Page 46 of The Reluctant Roommate

“Want a cuppa?” Heidi filled the kettle and set it on the gas.

“Sure.” Morgan laid her cell phone on the counter. Once again, Linda had not answered her call. Morgan had left three messages now, all unanswered.

“Been meaning to ask when you’re leaving for your folks’ place,” Heidi said. “That is, I’m assuming you’re still going for Thanksgiving.”

Morgan turned away, using the excuse of getting mugs from the cupboard. “Actually, I’m not.” She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. “My parents are…doing something different this year. They’re going to Vermont for a break. Just the two of them.”

“That sounds cold. So, what are you doing?”

“I haven’t thought, to be honest. I’ve been invited to a friend’s place, but it gets a bit chaotic with her family and way too many kids. I’ll probably just stay home, watch a movie or something. What about you?”

“I’m not working. Lula’s invited me for the evening, but I already said I was going to stay home and have cheese on toast.”

They’d be home together. Morgan chewed her lip for a moment. It was obvious what they should do. “So your first American Thanksgiving and you’re having grilled cheese. That’s very sad.”

“Not to me. I can’t miss what I haven’t had, right?”

“We can cook here. Get a boneless turkey breast—that’s enough for two people. Have all the trimmings— dressing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce. Mashed potatoes, of course. Pumpkin pie for dessert.”

“It sounds complicated.”

“It’s really not. And with two of us cooking, we can divide up the prep. Do some in advance. Buy a ready-made pie. Of course, if you want to stick with your grilled cheese, that’s fine.”

“No! That sounds great.” Heidi found the notebook and pen in the drawer. “Let’s make a list.”

~ ~ ~

Morgan wheeled the cart around King Soopers. Whole Foods it wasn’t, but it was a lot cheaper. When Heidi had suggested it, she’d agreed and volunteered to shop and then Heidi could pay her half—that was the end of the preplanning.

But it was the day before Thanksgiving, and Morgan was totally regretting putting off the shopping. Whole turkeys? Forget about it. And the boneless breasts… She snatched the last one, earning a filthy look from a woman with blue hair. They were out of fresh cranberries, so she settled for canned sauce, and there were no green beans at all. She completed the trip, with many substitutions. At least Heidi had nothing to compare the meal to. She, though… Her mom’s Thanksgiving dinners were legendary: moist turkey, the table laden with trimmings, all fresh, all homemade. Aunt Linda always did three pies for dessert: pumpkin, of course, apple, and cherry. Whipped creamandice cream. What would Aunt Linda’s Thanksgiving be like this year? Mom had said Linda planned on telling her kids about her cancer. Would their reaction be enough for her to accept Morgan’s offer?Please, Linda, please accept.

She made two more stops: one for a pie from the gourmet bakery—her one indulgence—the other at the liquor store for wine.

She got home and started prepping. The dressing, sweet potato casserole, and potatoes—all done ahead. Brussels sprouts weren’t the same as green beans, but they would have to do.

Heidi bounded in the door as she was putting the sweet potato casserole in the fridge.

“What a day!” Heidi dumped her jacket and scarf on the arm of the couch and entered the kitchen.

For a second, Morgan thought she was about to throw her arms around her and kiss her. She froze, but Heidi went on past to the fridge and pulled out two beers, offering one to Morgan. “I so need this. The FlyInn was really busy, Robert was being a dick, just shouting at me from the end of the bar to let me know customers were waiting—as if I couldn’t see them for myself as I servedother customers. Still, I don’t have to work tomorrow, and I get to hang out here with you and eat delicious American food. On balance, I think I’m ahead.”

“I hope it will be delicious. And I hope you know how to cook turkey, brussels sprouts, and gravy. That’s your share of the prep. Oh, and opening the wine.”

“I can manage that. I think. The wine I can definitely do. Which reminds me—one good thing about the day, though.” Heidi went over to her day pack on the counter and pulled out two bottles of wine. “Robert gave me these. It’s the good stuff that no one ever buys as it’s too expensive.”

“We won’t run out of wine, then.” Morgan pulled the pan of potatoes off the stove and drained them.

“What other Thanksgiving traditions do you have, other than eating yourself into a coma?”

Morgan thought. “Nothing really. Not my family. We talk, we eat. We eat more. Then we eat pie. Maybe a walk to make room for more pie.”

“We can do that. Don’t you also give thanks or something?”

“Others do. Not us. We just enjoy family time.” A groundswell of emotion caught her. Family time. Yet, so little of that time was supportive. It skated lightly over achievements and fun, never talking about anything deep, anything less than perfect. Certainly nothing that was turning to shit in their lives. And she was a shining example of this—she couldn’t even bring herself to tell her parents she’d lost her job. Even the thought of mentioning it made her shrivel inside.

Aunt Linda still hadn’t returned her call. It seemed being unable to talk about the difficult things wasn’t confined to her and her parents. She ducked her head and blinked hard against the instant tears.

“Hey.” Heidi put down her beer and came around to where Morgan stood in front of the stove the potato masher in her hand. “It’s okay. Whatever it is, whatever is wrong, you’re okay. You’re safe, in your home, I’m here, and I’ve got you.” She wrapped her arms around Morgan from behind, and her breath tickled the back of Morgan’s neck. “I’ve got you.”