The Real American Idol

Thanksgiving weekend

Time went by after that, and it was now the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. School had been let out for the four-day weekend, and Mirabela was excited.

"Hey, Mirabela, you want to hang out this Friday?" Lily asked. "We can go to Pizza King for lunch."

"Aw, I'd love to, Lily, but the family is going out for lunch on Friday," Mirabela declined. "We're taking Papi out to a special restaurant, and he doesn't even know about it yet."

Lily was dismayed that Mirabela was going to spend time with her father after Thanksgiving. "You're always hanging around with your daddy, Mirabela," she said somewhat jealously.

"That's not true, Lily," Mirabela said. "I've made time to hang with you after school every day for the past week now."

"I know, but I feel like we should hang out more," Lily said.

"Well, maybe we'll have the time to hang around Friday evening or Saturday," Mirabela said.

"Okay," Lily sighed.

Mirabela and the twins each got on a scooter, and they rode home, leaving Lily dismayed.

"What's wrong, Lily?" Miley asked.

"Miley, have you noticed that Mirabela has been spending all her time with her daddy?" Lily asked.

"That's not true, Lily," Miley said. "She spends a lot of time with her mom, grandpa, aunt, uncle, and cousins, and she spends a lot of time with us, too."

"Yes, but ever since her daddy came home, she's been spending a lot of time with him," Lily huffed. "What am I supposed to do while she does that?"

"Why don't you spend time with your own dad?" Miley asked.

"Are you nuts?" Lily glared. "He's an embarrassment, and he won't let me do anything I want."

"Aw, that's too bad," Nancy teased. "Well, I'm glad my daddy lets me do everything I want. After all, who wouldn't want a daddy like that?"

"Right, Nancy," Lily sighed. Then she saw her father's car pull up, and she got in.

That night, Pedro and Pablo were ready to play a nice card game together.

"I've been meaning to do this with you since I moved in," Pedro said, shuffling the cards.

"Better late than never," Pablo smiled.

"You said it," Pedro smiled back. "Hearts or Crazy Eights?"

"Dealer's choice," Pablo replied.

"Conquian, it is," Pedro smiled, shuffling the cards one more time.

Thanksgiving went by surprisingly fast. Of course, every family had turkey, but some of them had foods that were even better than that. Lily and her parents had turkey and cherry pie. Nancy's family had steamed lobster, a ginormous turkey with cranberry stuffing, cranberry sauce, and raspberry pie. Miley's family had turkey, sweet potato pancakes, and sweet potato pie. The Mendoza family had turkey, arepas, corn, and pecan pie. The families had eaten so much that they felt like they needed bigger clothes and belts.

Black Friday had come, and everyone in Bellflower Bay was doing their Christmas shopping. The Mendoza family had already taken care of their Christmas shopping back in October, so they didn't have to worry about standing in lines that were long enough to lead outside. Right now, the family was driving through town, and they were ready to surprise Pedro.

"Where exactly are we going?" Pedro asked.

"We're almost there, cariño—close your eyes," Sara beamed.

Pedro closed his eyes, and everyone was eager to surprise him. Before he knew it, Sara parked the car in a parking lot.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Sara smiled.

Pedro opened his eyes to see that the family had arrived at... "Chesapeake Corral?" he gaped.

"We thought this would make a great post-Thanksgiving lunch," Pablo smiled.

"And the food here is shellfish-free," Jesus chimed in.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sofia asked. "Let's go on in."

Once the family got out of the car, they entered the restaurant. The entire time, they had a lot of fun even though they felt really full afterwards. The entire weekend, the family got some exercise.