Chapter 50

Thanksgiving day; a day for giving thanks and for eating turkey with family. A good day if you ask me.

Ashlee and I, for the first time, rolled out of bed together. I brushed my teeth while she was used the toilet and then we switched. We grabbed a shower together then get dressed and went to the kitchen.

The turkey was started to smell up the kitchen. Personally, I love the smell of cooking turkey and today was my day for smells.

About 9am, family started to arrive. First to arrive was Ronnie and her family followed quickly by Brian and his family. It would have been easy if it was just Brian and his wife, but their three grown kids came along and each of them were married and two of them had kids. Ronnie's three kids also arrived, but luckily only one of them is married. So let's run a quick tally:

Ronnie + Joel, Brian + Glenda, Jay, Katie, Jackie, Christian and his wife, Brittany and her husband and their three kids, Susan and her husband and four kids. Yup, 20 people just arrived all at once. 7 of them are children who don't eat very much, but still 20 people just showed up and that is only part of the people scheduled to be here.

By the time dinner arrived, 40 people were at my home. Well, not all in my condo at the same time, most of them were in the party room downstairs. Several of my family members were moving back and forth between the room and my place to watch TV, or at least the football game. The only difference between last year and this year is that the indoor pool was open and being used by the younger set and their parents. Little kids splashing around in the pool, nieces and nephews in their suits. I could tell that everyone was having fun. The turkey was perfect. Good stuffing with gravy. Mashed potatoes on the side with gravy. The only thing missing were the sweet potatoes. Sam and I always made them. We would spend the day before baking them, peeling them then using several cups of brown sugar to mash with them. In years past, the kitchen would be a total wreck. This year, without Sam at my side, I didn't make them. My sister-in-law made them.

It is amazing how tastes and smell bring back memories. My first taste of sweet potatoes almost made me sick. All the years of memories of the two of us came rushing back. I gagged on them and had to spit them out. I couldn't eat them. I couldn't stomach the taste not after losing my wife who made them for me all of those years. I couldn't eat them at all.

"Are you ok Paul? Are they bad?"

It was my sister-in-law who made the potatoes. "No, they're fine. I just can't eat them. Too many memories hit me too quickly. Sorry."

I got up from the table and went to the pool. Brenda was in the pool with my nieces and nephews and the little ones playing. I took a seat and watched the goings on.

I didn't even notice my mom enter the room and sit down next to me. "You ok?"

"Yes mom. The sweet potatoes just caught me off guard and I gagged a bit on them. That's all."

She put an arm around me. "I have no idea what I would do or say to make you feel better, just know that we are all here for you."

"I know mom, but the taste was just too much for me to handle. I'm sorry that I made a scene like that."

"Why don't you gather yourself then come back and join us."

"I will. Thanks mom."

She left and I turned to watch her leave. Ashlee was there as well and the two women left together speaking softly with each other.

I left later and went back to the party room where everyone was still eating and talking. Luckily, they didn't make a big deal of me leaving and coming back. Ronnie's husband slapped me on the back and told me he was glad I was there.

"Uncle Paul, do you have a room where we can put the babies down for their naps?" One of my nieces asked me She was holding two of her kids in her arms and they were squirming and not happy about being held.

"Sure, I'll help you out." I get up from my spot and take my plate to the sink in the room. I then went with my niece upstairs to my room.

"Wait!" I throw out my arm and stop the elevator door from closing. My other niece runs into the elevator with one of her children already asleep in her arms. "Thank you Uncle Paul."

We go upstairs, "Would you like to use my bed for the kids?"

"Sure." They both say and I begin moving pillows around so that the three kids can be kept in place. The only problem is that only one of the kids is a baby. The other two are toddlers and they tend to move around a bunch. I do what I can do to help, but the two women, my nieces, both take up positions on the bed in order to get their kids to relax and go to sleep. I slip out and close my bedroom door. I swing through my study/computer room and check on what is going on. Facebook says that everyone wishes me a happy Thanksgiving so I with everyone back the same.

Adam, Craig and my financial lawyers all sent me emails wishing me a happy Thanksgiving. I replied back to them wishing them the same.

I shut my stuff down and went to the living room to check on the football games. Dallas Cowboys lost, Steelers won. Despite my enjoyment of Dallas, I was never a real fan of the Cowboys so no big deal.

I went back to the party downstairs and took up a spot with everyone and continued to talk about old times. The past meals we had, the laughs we had when one child or two got into something. It was a good time and I enjoyed it very much. It was during this time that I spotted my girlfriend talking to my mom. They weren't smiling, but their body language said that they were in the middle of a deep conversation. Then surprisingly, they joined hands, my mom and Ashlee both bowed their heads and I saw my mom's lips moving. They're praying. What the heck is going on? I must know.