Chapter 1: The Weekend Before

On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, Thomas started the day well before daybreak. He arrived at his mom and Eddie’s house before the sun rose. Luckily, they made extra coffee and had a travel mug waiting for him next to the front door.

“I know this is ridiculously early for you,” said Eddie, “but we really appreciate the ride.”

Eddie and Thomas’s mom, Sandy, were going on a ten-day cruise over Thanksgiving. They thought taking a cruise over the holiday would be cheaper. It was not. Even though it was more expensive, they found an itinerary they really liked, and since Eddie’s company was doing very well, they went ahead and booked the trip. It did not take much coaxing to get Jasmine and Garret, the couple Sandy and Eddie met on their first cruise, to join them for this ten-day adventure.

While Eddie loaded their bags into the rear of the car, Thomas slipped into the driver’s seat of Eddie’s SUV and adjusted the seat and mirrors. Eddie rode shotgun. His mom sat behind Eddie and kept an eye on Thomas. She thought he was acting a bit off the past week or two and wanted to get a good look at her son before leaving town. Unfortunately, at this hour of the morning, she was not sure if his behavior was due to something wrong, or if it was simply due to the hour of day.

At the airport Thomas gave his mom a prolonged hug.

“Honey, is everything OK,” she asked. Her mother’s intuition was not quelled en route to the airport. The long hug sent up more red flares.

“Everything’s good,” he said. “Have a great trip and I’ll see you in about two weeks.” His voice cracked when he said, “Two weeks.” He quickly recovered and gave his mom a big smile and said, “Seriously, everything is fine. I love you.”

He turned and shook Eddie’s hand. “Have a great trip.”

Thomas turned to get back into the car. Before he opened the door he said, “Really, I’m good. Denise is good. No problems.” He gave them a big smile. “Have a great trip. Hope you win ‘the contest’ again.”

Eddie grinned. Sandy rolled her eyes. She could not believe they told him about the contest with Jasmine and Garret about who would have sex the most times while on the cruise.

From the car, Thomas tooted the horn and gave them a final wave before he turned on the blinker and zipped out of the drop-off lane.

“Does he seem OK to you?” Sandy asked Eddie.

“Maybe a bit distracted? Something with school maybe? Or maybe it is as simple as he’d normally be in bed for another couple of hours,” Eddie said as he took their luggage and turned toward the terminal. Sandy watched the last of the SUV’s taillights as Thomas exited the terminal drop off area. She looked back at Eddie and said, “Yeah, that’s got to be it. If I wasn’t so excited to be going on another cruise, I’d probably be a bit comatose myself.”

Thomas returned to Sandy and Eddie’s house to drop off Eddie’s SUV. The day before, Eddie called to ask Thomas if could do a few chores after he dropped them off at the airport. He said that he ran out of time and just could not get to them and was afraid they could not wait until December. Thomas clicked on the garage door opener and saw Eddie’s lawn mower in the middle of the bay usually reserved for Eddie’s car. He found a tarp and two empty coffee cans and got to work winterizing the mower.

An hour later he was surprised to hear his sister’s voice. “Hey, what are you doing here?” Tammy was wearing a sweatsuit and looked half awake.

“Eddie asked if I could winterize the mower. I just finished draining the oil and gas. Now I need to pull the spark plug, then fold down the handle and get it stored in the space Eddie made in the corner.”

Thomas nodded his head toward the corner of the garage.

“Will it fit?” asked Tammy.

“I think so. I may have to lift it over that box and let the wheels roll down the wall but it should be OK.”

Tammy looked skeptical.

“OK, if you say so. I am going to make a pot of coffee. If you want to stay, I’ll also make breakfast. You want to join me?”

“Sure. I’ll be inside in a couple of minutes assuming there are no problems.”

Luckily, there was just enough room for the mower. As he thought, Thomas had to lift it over the edge of a box and slide it down against the wall, but it fit. He pulled the SUV into the garage, closed the door, and proceeded into the house to find Tammy at the stove in the kitchen. He tossed the keys to the SUV onto the counter.

“Coffee is done,” she said as she stirred scrambled eggs.

Thomas washed his hands, then washed them again when he detected a whiff of gasoline. He poured a coffee and sat at the table. A moment later Tammy joined him carrying two plates of eggs and toasted bread with butter.

“Thanks,” Thomas said as he reached for a fork.

They ate mostly in silence when Tammy finally said, “It’s none of my business, but are you and Denise OK? You’ve been rather mopey for the last week. Not much gets you down so I thought it was either her or financial problems, and money has never been a problem for you.”

Thomas was surprised Tammy had picked up on his distress. The approaching holiday, his two-year anniversary since restarting his life in the eighties, was on Thursday. Thanksgiving Day. Last year he had to choose if he wanted to stay in the eighties or return to his previous life. When he chose to stay, there were three consequences that hurt him and the ones he loved, including Tammy. Of course, she did not know this was the source of his distraction.

“Yep, I’m good. Denise and I are good. Really good, actually. I’ve got projects due for two of my classes on Wednesday. My classmates that I am teamed with are not doing their part and I have to either do all the work, and they will claim credit, or go to the professors and tell them what is going on, and I will be the tattle-tale.”

Tammy gave him a look that said she did not quite buy his story but let it drop.

“Did you say you are going to Denise’s house on Thursday?”

He nodded his head. “Yes. We were leaning toward spending more time with her family for Thanksgiving, then more with Mom and Eddie for Christmas. When Mom and Eddie said they were going on a cruise, and you said you were going to Billie’s house, it made sense to just commit to Denise’s family for the day.”

They finished breakfast and rinsed their plates and coffee mugs before putting them in the dishwasher. As Thomas turned to leave Tammy stopped him when she said, “Listen, if anything does starts to happen and you want an ear, you know you can talk to me.”

She looked at him earnestly. He smiled. His kid sister was growing up.

“Looks like someone just took another step toward earning her ‘adult’ card.” He didn’t say it but thought, “And turning down the cursing also helps.”

Tammy gave him the finger.

“And the point you gained you just lost,” he replied with a laugh.

She playfully slapped him on the shoulder as they walked toward the door.

“Seriously, if you ever want to talk,” she said as he exited and stood on the porch.

“I promise. I’ll talk to you, but I’m good, scout’s honor.”