She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not (gxg)

Part 41

"Would you want to join me at my parents house for Thanksgiving?"

Dani's question caught me off guard. She had picked me up from work the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and asked me as she started driving.

"They asked me if you would like to join. My siblings and grandmother will be there." Dani continued, and then looked at me.
"Sure!" I said, already feeling slightly apprehensive.
"I' m so sorry if you already had plans."
"Don't worry. Charlotte was going to make a small dinner, but I think they will be fine without me." I reassured Dani.

I was definitely a bit nervous. I had only met Dani's parents briefly one time. And I hadn't met her younger sister or older brother. Hopefully they would be pleasant. And her grandmother.

Dani's family lived up in a more rural area of Pennsylvania, and as we drove on Thanksgiving up to her parents house, it was interesting seeing where she had grown up.
"Not much to do around here, huh?" I asked her.
"Me and my friends in high school lived at the local diner." Dani said, "Or we drank. Moving to Philly for college was a bit of a culture shock. But I needed to get out of here."
"I get it." I said, "And how about gay people- were you one of the only ones?"
"I came out my senior year of high school. There were already a few people out- and plenty closeted I've learned." Dani said.
"And your parents...they will be nice about us, I hope?"
"They haven't been anything but pleasant to me about you so far. My dad, of course, is a little more stubborn about it all. But I think my mom just wants to see me happy."
"How about your siblings?"
"They could care less. My sister is on the rugby team at Bloomsburg (a college in Pennsylvania!) , so literally all of her friends are gay. And my brother is totally accepting. Same with his girlfriend, who will be there too."
"What about your grandmother?"
"Surprisingly more accepting than my parents. She's excited to meet you."
I smiled. I was excited to meet her too then.

Dani's parents house was a ranch, and a large one at that. The door was open to her house- something she said was a constant, and I could hear voices right when we walked in.

"Who's here?" her dad, Jay, said loudly from another room.
Dani rolled her eyes slightly but smiled, "It's Dani and Jane!"

Immediately footsteps came our way. There was Dani's parents, Jay and Dawn, and then Samantha- her younger sister.
Samantha rushed up and gave Dani a big hug. She had Dani's bright blue eyes, and her hair was long, blonde, and curly.
"Hey, Sam! You're going to knock me over." Dani laughed.
Samantha then gave me a hug, a bit unexpectedly, "Jane, it's so nice to meet you!" she said.
"It's nice to meet you too!" I said back as we pulled away.
Jay and Dawn then came up to us, and Jay hugged Dani quickly, and then shook my hand. "Good to see you." he said. I noticed no Trump hat this time.
"Thank you so much for having me." I said, and he nodded in response.
"It's nice to see you, sweetie." Dawn gave me a quick hug.
"Where are Ryan and Jen?" Dani asked.
"They should be here soon." Samantha said.
Then a small, older woman came walking up slowly to us. She had on a pink outfit, and she looked happy to be with her family.
"Grandma Elle, it's great to see you." Dani walked up to her grandmother and gave her a hug. I followed in suit.
"My Daniella, it's so good to see you." Grandma Elle said, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She then smiled and held out her arms to me. I leaned in and gave her a hug.
"Nice to meet you, Jane. Thank you for making my girl happy." she said, patting my back.

I pulled away and gave Dani a smile. I wanted to always be the one to make her happy.

Dani's brother and his girlfriend arrived soon after we did, and they were both nice as well.
They also had some news as we sat down and started to eat.
"I figured we might as well just announce it. We are having a baby." Ryan said.
Everyone in the room immediately either cheered or gasped.
"I'm going to be an aunt!" Dani said to me, very happy.
"How far along are you?" Dawn asked Jen.
"I am 13 weeks." Jen said, with a smile.
Dinner was really great after that. I felt welcomed in Dani's home. Her dad made one or two slightly homophobic comments in conversation, which Dani just rolled her eyes at. But she reassured me- he didn't mean harm.
Some people are just a bit ignorant. But he wasn't outright rude to me.

After we dined on turkey, potatoes, Mac and cheese, green bean casserole, vegetables, and cranberry sauce, Dawn said that she would set out dessert in about 20 minutes.
"We've got 6 types of pies!" she said, cheerfully.

"Come with me." Dani said, and we got up.
I started walking with her down the hall. There were 5 bedrooms in the house, and I could tell she was leading me to one of them.

She paused for a moment before opening the door to it.
And right away when she opened it, I knew whose room it was.
Mike's.

She turned to me, "My parents decided to leave his room as is. In memory of him."
We then entered the room.
There was a cork board up with photos thumb tacked to it. A lot of photos.
Mike with his family. Mike with his friends. And I knew immediately which one was him.
"You look a lot alike." I said. Mike also had bright blue eyes, the same nose as Dani, and sandy blonde hair.
I could tell just by looking at him that he was a special person.

Dani stood there for a moment, looking at all of the photos of her brother and his life.

Seeing these photos made Mike seems so much more real to me. Seeing him smiling, posing goofy, and hanging out with his friends.
Just like how Callie was a real person to me that I lost- now Mike was so real.

"I come in here anytime I see my parents. It makes me feel connected to him. Keeps his memory alive." Dani said.
I held her hand.
"I totally understand, of course." I said, looking at her.
I could then see tears brimming her eyes.
"He would be so thrilled to be an uncle." she said, and then she took a deep breath. "But he's with us. He knows what's going on. I fully believe it."
"I believe it too, that Callie is always with me."
I said, and I could feel myself getting choked up.
"She is. Maybe her and Mike have even interacted...wherever they are." Dani gave me a sad smile.
I couldn't help but to start to cry. "I miss her so fucking much." I said, softly, "It's so unfair. Anyone dying young is so unfair."
And I could see tears spilling out of Dani's eyes.
She pulled me in for a hug. "I know. I know sometimes people say everything happens for a reason, but there is no reason for this."

We stood there for a moment in solace, just hugging.
Then I heard a voice behind us say, "You know, I feel Mike with me every day. He was the sweetest boy."
Dani and I let go of each other and turned around. It was Grandma Elle.
I wiped my eyes and looked at her. I could see her eyes were shining.
"I lost my sister a little over a year ago." I said to Grandma Elle, "I completely understand."
She pulled me in for a hug. "Oh honey...I'm so sorry. Was she around Mike's age?"
"She was 23." I said.

Grandma Elle then let go and the three of us stood together.

Unfortunately this was one of the reasons that Dani and I bonded and had a connection- losing a sibling. But it made our bond stronger.

And there was no one in the world that I bonded with like Dani.