Chapter 26

It was Thanksgiving. So much had happened since Halloween. The whole kidnapping and torture thing, Mac changing his mind and trying to woo her. Moving. She really needed to talk to Thomas today to see what all they were telling his parents. When his parents had heard about the kidnapping, they had been understandably upset. When they moved out of the apartment, she thought they sounded relieved thinking it would be safer for them. They had offered to help them move, Thomas had told her, but he told them they were getting movers. His parents were older, and they wouldn’t have had them lift things anyway.

Thomas had asked them for some time before they came over, which they mostly managed at least until Viv went back to work. While they had stopped over a couple of times, both at work and at home, they had kept it brief. Viv was grateful they knew her so well; she hadn’t been ready to talk about anything then. They had cancelled their vacation plans so they could have Thanksgiving with them. They were bringing the fruit salad and mac and cheese, things Thomas’ mom was known for. Yum.

Throwing her hair into a ponytail, Viv started walking to the kitchen. She needed to get the turkey started.

“Morning,” she said, as Mac stepped out of his room.

“Hey. Is there anything you need help with?” Mac asked. “I can help chop or other things that don’t require much skill before I get out of your hair?”

Viv looked over at him. “What?”

“I thought I could help before I went to Uncle’s,” Mac replied.

“Oh. I didn’t know you had other plans,” she said softly. She had thought he would eat Thanksgiving with them.

Mac was quiet for a moment before speaking. “I think maybe we missed something,” he said slowly. “I was going to Uncle’s so you guys could have your Thanksgiving with Thomas’ parents.”

“Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in the Netherworld?” Viv asked.

Mac shook his head. “It’s just another day,” he replied. He was really confused now.

Viv bit her lip. “Do you not like Thanksgiving or not want to be around Thomas’ parents?” she asked. She knew Mac was trying to get over his hatred of humans, besides just her and Thomas, but it was a work in progress. Humans hadn’t shown him the best experiences after all.

“It’s fine. I think they seemed like nice people at the engagement party.”

Viv was confused. “Then why would you not stay?”

Mac stared. His mouth opened and shut. “I didn’t know I was supposed to?” he said, the tail end of it raised like in a question.

“This is your home too. We’re dating. I think I made assumptions and maybe didn’t express them clearly to you. I thought you would have Thanksgiving with us, especially since you didn’t mention anything with your uncle. I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear,” she apologized, grabbing one of his hands.

“And I’m sorry I didn’t ask. I just assumed you wouldn’t want me there, and instead of asking I pouted. It was all in my room, so you didn’t see it, but I definitely pouted,” Mac replied.

“I’d love it if you stayed,” Viv said.

Mac nodded, raising their hands and kissing the back of hers. “Uncle didn’t know I was going to pop in anyway. He would have told me to work on my communication skills and talk to you first, so I was just going to drop in,” he added sheepishly.

Viv shook her head at him, smiling. Dork. They both needed to work on their communication, she thought.

“What about your parents? Are they coming too?” Mac asked. He hadn’t heard much about them.

“No. They do their own thing at the holidays. My parents like to take vacations for holidays, but it didn’t always line up with school breaks. Thomas’ parents actually hosted me for the holidays a lot while we were growing up. I’m an only child, so it worked out pretty well. They’re in Florida right now, I think.”

Mac had to pause to think of how to phrase his next question. He had seen Thomas’ parents in the house when they popped in to check on him, or he had seen them when they dropped by the library to drop something off for Viv. Heck, he had even heard them on phone calls and video calls. What he hadn’t heard or seen much of was Viv’s parents. “Do they know about you being abducted?”

“Yeah. I called and let them know. Not everything, just the same version we gave to work,” she reassured him.

That wasn’t reassuring at all. Even that version included Viv and Thomas being injured and tortured in some way. And her parents hadn’t even come to visit once?

“And they still didn’t want to come for Thanksgiving?” Mac finally asked.

“That’s not who they are,” Viv responded softly, shaking her head. “They had me because it was expected of them to have kids. I don’t think they ever really wanted any. They’re not mean, just a little reserved and standoffish. I’m sure they’re relieved I’m better now, but since it had already happened and I was fine, they wouldn’t see the need to rush over to check on me. They offered to send money if I needed help with the bills since I missed so much work, but that’s about all I expected from them. Thomas’ parents were really where I got the parental support growing up. They’re amazing, always treated me like one of their own. If they had known about the kidnapping earlier, which I know why they couldn’t because they wouldn’t stand a chance against nonhumans, they would have been out there searching as well.”

