Chapter 19: Thank You

"The shop will be closed for the next four days," declared Mr. Tanner after their shift was over for the day.
"What? Why?" Winter asked.
"It's for Thanksgiving, dear Winter. You should spend these holidays with your family," Mr. Tanner suggested and gave a pat on her head while Zane resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Winter sighed in disappointment once they walked out of the café.
"What's wrong?" Zane asked her, his voice laced with concern.
She pursed her lips and breathed out, "No one would be at home."
"Where did they go?" He arched an eyebrow and put his hands in his pocket.
"They went to my dad's hometown in Florida." She pouted. "And they didn't take me, saying my exams are starting this Monday."
Zane chuckled and started to walk. "You should come and spend the day with my family."
"That's a nice—" Her eyes widened. "Wait, what? With your family?" Seeing him nod, her heart started thumping loudly for some unknown reason. Just thinking about meeting his family made her palms sweat in this cold weather.
"Yeah," he affirmed. He had no problem with Winter meeting his family because he wanted them to get along. Although the main reason was, he didn't want her to be alone on a day when everyone's supposed to enjoy with their family.
"Wouldn't I be intruding?" she let out in a nervous tone, fidgeting with her fingers.
"Of course not, they would love to have you over. Especially my mom and sister. They nag me thrice a day for meeting you," he let out, which made her curious.
"Still…" she trailed off in an unsure tone.
"C'mon, you should come. You will love my mom's cooking," he insisted.
Winter couldn't help but agree. She was looking forward to her first Thanksgiving, which she had no idea how to celebrate.
°°°°°
"Lucy, help!" Winter cried over the phone.
"What's wrong? Need another outfit suggestion?" Winter could hear the smirk in Lucy's voice as she spoke, "Let me guess. Zane invited you over for Thanksgiving?"
"Why do I feel like you're way too excited for this than I am?" Winter deadpanned.
"Says who?" Lucy said in a singsong tone.
"Says me," Winter responded. "Now help."
"What do I get in return?"
"What? I thought your advice was free." Winter put on a poker face. Last time Lucy helped her with her date outfit which was for free.
"That was a first-time offer, sweetie."
"I'm gonna complain to Cedric," Winter tried to threaten.
Lucy laughed. "He's a lost cause. He never says anything to me."
"What are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?"
"He's gonna have dinner with my family tomorrow, then we will go on a short trip together," Lucy let out excitedly.
"What about Cedric's family?" Winter asked.
Lucy sighed before she mumbled, "He has no family." Winter felt the sadness in her voice, which made her upset too. "But he has me now, and my family is his family," she chimed.
"Couple goals," Winter complimented, which made Lucy blush.
"Okay, okay, enough about me." Lucy thought for a while before saying, "Let's say you owe me for the time being. Now open the wardrobe."
Winter felt so happy as she rushed to her cupboard. She never had a sibling before, but now, she felt like she had an elder sister. Just a few days ago if someone asked her what she was grateful for in life, she wouldn't be able to answer it. But now, there were a lot of things that she was thankful for and wanted to cherish for the rest of her life.
°°°°°
Thanksgiving day was finally here, and Winter was at Zane's doorsteps. She hesitated a thousand times and checked her outfit rapidly before ringing the bell. She was wearing a sleeveless white jacket over a turtle-neck white sweater top and brown A-line skirt, paired with brown boots.
The chaos that was going on inside came to stop as footsteps approached the door. The door was opened, and Zane was standing in front of her with a silly grin on his face.
"Hey," he greeted.
Winter was startled as she didn't expect him to see at first. He looked as handsome as her. "Uh, yeah, hey," she rambled, which made him chuckle.
"You look stunning," he said and opened the door wider for her.
"Tha—"
"Welcome, sis!" Leon hollered and jumped on Zane's back, making Winter flinch at his sudden appearance.
"Where did you come from?" she breathed out.
