dream maker ✧

011. thanksgiving

the next time i got to see taylor was thanksgiving. her family was going to stay in town like normal, but then her parents got invited to florida for some fancy event so they went down while tay stayed at home and watched over her little sister, bridget. 

the house was pretty packed on thanksgiving because there were so many more people than usual. it was mom, belly, me, dad, tay tay, bridget, connie, jere, and mr. fisher, and my mom's boyfriend, cleveland.

 mr. fisher convinced my dad and cleveland to watch football with him in the living room while connie and i hung out in the backyard. belly, jere, tay, and bridget stayed inside with my mom in the kitchen, but before too long, jere came back out with us because the girls got annoyed with him while trying to help mom cook.

"steve-o, can you please tell your girlfriend and her sister to chill out? they got pissed at me while i was trying to help them with the pumpkin pie and then bells said i had to leave," jeremiah muttered.

conrad rolled his eyes. "just leave it, jere. i'm sure belly isn't mad at you. she just wants taylor's sister to feel at home."

i squinted at jeremiah. "yeah, seriously. don't complain about my girlfriend to me. she's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"okay, fine," jeremiah said with a huff. "i'm sorry. i didn't mean to offend mr. perfectly fine."

i squinted at him again. "what's that supposed to mean?"

"it was just a joke, steven. chill out. belly's just been making me listen to a lot of taylor swift recently," jere muttered.

this is why i didn't want him dating my sister in the first place. he never takes anything seriously, and now he's acting like an entitled jerk when i get mad that he's talking bad about my girl.

"i'm gonna head back inside," i said before turning to connie. "you wanna come too, man?"

he shook his head. "i think it's better if i stay out here. plus i don't think your girlfriend would appreciate both of us coming in at the same time."

i shrugged and walked back inside to the kitchen. mom was working on the turkey, belly was working on the corn and mashed potatoes, tay tay was making a pecan pie, and bridget was working on the finishing touches of a pumpkin pie.

"you need any help, tay tay?" i asked taylor with a sly smirk. she was working the pie crust through her hands, and she had flour smuged all over her face. it was adorable.

she rolled her eyes and smiled. "we already have too many people in the kitchen, but thanks for offering, babe. i appreciate it."

i quickly snatched a hair tie out of the kitchen's random drawer and walked up behind her, pulling her hair away from her face. "are you sure? i can be very handy when needed."

her face softened as she looked up at me. "thank you. you can start getting pecans out of the bags and help me put them into the crust if you want, but you don't have to. although, baking is a pretty good stress reliever. might help you stop worrying about your exams."

i sighed and said, "well, i better help then." i'd been worrying my fucking ass off all week and there wasn't much that could help. it was worth it to see if something actually could.

there wasn't too much to get the pie done. once we finished, taylor moved on to making green beans and homemade rolls with my mom. belly left to go talk to jeremiah and conrad, and bridget and i were sitting at the kitchen table figuring out what to do next. we settled on making the apple pie.

"so, i assume taylor's been taking good care of you with your parents gone?" i asked bridget with a smile. taylor turned around and gave me a look. apparently, bridget found our relationship endlessly fascinating and shipped us as much as amazon products get shipped.

bridget shrugged. "there isn't much to do. besides talking about you, she just drives me to target and my friend's houses."

i felt myself flush. "aw, tay tay, you talk about me to your little sister?" i asked with a soft smile.

"yeah," taylor said with a nod. "i talk about how much of a nerd you are and tell her about how often you play video games."

i rolled my eyes and smilled. "oh, well, i get that." i turned to bridget and said, "i tell belly about taylor all the time too. about how much coffee she drinks and how much lana del rey she listens to."

bridget shrugged. "well, that's just why you're perfect for each other. staylor is endgame."

"staylor," i said with a hearty chuckle. "i wonder where i've heard that before," i said, stealing a glance at taylor.

"please," taylor said with an eye roll and smile. "you act as if we haven't been dating for almost six months."

i nodded and sighed as i continued slicing apples. "that's very true." i was super excited for our six month anniversary because it would fall right around christmas time. i have some big plans for us.

~~~

a little over an hour and a half later, it was time for our late lunch. we sat all together in between two different tables. mom, dad, mr. fisher, cleveland, and conrad at one. me, belly, tay tay, bridget, and jeremiah at the second.

"i know this is a little bit off-brand for me, but beck would have wanted us to do it," mom said. "we're all going to go around and say one thing we're grateful for."

dad went first. "for my family, and for the fact that laurel can still stand me in her house after all these years." everyone chuckled.

then mom went. "for the people that keep me accountable when things get hard." my dad nodded, and cleveland smiled.

then mr. fisher. "for the opportunity to spend this day with my boys and our family friends." jere smiled, and connie looked annoyed.

then cleveland. "i'm grateful to spend this holiday with people who are more than just opportunity seekers." 

then conrad. "for second chances," he said quietly, "and all of the people in this room."

then it came around to our table. belly went first. "for the time we had with susannah. she meant something great to all of us."

then jeremiah went. "for my girlfriend," he said with a smile, squeezing belly's hand, "and for this amazing food laurel cooked up." i glanced back over at conrad for a split second and he looked beyond annoyed, maybe even angry.

then it was my turn. "for the chance to all come together as one... and for the people who get us out of our comfort zone to try new things," i said, smiling down at taylor.

she was next. "for clarity on things that didn't make sense before and genuine love and understanding."

last was bridget. "for my sister and everything she does for me."

i squeezed taylor's hand and gave her a big smile. we were both older siblings, but she did it a hell lot better than i did. half the time, i didn't know what to say to belly. i just tried my best. 

after everything, being with taylor has just made me a better person. i learn more from her on a daily basis, and that's just part of the reason i'm so grateful for her. 

without tay tay, i would be a completely different person.

she makes me better, and that's why i'll always care for her and about her.