Love Is a Bunch of Stupid Decisions

Chapter 10

I can't remember the last time I was excited for Thanksgiving.

Sunlight was pouring in through my bedroom window, and I could smell eggs and bacon being cooked downstairs. Rolling over to grab my phone, I saw that it was 8:03. For the first night in weeks, I'd actually gotten eight hours of sleep- and I felt brand new.

I got ready quickly, not wanting to keep everyone waiting downstairs. There's a knock on my bedroom door as I'm getting ready, and I opened it to see a smiley Ben holding two cups of coffee.

"How in the world did you just knock on the door when you're holding two cups of coffee?" I ask, taking the one he held out to me.

"Good morning to you too," He laughs, sarcastically. "And it's one of my many secret talents." I move out of the way so he can come in, and he sits on the edge of my bed while I finish my hair. "How did you sleep?"

"Incredible. Turns out my body really likes it when I give it enough sleep," I chuckle. "What about you?"

He shrugs. "Is it weird that I was so excited for today that I couldn't fall asleep last night?"

"What's making you so excited for today?"

"I just love having you here. And I love seeing my family. And I love turkey, and mashed potatoes, and gravy. If someone were to ask me what my perfect day would look like... this is it," He says, reclining back on my bed, closing his eyes and smiling.

We spend the morning talking with his family, mostly just relaxing and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV. I've always watched the parade, but it's even more fun to watch when the parade kind of follows the route that you used to take to work.

At some point during the parade, the guys wander off somewhere while Ben's mom is making dinner, so it's just Emma and me in the living room watching TV. "Hey Charlotte?"

"Hmm?" I respond, looking at her. She looked a lot like Ben- obviously, they were twins- she had the same bright blue eyes and charming smile.

"I've never seen Ben this happy before." Her words take me by surprise, but in the best way. "I mean, granted, he's always been a happy kind of guy. But whenever he's with you, or even when he talks about how proud he is of you with your job and everything, it's like he's brand new."

I smile to myself. "That's so nice of you to say! And you guys are all incredible. My family doesn't really do Holidays. Or anything that involves spending time together, for that matter," I say.

"Well, you're one of us, then! Welcome to the Cook clan," She laughs. "For real though, having another girl around is so nice."

"Oh, I know the feeling. I only have one brother, no sisters." She and I talk for a while more before the guys show back up again.

"It smells incredible in here," Ben gleams, all of us walking into the dining room. We all sit down, me right between Ben and Emma, and his dad says a prayer before we eat.

"Dear Lord, we thank you for this day and for this food, and we ask that you bless it unto our bodies. We also want to say a special thank you for Charlotte, and the joy that she's brought into our lives. Thank you for bringing her into our family." Ben squeezes my hand. "In Jesus' name, Amen!"

Everybody digs in, and with no warning, I'm fighting off tears from Ben's dad's words. I felt so lucky to be a part of their family.

"Last time you and I were sitting here, I had just finished apologizing profusely to you."

It was evening now, the sun setting and the temperature dropping. Ben and I were sitting on their front porch steps just like we had months before after I had made my way to Lorton, fate intervened, and I found my way to his house to beg him to forgive me.