"That's my house," Leon said, motioning towards the house in front of Zane's. "We have been neighbors since before we were even born," he added.
"Yeah, she gets it. Now get off my back," Zane grunted and dropped Leon down. "Come on in, Winter."
Winter nodded her head and stepped inside. She hung her jacket on the hanger and took off her shoes before following Zane inside. His house was almost the same size as hers, just a light bigger. The interior was decorated beautifully with several handicrafts.
"Hey, Winter. It's nice to see you again," greeted the familiar brunette, her light brown orbs dancing in delight.
"Same here, Ellie," Winter replied with a warm smile and glanced at the unfamiliar blonde male with hazel eyes, the same age as Ellie. She thought Zane only had one sister.
Seeing her confused look, Ellie introduced, "Oh, that's my boyfriend, Eris Rudd."
"Hi," Winter said, and Eris just gave a short nod at her way.
"Don't mind. He isn't the easiest to get along," Ellie whispered and started guiding Winter towards the kitchen.
"By chance, do you siblings have a thing for introverts?" Leon whispered to Zane, earning a death glare from him.
Winter noticed a black-haired woman, standing in front of the microwave, rubbing her gloved hands eagerly. Just as the microwave made the 'ping' sound, she took out the container, filling the kitchen with a sweet, spicy aroma.
Winter and Ellie's mouth watered as they watched the pumpkin pie being taken out of the oven. They were brought out of their trance when they heard the older woman chuckle. "You two want some?" she offered with a warm smile.
Winter had no doubt that she was Zane's mother. After all, the blue eyes reminded her of him. But she didn't fail to notice her pale face that she was covering with a smile and the dark spots under her eyes, which indicated so many sleepless nights.
Ellie went forward and took a knife to start cutting. But Winter hesitated. "Oh, no, it's okay. It will be dinner time soon," she said politely.
"There's a long time before that. Let's dig in," Ellie murmured, already taking a spoonful of the pie.
"This shameless girl," huffed her mother and turned towards Winter, making her self-conscious all of a sudden. "You're Winter, right?" As Winter nodded, she continued, "Zane told me a lot about you. I'm his mom, Kalen. Please consider this as your home."
When Winter looked into Kalen's blue eyes, she felt the familiar kind aura around her, which made her feel at ease. "Thanks for having me."
Kalen cut another piece of the pumpkin pie for Winter and handed it to her with a fork. Winter's chest swelled up with the fuzzy warm feeling in her chest. She couldn't believe that this woman had lung cancer. Fate was too cruel.
"You guys can't be eating the pie without me," Leon cried out and snatched the piece from Ellie's hand.
"Wow, I can't believe you guys are already stuffing your face." Zane rolled his eyes and Eris nodded his head in agreement.
"No one stopped you, either," Ellie said and shoved some into her brother and boyfriend's mouth.
"I swear, kids, if you mess up my kitchen, I will sign you up for trash collection this whole week," Kalen threatened, which made everyone still at their place. "Eat like a human," she rebuked and started preparing something else.
Everyone grabbed the container and went back to the living room. Once they were out of Kalen's earshot, they burst out laughing. They again went back to stuffing each other's faces with pie, smearing creams.
Winter's portion was left untouched as she just stared at the scene in front of her with a small smile playing on her lips.
"Why are you smiling?" Zane asked, sitting beside her on the couch.
"It's so lively here," she commented, her eyes still peered at Ellie and Leon, who was the most childish.
"Do you like it?" Zane rested his chin on his palm and angled his face to stare at Winter with a smile tugging on his face.
"I love it." Her smile got wider, which made his heart flutter. Feeling his gaze on her, she turned her head at him. The first thing she noticed was the pie crumbs on his dark brown hair. "How did you get crumbs on your hair?" She chuckled.
"Damn Ellie." Zane tried to brush it off, but he only made it worse by spreading it. "Ugh, my hair is going to get sticky now."
