A Walk in the Park

A Real American Thanksgiving

Things soon got back into a routine for Anne and Harry. They were both extremely busy over the next few weeks, Anne with school and Harry with interviews and promo for the new album and preparing for the tour. They weren’t able to see each other as often as they would have liked, but they were talking or texting most every day.

With the holidays approaching Anne was starting to get her first real wave of homesickness and was especially starting to miss her grandma more. Anne had always been the one to help her grandma cook Thanksgiving dinner and then decorate the house for Christmas.

When Anne came home from the library on the what would have been Thanksgiving had she been home, she found her parents had shipped her some of her grandma’s decorations along with a note that they thought she would enjoy decorating with the cherished items and that they couldn’t wait to see her at Christmas. Anne read the note and immediately began to tear up. She was so glad her parents were able to come visit for the holiday, especially since it would be the first one without her grandma.

After allowing herself to wallow for a bit she took Athena for a walk. Still distracted by her ‘pity party’ as her grandma used to call it Anne didn’t notice Harry standing at her door until she felt Athena pulling at the leash. When she looked up she saw him sitting on the stoop surrounded by bags and looking up at her with a smile on his face.

“Hi Anne! What’s wrong?” His smile quickly faded as he noticed her red, puffy eyes.

“Hi Harry. Nothing, just a bit homesick.” Anne gave a weak smile as she unlocked the door and let Athena in. She turned to see Harry gathering up all his bags to follow her in. “What have you got there?”

“Well I figured you might be a bit homesick since today is Thanksgiving in America, so I did some research, by which I mean I called Sam, and got all of the ingredients for a real Thanksgiving meal!” Harry grinned at her as he followed her in.

Anne smiled. “Harry that is so sweet.” She looked at all of the items he pulled out of the bags, turkey breast, potatoes, vegetables, stuffing, and cranberries. He had thought of everything. “I can’t believe you did all of this!” Anne grinned and gave Harry a tight hug feeling the tears well up in her eyes. “Thank you so much Harry. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

Harry held her tight and rubbed her back. “Anne, I know how it is to be homesick. I know this meal won’t compare to what you would normally have, but at least you can have a little taste of home.” Anne pulled away and smiled up at him, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. Harry wiped her tears and kissed her forehead. “Let’s get dinner started, yeah?”

Anne put on some music and she and Harry chatted while they prepared the meal. Anne told Harry about some of the more memorable Thanksgiving dinners with her family.

“Sometime I will have to make you the full blown meal Harry, with all the homemade dishes.” Anne smiled as she peeled the potatoes.

Harry smiled. “I’d like that. Do you do a similar meal for Christmas as you do for Thanksgiving, with the turkey and everything?”

“Yes, it’s pretty much the same meal actually. I’m not sure if that’s just our family though. Some of my friends do a roast for Christmas. I think we always did the same turkey dinner so we could make my grandpa’s dressing again! It’s amazing!” Anne grinned talking about how the recipe had been passed down from her grandfather. “My dad is going to teach me to make it when he comes for Christmas. We only ever get it twice a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas, so we gorge ourselves on it!”

Harry laughed as he put the turkey breast in the oven. “Every family has those recipes. My mum makes a great beef wellington. She makes it for me every time I go home. It’s always something to look forward to.”