“Auntie Rose is with her friends. But after that, she’s spending the rest of the day with us. I promise,” I say in a light tone and stick my pinky up at her.
“Pinky promise?” she asks hesitantly.
“Pinky promise.” I repeat.
After our verbal contract, I decide to stay where we stopped. Bending down, I lift Rosalie to ride on my shoulders so she can see better.
It’s like our little chat never happened when the first float comes from behind the corner. Rosalie’s shrieks and happy squeals fill the air around me. And this moment right here is why I brought her here. I knew Rosalie would enjoy the parade from the first moment she saw the floats, balloons, and performance groups.
As the elevator doors open four hours and two hot chocolate stops later, I walk to the foyer of our place with my niece in front of me.
The small things that Rose has added to our home over the months greet us. The side table has a fresh bouquet with Thanksgiving-themed decorations. Different prints, pictures, and other art pieces cover the wall behind the table. My favorite is the framed photo of our Greek family that we took on our last day in Santorini. Rose loves it as well. We are both counting the days until the Summers-Servopoulous clan makes it to New York for Christmas.
“Honey, we’re home,” I shout as I take off my and Rosalie’s coats. Before I even have a chance to tell her to wash her hands, she runs to the kitchen, her dark curls bouncing. Once there, she babbles about the parade and how she loved it. I hear Rose reacting to her stories like it’s the best thing ever.
As I’m getting myself a drink a moment later, I hear Rosalie asking, “Auntie Rose, can we read a story before dinner?” I glance at Rose, who just shrugs and smiles before answering. I know she can’t say no to our niece even if she tried. Peanut has all of us wrapped around her little finger.
“Let’s help your mommy set the table, and then we can read one story,” Rose tells her, smoothing the unruly curls on Rosalie’s head. Holding hands, they walk away from me to the dining room to get the table ready.
* * *
When the dinner is finally ready, all five of us sit around the dining room table full of food. Since childhood, my personal Thanksgiving favorite has been Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows that our mom Opal made every holiday. The combination sounds odd, but those two things go well together.
Don’t judge it until you try it.
“It’s time to share what you’re most thankful for this year, would you like to start, Peanut?” Claire says and looks at her daughter adoringly.
“I’m thankful for auntie Rose, uncle Eli, mommy, daddy, nana, papa, auntie Pey Pey, and our future puppy Rocky.” Rosalie lists using her fingers and flashes a smile.
Like I guessed earlier this year, my sister’s family is welcoming a Labrador Retriever puppy to their family next week. It’ll be hectic between the holidays, but they already love their new family member, a little puppy who they’ll call Rocky.
“That reminds me, Dex, honey, did you send greetings to your parents and your sister before we sat down? I bet their Thanksgiving is a bit different now that Peyton is getting married and she’s hosting her first-ever Turkey Dinner tonight.” My sister keeps her expression neutral saying that.
We aren’t huge fans of Dex’s future brother-in-law, so we try to avoid talking about him when Peanut is around. Him practically forcing Peyton to cook for their parents almost ruined the holiday.
But that’s a story for another time.
“Yeah, I told them happy Thanksgiving. And to continue where Rosalie left off, I’m thankful to be healthy and happy with my current life,” Dex answers.
“That was going to be my line, Dex,” Claire groans. We all laugh before my sister continues. “If I can’t say that, I must say that I’m most thankful for having family around me. Both old and new.”
Looking at Rose across the table, I see her glancing my way as well. We share a secret smile as we had this conversation privately last night before going to bed.
We are both thankful to have found each other again.
Honestly, I can’t believe what a lucky bastard I am to have her here with me. There is no one else I want to have every piece of me but her.
She’s the one and the only girl I have loved. It still amazes me that I fell in love with my soulmate when I was still a young punk without any idea what life could be. And I thought I had lost her for the rest of my days. Then when I least expected it, she came back to my life.
After all this time, we’re finally together. There’ll be ups and downs, but we will get through them together.
As I sit there with my family, I think only one thing.I can’t believe I’m about to say this. But here it goes:
And they lived happily ever after.
EPILOGUE
ELI
