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Chapter Ten – November 25

I woke up the next morning with Nick’s face smashed in my chest. I could think of a million worse ways to wake up. Even so, as I lazily turned my head to the clock, I realized with a start that I had about ten minutes to get the turkey in to meet my 9 o’clock deadline.

“Nick,” I whispered, shaking his shoulder. He moaned slightly; a few seconds later I felt him gently bite and lick my nipple. My toes curled.

“I’ve got to get the bird in,” I said feebly. His hand slid between my legs; his fingers had other ideas. My hands slid down from his shoulders; my nails dug gently into his back. His lips traveled up my breasts, to my neck, and finally to my mouth. I was almost at the point of no return when there came a knock on our door. Nick paused mid-stroke.

“Liv, sweetie, it’s nine o’clock. You still want to do the bird?”

It was my mom. In all truthfulness, I wanted to scream ‘go-away!’ and have some more sexy time. But sanity slowly returned.

“I’ll be out in a minute!” I said a little breathlessly. I looked at Nick, I felt his hand retreat. He kissed me again.

“I’m being replaced by a bird,” he complained. I smiled.

“Oh trust me; that bird is not going to give me the pleasure you can.”

We both got out of bed. Nick headed towards the bathroom for a shower. As he walked, I admired his backside. My eyes stopped for a moment at his newest tattoo. I couldn’t help but smile.

The tattoo that he had gotten the morning of AJ’s wedding was a yellow rose with green scrollwork. Within the rose he had his name and mine. As I lay there watching him brush his teeth stark naked, I had a flashback to when he had first removed the bandage.

“What do you think?” he had asked. I had traced the rose with my fingertips.

“It’s beautiful.”

“See the three little green leaves?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, we need to fill those up with some babies.”

I had laughed. “What if we have ten kids?”

Nick had chuckled. “Then I’m going to need a lot more leaves.”

With a little shake of my head, I shook off my reverie. Wrapping a robe around my waist, I headed down to the kitchen.

My mom was a life saver. I had never stuffed a bird in my life; without her, the poor turkey would have been oozing out of every crevice. Once I had it in the oven, I excused myself to get showered and dressed. I passed Nick on the stairs.

“Need any help in the kitchen?” he asked. I shook my head.

“Need any help in the bathroom?” he asked. I laughed.

“I wouldn’t want you to miss the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” I teased.

His face lit up. “What time did it start?” he asked eagerly.

“Nine, you’re late,”

With a kiss to my cheek, Nick slid down the banister. I continued to the bathroom. After picking up Nick’s wet towel and putting the cap back on the toothpaste, I slid in for a quick shower.

Ten minutes later, I stood in the closet, trying to decide what to wear. Truth was, I was nervous. I had met Angel once before, but this would be the first time meeting Nick’s mom and Bobbie Jean. My meeting with Angel had gone well; I could tell by spending even an hour with Nick and her that Nick adored her. She was extremely excited about the baby. I couldn’t wait to see her again. Knowing Nick’s shaky past with his mom, I prayed that I would make a good impression. I took a brown and crème dress from its hanger and slid it over my head. I had bought it just the day before so I knew it was a safe bet it would still fit. And it did. After sliding my swollen feet into a pair of ballet slippers, I headed back downstairs. When Nick saw me walking by the living room, he waved me in.

“Look!” he said, pulling me down on the couch. “It’s a Family Guy float. Look at the giant Stewie balloon.”

I laughed. “That’s cool. Seth McFarlane’s hot.”

Nick looked at me. I smiled innocently. “What?!”

“What? He’s cute, funny, he’s got a great smile…”

Nick made a motion towards himself. “Hello?”

I laughed. “I said he was hot. I didn’t say he was Dante’s Inferno.”

Nick grinned. With a pat of his knee and a little help, I stood up.

“Alright, enjoy the parade. Let me know when Santa arrives,” I said. I leaned down and gave him a kiss. Then I headed back to the kitchen.

In the time that I was gone, my mom had gone into organization mode. She had divided the kitchen into different areas: turkey station, entrees, desserts, and appetizers. I opened the oven and peered in at the turkey. Everything looked good – the turkey hadn’t yet exploded.

“Where are we at, mom?” I asked. She looked up from what I could tell was chocolate chip cookie dough. I knew the cookies were for me; I was anti-American, I didn’t like pie. I watched as she threw the dough-ladened batters into the sink. Raw cookie dough was a no-no for pregos. Sigh.

