|A L W A Y S & F O R E V E R| B O O K 1

28||T h a n k s g i v i n g D i n n e r

Date: 11/26/15
Day of the Week: Thursday
Location: Los Angeles, California
Place: Ciara's House

Ciara
Today was Thanksgiving day, and Russ and my family were at my place. La was helping me wash off the greens so they could be cooked. My Mama and Mama Tammy were peeling potatoes while Russ and my dad sat outside in the backyard, catching up with each other. My grandma was taking care of the desserts. Anna decided to stay on campus. She would be coming down on Christmas day. Harrison and Courtenay were having Thanksgiving at her parent's house. Zahir and Kiyan were with their dads for the holiday. Zahir will be back on Saturday. I already put the turkey in the oven this morning, and the ham was already done. We all talked amongst each other as we worked on preparing the food. Russ and my father came in and made their way to the kitchen.

"We came to see if y'all ladies needed any help in here." My father said as he stood in the kitchen, watching us.

"We're fine, Dad. We got it." I smiled. He held his hands up while backing away.

"Okay. Just checking." We laughed at them as they left the kitchen to go do God knows what. La and I talked amongst each other as Russ and my mother did the same.

"It seems like they like each other. That's a good thing." La nodded towards them.

"Yeah. Thank God." I say while looking at the two share laughs. I was happy to see them getting along.

After we finished in the kitchen, we all went back to the living room to sit down. I turned the TV on and let them choose whatever they wanted to watch. They scanned through movies on Netflix before choosing something. I decided to make some coffee for everybody for the time being. Once I poured them a glass and fixed it how they wanted it, I brought their cups to them.

"Thank you, baby." My mom says as I hand her the cup of coffee.

"I'm gonna go see if the guys want some." I went outside through the glass sliding door and made my way around the house to the back.

"Do you guys want any coffee? I just made some."

"Yes. I'd like a cup, sweetheart." My father says. I look to Russ for his answer.

"I guess I'll take a cup, too."

After they told me how they wanted their coffee, I went back inside to prepare it before bringing it back outside. I stayed outside with them for a few minutes before we went back inside with everyone else. They were watching Friday. Russ sat in one of the comfortable chairs I had in my living room space and pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms around my waist. We all sat in comfortable silence while watching the movie, laughing here and there. I watched the movie a little more before I went to the kitchen to check on the turkey. It was done, so I took it out of the oven and sat it on the counter on top of a large dish towel.

A few hours passed by, and the food was done. La set the table and I brought the dishes to the dining room, sitting them on the table. I filled the glass pitchers with homemade sweet tea and water. Then, I placed them in the center of the table. Once everything was set up, I called everybody to the dining room. They all came and took a seat at the table. Before we started eating, we blessed the food. The food looked so good that I could drool. There was turkey, smoked ham, baked mac and cheese, collard greens, string beans, cabbage, sweet potatoes, dressing, and more. We outdid ourselves with this one.

"Damn, this food looks good!" My father says while scanning the table full of delicious food.

"It sure does! Y'all did what y'all had to do!" Russ chimed in. We laughed at them.