Time Is All We Need

Chapter 7

Alison was excited to see all her family, and especially the family dog Zoe. She missed them all. Her entire family always got together on Thanksgiving, which was one of the reasons that she loved it so much. She was a little disappointed that Emily couldn't come; Emily really wanted to, but she was scheduled to work a double.

She walked into the loud house, filled with clattering, hollering, singing, yelling, and laughing. It brought a smile to Alison's face knowing that nothing had changed. Zoe barked, hearing the front door close, and soon Alison had the miniature beagle jumping on her. She could smell the turkey already, something else she really loved about the holidays. She was greeted by her aunt and uncle, Stacy and Jim, while she was walking towards the kitchen. Everyone was always so interested to know how she was doing, and if she decided where she would be headed next year.

She finally made her way into the kitchen, seeing her mom still cooking away while everyone else had migrated back into the living room to watch the football game.

"Need any help?"

"Alison!" Her mother screeched and put the knife and potato she was peeling on the counter so she could hug her. It had only been a few weeks since she had last seen her mother, but they talked-at least through text-everyday. Her mother was very disappointed that Emily would not be able to make an appearance, but they decided that Alison would deliver a plate full of food to Emily while she was at work once we were done eating. Actually, her mother was more saddened that Emily wouldn't be there compared to some of their family members.

'No "Uncle" Dave this year!'

It was some random guy Jason had meet on the streets who was older than he. Alison, her mother, and father hated him. They all felt that Dave was a little weird, and off, and they all felt like they couldn't even trust the man in their own home. Alison was excited to see Jason, but she was also going to use this time to help him get back on track. He had mixed himself in some drugs, and the rest of her immediate family hated it as much as she did. None of them really knew how to approach the subject, but Alison figured she needed to try now before it was too late.

Her talk with Jason didn't go too horribly. He said he had already quit, yet Alison was still concerned that he was still hanging out with those friends of his. That was something that she simply could not control, and that's how she'd have to leave it. At least Jason had realized that he needed to quit before he did any detrimental damage to himself and the rest of the family. He even mentioned himself about settling down, which was something Alison saw as a major positive. Jason was a few years older than she, 32, as she was now 25. She was happy that he was thinking about his future for basically the first time in his life.

"So Alison, when do you hear back from all the hospitals?" Her grandpa had asked, roughly twenty minutes into their dinner. Alison bent down as discreetly as possible to feed Zoe a piece of turkey.

"I won't hear back until January." Alison nodded and sipped on her wine.

"I hope you go to Wisconsin; your dad and I will be able to catch a game and come visit you." Her grandpa smiled, showing his missing teeth. Alison always got a laugh out of her grandpa when he had his teeth out.

"Yeah, we all want to go to a game." Kenneth motioned to all the men. They all loved the Packers, and tonight since they were on Prime Time, the house was going to be wild while the game was on.

"Ohhh, we should go for a playoff game!" Jason exclaimed, Kenneth and the rest of the men approved.

"How about-" a knock stopped Jessica mid sentence and she peered at the clock above the stove.