong. It seems odd that Holden is married to the sweetest girl. And I might have left ages ago if Dora wasn't there. 

She told me Tristan used to be with her best friend Delia, who moved to Florida for her job at a news station. But he's never talked about her and well, it hasn't come up. We get so busy with the animal emergencies that come in. He knows a lot being at the zoo, and I'm glad he's continuing his education.

Honestly, I don't know what his real charm is, but he does make me laugh and his friends are a close circle. It was good being a part of that at Friendsgiving. I liked seeing this side of him. And they welcomed me as if I was already a part of their circle.

At first, when Carmen told me that he'd been talking about me, I was worried, but it was all good things. Still, I don't know if we could date. I've never dated a co-worker. But he's more than a co-worker. He's been a good friend.

Yeah, maybe we'll just hang out for the holidays.

Makin' good conversation

 "We should have a Friendsgiving," Nic hated to admit how much he missed Tristan and the old times back at the apartment. His life had changed a lot since then. Maybe he was just doing too much adulting these days. He'd forgotten about Thanksgiving. He was glad Tristan had called him.

"Oh, I'm just tired of cleaning house," Tristan said he was taking a breather. "Jade and Carmen are supposed to come tomorrow, and you know, do the cooking. I don't want to worry them too much."

"And how are you really?" Nic knew Tristan hadn't been quite the same since Delia moved to Florida.

"As good as I can be. Just stay busy, you know."

"Yeah, I hear you, bro." Nic wondered if he'd ever get back to Nebraska. He asked about the weather, and Tristan filled him in that there had been a little rain, "but I think it will be a dry winter."

Still, he knew that meant a cold winter, which meant holidays in cozy flannels and long-sleeved tees.

Tristan asked him how married life was, and Nic just grinned. Of course, Felicity was looking at him as if he'd been on the phone far too long. "Good. Really good."

"No baby yet?" Tristan awoke him to the fact about the matter.

"Not yet." Nic had a laugh caught in his throat. He hated to tell him he didn't think there would be. It wasn't that they didn't want to start a family. They were busy. Besides, their apartment was new, but tiny in Seoul.

"There's no rush," Tristan told him he'd met someone, but it was too early to tell if it would be anything but the friends zone.

"Well, you better make things right, ask her out," Nic reminded him that he could at least try.

"Maybe I will," Tristan said he'd left her a message about Friendsgiving.

Just then, Nic noticed a subtle hint that maybe this person had texted Tristan back.

"Well, good luck. Happy Thanksgiving. Love you, man," Nic smiled, knowing he had better get back to bed. Felicity just couldn't rest alone.

We're not gonna take it, anymore

 

"So we're still having Friendsgiving, right?" Tristan said into his phone as he made an effort to clean the microwave with his other hand. It was overdue for a good cleaning. He felt these days he didn't have time for anything with two jobs. He couldn't remember the last time he actually made a home-cooked meal.

"I don't know. Maybe not." Carmen sighed heavily.

"You don't know?" He felt out of the loop. He did have a way of ignoring messages and calls these days. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing."

"It is something." He knew this much. "Is it Mom? Is she driving you crazy?"

"Kind of." That's when she told him the situation with the wedding rings.

"Oh, she would." He scrubbed a little harder on the interior of the microwave and made a face of disgust. That's when he told his foster sister that he didn't like living here. "It's just too big, and I'm not here like I should be."

"You just need a companion, I know you." Carmen was blunt. Possibly saying things he'd always wanted to hear from his sister, Liv.

"That is not true." He looked over at the mess of laundry he needed to wash. "I'm not lonely." He protested. Actually, he always looked forward to the weekends so he could talk to Olivia, who worked at Holden's Animal Clinic. 

Of course, he wanted to ask her about Friendsgiving, but he hadn't yet. All the while, Carmen was talking about how Justin and Jared were fussing. He didn't get the last part about what. He was only thinking of Olivia and how she made him smile, even if she was the serious sort.

"Look, we are going to have that dinner," he snapped. "We'll  have it here." He was going to invite Olivia. Of course, it might be an all-nighter getting his parents' house cleaned up, but he was on it.