Mac drew her in for a hug. He didn’t know what to say to that, so he kept his mouth shut. He would show her love and he knew his uncle was waiting impatiently to meet her. His work kept him in Netherworld, so it would need to wait until they were mated, and he could safely bring her down there. “I look forward to officially meeting them. What do you need me to do?”

“Can you roughly chop some onions, celery, and carrots? I’m going to use them with the turkey. Leave some celery and carrots for the salad though,” she added.

Mac pulled out the larger knife and cutting board, getting to work on the vegetables. Viv had pulled out the turkey, removing the giblets and neck from the cavity. Mac watched out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t think he had ever made a turkey. She placed butter and seasonings under the skin, added more on top of the skin before wrapping bacon over the top. What deliciousness was this?

“Bacon?” he asked.

“It helps keep the turkey moist as it cooks. I’ll still baste it, but it turns out well. Plus, then there’s bacon to eat, and who doesn’t like bacon?” she laughed.

A few minutes later, Thomas and D stumbled out of their hallway. “You got started already? Did you eat breakfast?”

“Not yet,” Viv replied.

“I’ll go get some donuts or something,” D said, opening a portal.

“I’ll get the coffee started. What all needs to be done?” Thomas asked.

“Mac’s cutting vegetables and then I think the salad,” she said, looking over to Mac for confirmation. He nodded. Salad should be easy enough for him to do. “I think we decided on mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and green bean casserole? Or was it Brussels sprouts?” Viv asked. She knew they had bought things for both but couldn’t remember what they had picked.

“Let’s do both,” Thomas suggested. “It’s not like it won’t all get eaten,” he joked.

Mac grinned. He and D could eat a lot. In fact, sometimes they had to run to the grocery store twice a week to keep them in enough food. He finished with the vegetables for the turkey, setting them off to the side. He went to the pantry and grabbed a larger glass storage bowl and the rest of the salad ingredients from the fridge. The salad he knew how to do. He’d seen Viv make one often enough. He focused on his task, letting Viv and Thomas carry on a conversation in the background. He was still finding his way in the whole group dynamic. He thought it was easier with D there to act as a sort of buffer. He knew Viv had accepted his apology, but he thought at times Thomas was still withholding judgment. Although he had encouraged Viv to give Mac another chance, so maybe it was all in his head.

“How are we handling your parents?” he heard Viv ask. He tuned in a little more, not wanting to stick his foot in it when they were here.

“I think keep it as simple as possible. They already know the public version, kidnapped for ransom type of thing, and that the one kidnapper was rough in the process resulting in our injuries. I don’t think they’re going to ask too many more questions on that front other than how we’re feeling. They don’t know anything about which hospital we went to or your attempted assault. Mac was here when they visited and we said he was a friend of D’s. I don’t think we mentioned him living here, but we can double-check when D gets home.”

“Mac, are you alright with being introduced as my boyfriend?” Viv asked.

“I’d be honored to,” Mac replied, smiling. He loved that she was claiming him and putting a human label on them. That more than anything made him secure in the knowledge that she was really giving him a second chance.

“Donuts!” D shouted as he stepped through the portal. “I managed to get the good ones,” he said proudly.

Viv finished setting the turkey up, placing it in the roasting pan and scattering the vegetables around it. A few onions, carrots, celery, and some butter got stuffed into the cavity, broth poured into the bottom of the pan. After tenting it with foil, she moved to the oven. Mac ran over to grab the oven door, letting her slide it right in. Thomas was peeling the potatoes. Mac had always bought pre-mashed potatoes. It made him realize just how little he cooked for himself. He knew how, his uncle had made sure of that. But it was always easier to just throw a burger or something on the grill and heat up a bag of vegetables. If he didn’t have those, he would cook something easy like boiling broccoli or cauliflower. He never spent a lot of time making food for himself. It seemed like a waste of time to do extravagant things for one person. When he and his uncle ate together, it was usually at his uncle’s house.

“Set timer for two hours,” she said to her phone. When she saw Mac looking at her, she explained, “After that I’ll start basting it and take the foil off.”

They washed up, grabbing coffee and sat down to eat. Mac loved mornings like this when they were all here.