“Are you sure your mom doesn’t want me to bring a dish?” I ask. “I can whip something up, even if it’s just a small dessert or something.”

Todd laughs. He thinks I’m making too much of a fuss over Thanksgiving at his mom’s but I just want it to be perfect.

“Babe, mom said don’t worry about bringing a single thing. She’s just excited that I’m bringing you over for the holiday.”

Today is the day that we’re finally going to tell his mom and my parents that we’re ‘official’. I’m pretty sure his mom already suspects it as he’s never brought a girlfriend home for the holidays, but I’m sure she’ll be happy to learn that she’s right.

“I know, but I don’t want her feeling like she has to make everything on her own. Believe it or not, I can actually cook,” I say.

“You’re overreacting. I know you can cook, but you don’t have to prove it to my mom. She wants to do this for us. It makes her happy, so just let her fuss over everything because she likes it. Okay?”

“But—,”.

“Ah-ah-ah,” he waves his finger. “No ‘buts’. She’s never had the opportunity to do this before and she likes you just as much as you like her. You have to remember, it was always just her and me. We didn’t have a big family like you did and this makes her feel useful.”

I sigh because he’s right, but I won’t tell him that. Instead, I grab my coat and purse before we make the trip to her house, and then my parent’s house.

When she opens the door to greet us as we walk onto the porch, the warmth from the house gushes past us, carrying the delightful scent of turkey with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie.

“You kids are right on time,” she hugs us as we take off our coats. “The food will be ready in a minute. I just have to pull the green bean casserole out of the oven and finish up the mashed potatoes.”

“Do you need any help?” I offer.

“Sure, if you’d like to but I have everything under control,” she beams.

“What needs to be done?”

“You can butter the rolls if you’d like and help set the table.”

After we carry all the dishes into the dining room, the three of us join hands to say grace before fixing our plates. The food is absolutely delicious. I had no clue his mom is such a great cook.

“Everything tastes so wonderful,” I say, scooping seconds onto my plate. With food like this, I can see how the average person gains weight during the holidays.

“Thank you. It’s been great having Todd finally bring a girl around.”

Todd wipes his mouth with his napkin and takes a drink of wine from his glass. “Actually, mom, we’ve got something to tell you.”

Her hands fly to her mouth and her eyes grow wide as she gasps. “She’s not pregnant, is she?”

“What?” I ask in shock.

Todd laughs. “No, mom, it’s nothing like that. We wanted to tell you that we’re officially a couple.”

His mom chuckles. “Oh, thank goodness! And I’m so happy that you two aren’t pregnant. It’d be so rough finishing school and starting a career while taking care of a newborn.”

“We’re going to tell my parents later this evening when we go over to their house.”

His mom’s kind eyes smile at me. “I’m really glad that Todd has found such a great girl. I just love having you around.”

Her words surprise me because I’ve only been here a few times—to borrow and return the Halloween props and one other time when Todd came over to fix her leaking kitchen sink.

After too much good food and many hugs, we finally make our way to my parent’s house where my sister and brother-in-law await with my nephew. I make a very small plate since I went way over my limit at Todd’s mom’s house but nobody seems to notice as chatter goes around the table.

Todd’s leg bounces under the table as his nerves get the best of him. He’s never met my family, but they’re very accepting of him, despite what he thinks. I give my sister a break and feed my adorable nephew. Since he has trouble swallowing, I mostly feed him mashed potatoes covered in gravy. He can’t have most foods like stuffing or turkey because they can get stuck in his throat and choke him to death—and this is why my research is so important to me.

If I can help come up with even one cure or vaccine that helps a child, all of my time and debt will be worth its weight in gold.

“Todd, tell us, what are you studying?” My sister asks.

“Psychology,” he answers, trying to quickly swallow his food.

“That’s an interesting subject,” she says. “I’d thought about going into that field but decided to go into business instead.”

My sister has always been fascinated with psychology and how the mind works but decided to go into business to help her husband when he decided to start his company. He owns a portrait studio and they’ve been very successful, which is great because it allows her to stay with Tommy, my nephew. I can only imagine what the cost of daycare would be for a special needs child, so everything worked out for the best.

“Yes, and he’s shadowing under Dr. Bradley,” I brag. He’s very well known for his area of expertise and even teaches at the college.

“Wow! I’m totally jealous,” my sister says, taking a quick bite of her stuffing.

“Thank you,” he says modestly.

“And that’s not all,” I chime back in, stealing the center of attention. “Todd and I have decided to make things ‘official’.”

“Official?” My dad asks. “Define official.” His tone is flat and even. He’s always been protective of us girls.

“Not like that, daddy,” I laugh. “When you get to college, you don’t exactly ask people to be your boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s kind of a kid thing,” I shrug. “But we’ve decided to officially refer to ourselves as a couple.”

“Well that’s great,” Mom says, nudging dad to agree with her.

“Yeah, fantastic,” he complies, taking a long sip of his wine.

“Don’t be like that, daddy. Todd’s a great guy and I’m very proud of him. He’s done a lot to help me out since I’ve known him and he has a huge heart.”

“I’m happy for you, sis. But Todd?” She waits for him to look up at her. “If you ever hurt my sister, just know that my dad has a gun and our uncle owns a pig farm so we know what to do with the bodies.”

Speechless, Todd’s jaw hangs open for a second before he flashes a coy smile. “Noted. I will never hurt Marissa so long as I live.”

We all laugh simultaneously, and even my nephew manages a small giggle.