My Love; My Life: Slipping Through My Fingers

C: Zin

*thanksgiving prayer by Johnny Cash, R. I. P. Feb. 26, 1932-Sept. 12, 2003*
*this chapter contains something you will all more or less hate me for, but will get over it when the third book comes & you'll find out why I say this later on in the book*
Setting: thanksgiving 2035 (yes, I'm skipping a bunch of months from the last specific date I gave); everyone's gathered round at Georgie's house...

     Things are quiet, not the same as they were on this day in the past; it came as a surprise to everyone & no one really noticed when Bay's ghost didn't show up for family dinner-or at least they weren't aware that she was in fact there with them. It's during the family dinner that it suddenly happened & it happened so suddenly-so fast, that nobody had time to do anything; it was during the family dinner that Mary had a heart attack & died. She died, much to Bay's unwillingness to do it & then she was brought to the neitherworld to wait out her time for judgement at Saint Peter's gate. It hit everyone hard, so hard that most lost their appetite & grew into a state of depression, Zin is not effected however-be has no reason to as the others do, due to the fact that she can see the dead. She sits quietly eating her turkey, sweet potato & apple casserole, glazed carrots & sweet honey rolls as she watches her family's response to her Na-Na's death...

"..." they all sit quietly

"We should probably pray and give thanks," Sheldon surprisingly the one to say

"Pray?" Georgie huffs, "ain't y'all atheist-"

"I am," he acknowledges, "but, it's what mom would want us to do."

"..." all of the adults fall quiet

"Alright," Missy sighs out heavily, "let's do what mom would've wanted and get prayer over with-I ain't in the mood fer this family shindig no more-"

     Zin isn't a fan of how things are going, but she takes hands with her other family members & all are quiet as Missy takes the role of her mother, leading the prayer. Once the prayer is said, things go quiet again as no one has anything particular they wish to declare they're grateful for. To Zin, it didn't seem right not to say what they're thankful for, but she hadn't the inner strength to make her voice work. She can see the hatred in Shey's eyes, Ace & Holly sit at the kids table with the Hofstetters, feeding their twins & Tuck-having persuaded Barry & Bay, sits with his new best friend: Ember. Zin has found that she likes Ember almost as much as she likes Holly-within short spans of time; after her father, her favorite people are her brothers...

"We should go around and say what we're thankful for," B2 voices

"..." everyone stares at him-Zin with a bright smile as if he had read her mind

"B2 I don't think-" someone starts

"It's what Na-na would want," he argues back

"Ya, well," Shey butts in, "Na-Na ain't ere no more," she snaps, "the majority of us all know who that's because of," she mutters as she stabs her food with the fork almost violently, "ain't that right aunt Bay?"

"Yer angry at me fer doin my job," a disembodied voice speaks, "fine. But that don't mean y'all can snap at yer cousins or be rude ta everybody else."

"Where's that voice comin from?" Ember asks in fright

"Uncle Georgie, Aunt E, Aunt Missy, Uncle Sheldon, Dad...Mom?" Tucker asks looking around to the adults

"..." Ember looks around in confusion

"I'm fine with it," Missy tell her siblings & in laws, "boys, E, sis?"

"I'm fine with it too," Barry agrees

"We really need ta be careful who we let in on our family secret," Elvira starts off, "but at the same time," she continues before anyone could cut her off, "as time gets a movin and the youngins grow, the family will expand-wee can't exactly keep em in the dark ferever...plus we don't exactly know much longer she'll be around," she says to them, "but," she sighs out, "I personally think it auta be up ta the main core: Georgie, Missy, Sheldon and Bay herself."