Run, Girl (If You Can)

Chapter 129: Thankful

Keeley mumbled under her breath as she tried to make sure everything was accounted for. The pies were baked or bought, the rolls were in the oven, the neighbors were bringing the candied yams and other vegetables, and the mashed potatoes were boiling on the stove.

"Dad! How's the turkey coming?"

"I checked on it a few minutes ago; it still has forty-five minutes to go," he called from the living room.

She sighed. The guests would be arriving soon. Valentina arrived early in the morning when Keeley did to help with the food but they were expecting four more including Ryan. The table only seated six so they were borrowing a folding chair from one of the neighbors to help everyone fit.

"Relax, Keeley," Valentina soothed. "Everything is going to go fine. Why are you so nervous?"

"You've been here before but Ryan never has. I'm afraid it might be awkward."

Her friend scoffed. "How could it be awkward? He's one of us! You're thinking too much. If you're going to worry about something, worry about how things are going for Jennica."

"Oh yeah, she's bringing Cameron home to meet her family, right? Isn't it a little too soon?" Keeley asked absentmindedly as she drained the potatoes.

Valentina giggled. "Yes. Apparently he volunteered to be her 'fake boyfriend' to get her mother off her back but I've seen enough movies to know where this is going. They'll be together by the end of the weekend."

Ah, that girl. This was the first time any of the three roommates had been serious about someone since they started living together. It was a bit strange to see.

Keeley was happy for her friend but at the same time feared for what might go wrong. Love was so fickle. What might seem like something good and real now could easily fall apart later.

The doorbell rang and Valentina went off to usher in the first of their guests. "Hola! Feliz dia de accion de gracias!"

"I'm going to assume you just told me to have a Happy Thanksgiving," Ryan said with a smile.

"I did. Come on in, you're the first one here."

He stepped through the doorway and spotted Keeley mashing the potatoes wearing a flowery pink apron and her father on the couch.

Robert stood and crossed the room to shake Ryan's hand. "Nice to meet you, you must be Keeley's friend. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Robert Hall."

"Nice to meet you too, sir," he said respectfully. "Need any help in there, Keeley?"

"Nope, I've got it! Thanks though," she called back.

Ryan set down his cherry pie on the counter near the others before sitting down next to Robert to watch the football game. They chatted about how well the Giants were doing this season as the other guests began to arrive.

Eventually everyone was here, the food was on the table, and people sat down to enjoy the meal.

"Before we dig in," Robert said. "My wife had a tradition where everyone goes around the table and says what they are thankful for. We keep it going in her memory. I'll start. This year I am thankful for my beautiful daughter."

Keeley smiled. "Dad, you say that every year."

"And every year I mean it."

She blew him a kiss across the table, making everyone else laugh.

The Halls' old widowed neighbor was thankful for her flowers. Robert's coworkers were thankful for football and having a good job. Valentina was thankful that she would be flying home to visit her family in a month.

Ryan glanced at Keeley. "I'm thankful for good friends."

What was she most thankful for this year? To be alive. To have recovered from the lab accident so her research was going well. To not be married to Aaron Hale. That was a given but at the same time she was a teeny bit grateful that he had been such a good friend to her lately.

"I'm thankful to be one step closer to achieving my dream."

Everyone held up their wine glasses and knocked them together before downing a gulp. Then the rest of the feast began.

Almost no talking went on because everyone was too focused on the food. It wasn't until afterward when everyone piled onto the couches and the floor to watch football that conversation resumed.

"It's a shame that there's still pie," Keeley groaned from her seat on the floor between Ryan and Valentina. "I think I'm actually dying."

"I'm right there with you."

Peruvians frequently ate big meals so Valentina called them all weak before laughing gleefully. Even being in the United States for six years hadn't changed her stomach capacity.

Robert went to grab another roll and noticed the three friends' position when he came back. "Here, let me take a picture of you guys."

Keeley handed him her phone. "Use mine so I can post it on Instagram easier."

Her father shook his head and accepted it. He really didn't understand the appeal behind Instagram but it was better to listen to the young ones when it came to technology.

"Everybody say cheese!"

Keeley wrapped her arms around both of her friends' shoulders and pulled them closer so their faces were practically squished together. They all grinned for the camera.

She examined the photo after her father handed the phone back. Not bad. "Thanks Dad!"

She posted it to Instagram with the caption 'Food, football, and friends' with a heart next to it and the hashtags 'happythanksgiving' and 'thanksgiving2012.' She tagged valenovela and rythescienceguy in the photo.

A follower named hail.storm that liked literally everything she posted was the first person to like the photo and left a comment wishing her a happy Thanksgiving. She replied 'you too' before closing the app.

Keeley had no idea who hail.storm was but he or she was one of her first followers when she joined the site over a year ago. Their profile picture was of a generic thundercloud with lightning and they had never posted any pictures of their own.

Her phone buzzed next to her on the floor and Valentina peered at it. "Crazy Person is asking if you're having a nice Thanksgiving."

"Crazy Person?" Ryan asked, confused.

"Keeley's ex. He texts her all the time," she said helpfully even though Keeley shot her a dirty look.

Ryan frowned. "Still?"

Robert noticed where the conversation was going and smiled. "Oh is that Aa—"

"DAD!"

The last thing she wanted was for her friends to know his name. He gave her a knowing look. "Tell him I said hi."

"Your dad likes him?" Valentina whispered.

"…it's a long story. How about we forget about this and go serve up the pie?"

Pie was much more diverting than who Keeley's ex-boyfriend was. Everyone congregated back in the kitchen and Aaron was soon forgotten.