40 days of septiplier!

Thanksgiving

Jan, Cathy and I have been cooking all day. Mark and Tom were catching up and I didn't want to disturb them. Anyway, I liked cooking. It was fun and I loved spending time with his moms. They didn't seem to mind my company either. They talked on and on about how proud they were of Mark and how much the family adored him. Not that I minded talking about my boyfriend, because I certainly didn't.

"He's always been so determined." Jan said as she put the topping on the green bean casserole. "Even when he didn't know what to do, he worked hard to find something."

"And hard working he is." Cathy said. "He does everything to the best ability no matter what the task. Admirable no?"

"Extremely." I said wistfully. They didn't need to sell me on Mark, but it was still nice to hear complaints about him.

"Even when his father (God rest his soul) took ill, he still worked to the best of his ability." Cathy said sadly.

"He is so caring. Always has been." Jan tried to lighten the mood.

I smile. "Kind doesn't even begin to cover it." I mumble. I didn't even mean to say it out loud, but now that I had, my face was bright red.

The girls smiled wide and looked at each other. "You really do love him yes?" Cathy asked.

"Of course. More than anything." I say and smile. The women have tears in their eyes and are looking at something behind me. I look up from my stuffing and see Mark in the doorway, his eyes glossed over with tears and a smile on his lips.

"I love you too." He whispers and kisses my hand. I blush and look back down.

"Go talk to yer brother ya goober." I said and continued mixing. He came up and took the bowl from my hands.

"Why don't you take a brake? I'll help the women for a while." I was about to object, but I could tell his moms wanted to talk to him. I rolled my eyes and started towards the exit. "Hey!" He says. I raise an eyebrow. "You forget something? He asked and pointed to his cheek. I rolled my eyes and walked back over to him. I took his face in my hand and kissed his lips ever so slightly.

"Go help your moms." I whisper and walk out.

I walk into the living room and see Tom in front of the TV. "Hey Jack, ever watch American football?" He asks.

"A little." I say and take it as an invitation to sit down. He hands me a bowl with chips in it and I take a few to be polite.

"So, you going home for Christmas?" He asked.

"Yeah. Marks gotta meet my folks too."

"Hopefully we're all in the same place at the same time someday." Tom said and I nodded. I'd love for my family to meet Marks. I think they'd love them almost as much as me. Almost. "So Mark says you met over YouTube?" He asks and mutes the TV.

"Yep. I was just some crazy fanboy who got lucky I suppose."

"I've seen your stuff." He says after a minute. "You're pretty funny."

"Thanks. That means a lot. Nothing like your brother though."

"He has his moments." Tom admits and we both laugh.

"I uh... I haven't seen him this happy in a while." He says softly.

"I haven't been this happy ever." I say and he chuckles.

"I'm glad he found someone."

I nodded. He unmuted the TV and we went back to watching the game.

---

After all the food was made and all the guests arrived, we sat down and preyed. This was a strange holiday, but the food was to die for.

"So Beth, what are you thankful for?" I ask the small girl beside me.

"Um I'm thankful for... All the toys all get on Christmas!" We all laughed and continued around the table. The obvious friends and family and Heath and all that was mentioned.

"I'm grateful it hasn't gotten below 20 yet." Someone said and we laughed again.

"I'm grateful for my wonderful boys." Jan said. "All three of you." She looked for Tom to Mark to me.

"To my new brother-in-law!" Tom said and raised he glass.

"To Jack!" The table toasted.

"To uncle Jack!" A few of the kids said.

I rode my glass with tears in my eyes. "To family." I said.

We all drank.