Swanson Farms

Chapter 10

The next weekend was Thanksgiving and my dad's family was going to join us for the first time in almost ten years. Since my house was bigger than the farm house I offered to let the Thanksgiving dinner be held at my house. Mom was cooking in the kitchen, Dad was out back deep frying the turkey and I was sitting in the den with the fire place going.

I was in a high waisted burgundy maxi skirt with a long sleeved low cut white shirt. I had Bailey in a a dress with a turkey stitched on the front, with white sleeves and a brown body. Mom was in a plaid skirt and a jean shirt with a brown belt and Dad was in a blazer and jeans. His family would be arriving any time, and Zach and Jackie were going to join us in an hour or so when the thanksgiving lunch was done at Zach's house.

My mom smiled and walked in, seeing me with Bailey in my arms.

"Is there a reason you're mad at me this time?"

"You mean besides the fact that I'm a disappointment?"

"Charlie what are you talking about?"

"Someone brought to my attention Dad's retirement party. Since you and Dad are 'truth drunks' it's not so hard to believe that you two were speaking your mind when I was in Toronto... About how I'm a disappointment for the family. Don't get me wrong, I pretty much knew that. But I at least thought that you and Dad would have my back."

"Sweetheart... We don't think that. Okay? Maybe we thought that at one point but now... We don't. We can tell that Bailey is the best thing that has happened to you and that's all we want. You're a good mother and I'm truly sorry that we said that."

I nodded and she sat beside me, kissing my head,

"I saw the desserts you made for tonight sweetie, they look amazing."

"Thank you," I said, going and bringing over a small plate,

"I made your favourite. I also put in a couple of the new recipes I'm trying out."

She nodded and started eating them, and I smiled, snacking on a couple myself. We heard a couple of cars pull up and my mom sighed. She had never really gotten along with any of my dad's family for the fact that they were overly high class.

I stood up, holding Bailey, and Mom stood beside me as I walked over to open the door. I saw my two aunts, uncles, and my cousins all getting out of rental cars. All of them were dressed in an expensive taste, as well as their children,

"How wonderful to see you both," My dad's oldest sister said. Her name was Brooklyn, and she was the oldest of four siblings. Brooklyn was one of the best neurological surgeons in North America.  She and her husband, Scott, had been married almost thirty five years. Scott was a stay at home dad, and once the kids grew up and moved out he got back into the real estate market.

Their kids (my cousins) are Shannon and Garret. Shannon is almost ten years older than me, and she's also a surgeon. Garett was a lawyer for a big firm in Vancouver.

Michelle, the middle sister, was a big shot CEO for some company in Europe. She travelled a lot and didn't have a family.

My Uncle Hank, was the youngest besides my dad. He was a pediatrician, and his wife, Julie, was a gynaecologist. Now even though most of my dad's family was hard to deal with, Hank and Julie were my favourite on that side. Their kids, Jameson and Kyla were annoying however. They were the same ages as Jackie and I, Jameson being my age and Kyla being the same age as Jackie.

Jameson was in university to become a psychiatrist and Kyla was back from her  charity help in Africa.

As you can see, this side of my family is mostly over achievers. But for this small town Jackie and I are overachievers. We both own small businesses and we both are starting our own family, which is more than any of my cousins.