NOVEMBER, 1992, SEATTLE, WA
FOR A HOLIDAY that was supposed to make a person feel sickly warm and fuzzy on the inside with an appreciation for their loved ones, Lindy felt herself severely detesting Thanksgiving.
Most holidays in Lindy's life had been utter train-wrecks after she had lost her mother, but when she'd dated Kurt, she had truly enjoyed them. But for this year's round of annual celebrations, Lindy was trying her very hardest not to tell anyone who dared to speak to her to go to hell.
Well, maybe not everyone.
Just Jack.
I have a good reason, Lindy thought angrily to herself, bustling around her tiny apartment kitchen with oven gloves on. It was eleven in the morning and she was making a valiant attempt to whip up food for an early Thanksgiving lunch with Trae and Allie. They would be at her house by two p.m.
Her irritation had started brewing two weeks prior when Jack had been over at her place and had casually insinuated that they would be spending Thanksgiving at his parents' home on Mercer Island. Lindy had scorned the idea immediately.
"I spend every Thanksgiving with my brother," she informed Jack.
"Well," Jack had said slowly, "can't you miss a year? I'd like you to meet my parents."
At this point in the conversation, Lindy's hands had balled themselves into tight fists. Meet my parents. There was something about this phrase that had internally ticked her off. She hated the traditional, orderly meaning behind it. In fact, she hated just about anything that was normalized in traditional relationships. The thought of being brought to Mercer Island only to be flaunted as a potential 'Mrs.' and producer of Turner heirs bothered her greatly.
Most people wouldn't have thought anything of it. But Lindy didn't feel like most people when it came to relationships.
"I really would rather not. I want to be with my brother."
Jack had been fairly quiet about Lindy's decision. She could tell by the stony look in his eyes that he was not pleased, but he knew better than to contradict her. At the end of the day, Jack had a due amount of respect for Lindy and would have never made her do anything that she was uncomfortable with.
But he would still never forget her denial in moving their relationship a step further.
So there Lindy was, rushing around her kitchen with high hopes of producing a spread of food that her brother and sister-in-law would actually want to eat. She had never cooked anything elaborate before, but so far she thought that she was doing a swell job. Lindy was meticulous enough about her usual work that it seemed to have carried over into the kitchen.
At two p.m. sharp, she could hear Trae and Allie's knock at the front door. She had dressed nicely for the occasion, wearing tights, a pleated plaid skirt and a turtleneck sweater. The ensemble was snug and she hoped that it wasn't obvious how thin she had become over the last few weeks, but it was the first Thanksgiving that she had ever held in her own home. She wanted to do it just right, dressing nicely like a proper hostess.
"We brought turkey and mashed potatoes, just like you asked," Trae grinned, holding out a tin foil covered tray in his hands as Lindy opened the door. Allie was holding the other dish and wearing a smile that matched Trae's.
"Good, because I made the rest," Lindy announced, welcoming them both in with hugs.
"This looks amazing, Lindy," Allie said, surveying the casserole, sweet potatoes, hot rolls and green beans that Lindy had cooked.