“How about working on the veggie tray?” mom asked.

I spent the next half hour washing the vegetables, cutting them into perfect little pieces, and arranging them on a circular tray. After taking a moment to watch the arrival of Santa Clause with Nick, I returned to the kitchen, placed some ranch dip in the center and, voila, done. As I was washing my hands, the doorbell rang. I glanced at the clock; it was 12:30. I heard a laugh and a lot of commotion in the foyer. Wiping my hands on a towel, I headed into the foyer.

Nick was swinging BJ around in his arms. When he finally put her down, she smiled up at him.

“You’ve gained some weight,” she teased, smacking his stomach. He doubled over playfully, then caught my eye.

“It’s sympathy weight,” Nick said. He walked over and wrapped an arm around my waist.

“BJ, this is Liv. Liv, this is my sister BJ.”

She broke into a wide smile and swatted Nick’s arm. He stepped back as she gave me a big hug.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, touching my stomach. “I’m gonna be an aunt!”

I laughed. “She’s due in less than three and a half months.”

BJ looked over at Nick. “Thank goodness it’s a girl. Another Nick in this world would be scary. I mean we already have Aaron. That's bad enough.”

Nick made a face. I saw his jaw harden at the mention of Aaron.

We spent a few more minutes talking and then BJ followed me into the kitchen. I introduced her to my mom and we gave a rundown of the menu. She held up a bag.

“I came prepared,” she said. “Angel decided to go veg two weeks ago to prepare for a photo shoot.”

I must have looked panicked; she smiled. “Don’t worry; I brought a main dish to whip up for her.”

I prepared the potatoes as BJ started making a dish out of what I could only guess was tofu.

“What in the world possessed you to get with my brother?” BJ said. My mom looked up; she thrived on gossip.

I laughed. “We just clicked. Plus, he’s pretty persistent.”

BJ nodded. “Once he gets something in his head you can’t get it out. What did he do when he find out you were knocked up? Faint?”

I shook my head. “No, he’s really excited.”

“Hunh, weird. It only took him thirty years to grow up.”

“HEY!”

I smiled as Nick poked his head in the kitchen. He walked up and dunked some broccoli in the ranch dressing. “I am uber-mature,” he said, talking with his mouth full.

Another hour passed. I began a ritual of basting the turkey every fifteen minutes. Amazing aromas engulfed the whole kitchen. My mom disappeared to set the table. BJ set down a large mixing spoon and turned to me.

“I want to warn you,” she said. I looked at her surprised. “Warn me?”

“About mom,” she said. “Nick and her have a shaky relationship at best. She’s not, er, well let’s just say sometimes she speaks without thinking.”

If I was nervous before, I was even more so now. BJ held up a hand. “All I’m saying is that you should take some things that she says with a grain of salt.”

We quietly returned to the finishing touches. As the clock hit 2:00, I opened the oven and yanked out the turkey.

It was the perfect shade of golden brown. I took that as a good omen.

As I put the huge pan down on the island, the doorbell rang once again. The dogs started barking, nipping at Nick’s heels as he took off down the foyer. I heard the door open and another round of happy chatter. BJ and I both wiped our hands on the towel and stepped into the foyer.

Angel was playfully boxing with Nick. Jane was knelt down, scratching Bitsy behind the ear. I saw my mom walk into the foyer from the dining room. Jane spotted me before Nick could do the introductions.

“Ah, the lady of the house,” she said, standing back up. I walked over with a smile.

“I’m Olivia,” I said, opening my arms to lean in for a hug. She held out her hand instead.

“I’m Nick’s mom, Jane,” she said. I shook her hand. As I did so, I felt Angel hug me from behind. She patted my stomach.

“And the bay-bay,” she said happily. She twirled around to face me, then knelt down, eye to belly button. “Hewwo, wittle one.”

Nick headed over and said something to Jane; they shared what I thought looked like an awkward hug.

Nick introduced my mom to both Angel and Jane. Angel gave another warm hug; Jane a lukewarm handshake.

Feeling a slight tension in the air, I invited everyone into the dining room. I caught Nick’s arm before he walked in.

“I need you to carve the turkey,” I said. He looked panicked. “I’ve never carved a turkey before!”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” I said.