Winter laughed more at his whining and offered, "Shall I help?"
Normally Zane would never let anyone touch his hair, but Winter was an exception. Seeing him nod, she carefully started brushing the crumbs off his hair. In the process, his soft, silky hair felt too good under her fingers. She had an urge to run her finger through his hair, and she did. His breath hitched at the unexpected action.
"Uh, I'm sorry." Realizing that she had let her emotions get the best of her, Winter immediately retreated her hands.
"It's okay. I didn't mind." Zane bit his lips and looked around the room, trying to strike up a conversation. "You haven't tried out the pie yet," he told her.
"Right." Winter picked up the fork and took a bite of the heavenly pie. She had never tried out something like this before. "Where's your dad?"
"He could not come from Canada for an occasion where everyone spends time with their family," he replied with a humorless chuckle. "Not very different from your dad, you see."
"Then, your mom is your favorite?"
He lowered her head and fidgeted with his fingers. "Yeah, she means the most to me."
The sad smile on his face broke her heart. She rubbed his shoulder to comfort him, which worked, as he straightened up and suggested a game. For the rest of the time before dinner, they all played various games. They also helped out in the kitchen in the meantime.
When everything was beautifully prepared, Winter was stunned at how mouthwatering the dining table looked. Turkey was the main attraction on the nicely decorated table. The other foods, such as stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, complemented it perfectly. It made her want to gobble up everything right away.
Once everyone was seated, Ellie started, "Wishing you all a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving. Wishing you the gift of faith and the blessing of hope this thanksgiving day. We gather on this day to be thankful for what we have, for the family we love, the friends we cherish, and for the blessings that will come. Happy Thanksgiving!" Everyone made a toast. "Now enjoy the pumpkin spice and everything shall be nice."
They all ate dinner with a whole lot of chaos and fun. Winter enjoyed every bit of it. She got to bond with everyone, even Ellie's quiet boyfriend. Although Eris left a while ago to attend his family's get-together.
Once Winter was done eating, she felt so full, she felt like she couldn't move an inch but didn't regret eating that much. Before she knew it, it was already ten at night.
"I should take my leave now," Winter said.
"I'll walk you back home." Zane stood up from the couch, earning a teasing glance from Ellie.
"You never offered me to walk home before," Ellie pointed out.
"That's because…" Zane trailed off. Once he managed to find a comeback, he retorted, "Please, you're way better at taekwondo than me."
Ellie snickered. "That was when we were little kids. You still work out every day for your stupid basketball matches, whereas I just spend my free time in bed."
"You two, stop bickering. Zane, you really should walk your girlfriend back home. There's a lot of drunkards on the streets," Kalen said.
"I know, right?" Zane agreed. He was about to turn around but stopped once he realized what his mother just said. Winter's cheeks were already beetroot red. "Mom, I told you she's not my girlfriend."
With her eyes glued to the television, Kalen let out, "I totally believe you, son."
Ellie and Leon bumped their fists while cheering.
Zane scoffed in disbelief and walked out of the house with Winter. "They are so ridiculous," he complained when they were walking on the street.
"But they are sweet too. I had a lot of fun today," Winter told him, and Zane just hummed.
"We won't see each other for a long time, will we?" he said all of a sudden when they were near her house.
"Yeah," she hummed sadly. "Exams are starting, so we have to stop going to the café for the time being. We won't even bump into each other near the school streets since our exam times are different."
"I will miss you," Zane mumbled so quietly, it went unheard by Winter.
Reaching in front of her house, she took out her keys and was opening the gate. As she stepped into the porch, she turned around abruptly and called out, "Zane." He stopped in his tracks and looked at her way. She smiled and hollered, "Thank you for everything!"
She wanted to thank the person that helped her out the most since she came here, thinking that there's probably nothing that he was thankful for her. Little did she know, he was just grateful for her presence in his life.
Zane returned her smile and said to himself, "Thank you for coming into my life, Winter."