Ten minutes later my perfectly brown bird looked like it had been attacked by Jack the Ripper. Even though he didn’t do the neatest job, we had edible turkey on a big serving plate. My mom walked in, followed by Angel and BJ. They each grabbed plates and we headed to the dining room. Jane was seated at the head of the table, a glass of red wine in front of her.

Nick put the plate of turkey in the center of the table and then took a seat beside me. He pointed my mom to the other head seat. Jane’s face seemed to go cloudy; I looked back and forth between the moms. So far, not so good.

“I’d like to start off with a prayer,” Nick said. He took my hand and my mom’s. I reached out for Jane’s. She took it reluctantly. Simultaneously, we bowed our heads.

“Oh Lord, thank you for bringing us together today and for the amazing food that we will bestow upon our bodies. Bless my beautiful fiancée and our little girl and bless both of our moms for without them we wouldn’t be here today. And that would be a bummer. Amen.”

It was a face in palm moment, but I refrained. As we lifted our heads I could tell my mom was highly amused; Jane, on the other hand, was not. We passed plates and began to eat. Angel and BJ were quietly catching up, other than that everyone was fairly quiet.

“So Olivia,” Jane said. I looked at her. “You’ve been married before?”

My piece of turkey slid roughly down my throat. Taking a sip of water, I nodded. “Yes. I was married for four years.”

“Well, you certainly lucked out.”

I looked at her in confusion. “Lucked out?”

Jane gestured to Nick. “Well, Nick’s a terrific catch. I’m sure you know that having his baby will make you set for life. Life in Tampa is a far cry from hick life in Wisconsin, isn’t it?”

“Just so you know,” my mom said before I could say anything. “Wisconsin isn’t some po-dunk place. And the farthest thing from my daughter’s mind is money.”

Jane smiled sweetly. “Oh I didn’t mean to imply,” she said. “I’m just saying that anyone that can get pregnant weeks after meeting a man…”

From my right, I heard the loud clatter of silverware hitting dinnerware. Nick sat back in his chair.

“Mom, you are the last person that has the right to talk,” he said coldly. Jane snorted into her wine.

“Oh she does have you wrapped around your little finger doesn’t she?” Jane smiled over at me then back at Nick. “Whatever happened to Lauren? I liked her.”

I didn’t know what I had done wrong; it wasn’t a good feeling to know that the mom of your husband-to-be didn’t like you. Before anyone said another word, I gasped as a huge clump of mashed potatoes smacked into Jane’s face. I looked over at Nick; he wasn’t the culprit. He was staring in surprise (and awe) at my mom. She was standing up, her spoon still poised as a catapult.

“At least my granddaughter will have one decent grandparent,” my mom sputtered angrily. I watched Jane wipe potatoes out of her eyes. Without a word she picked up a whole clump of Jello and threw it at my mom’s head. Like a slow motion action movie, Nick dived in front of my mom; the red gelatin hit him like a water balloon and ricocheted onto BJ.

Angel and I ducked under the table. I heard more food splatter against the walls and angry yells. I saw Nick’s legs move around the table. Voices rose to an incredibly high pitch before I saw Jane’s high heels being escorted out by Nick’s tennis shoes. An argument erupted in the foyer; I heard the loud slam of the door. Seconds later Nick reappeared, his face peeking under the table. He put out a hand for Angel and myself and helped us to our feet.

The dining room was a disaster. Shards of glass were all over the floor; cranberry sauce dripped down the walls. My mom and BJ were pulling bits of stuffing and turkey out of each other’s hair. Nick’s hair was turning an ugly shade of orange from the red jello juice.

“Welcome to your first Carter Thanksgiving,” Nick said. “And your last visit from my mom. Your on the other hand, is welcome anytime. That food fight was awesome.”

My mom smiled sheepishly. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Oh Nick,” BJ said. “You know mom didn’t mean anything.”

Nick gave her a hard look. “She never means anything, right BJ?”

BJ sighed. As they continued to argue, I bent down to clean up some of the glass on the floor. I was half-way to standing up when the worst pain I had ever felt in my life shot through my abdomen. I doubled over with a moan; the pain took my breath away.

“Liv?”

The pain eased; I stood, smiling weakly. “I’m fine, I just got up wr—“

Another cramp hit me hard. I doubled over again. My heart began to pound; Nick’s hand went to my back.

“What’s wrong?”

I blanched. “I don’t know. They feel…”

“They feel like contractions.”

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I'm pleased to announce a new spin-off story featuring none other than Kevin. To read chapter one of Nowhere to Go, click here.