She shook her head. “We’ve not had a turkey dinner before now. I mean, we’ve had turkey at the casino, and I’ve attempted turkey breast before, but nothing like this. Reminds me of the buffets in Caesar’s. Now they did Thanksgiving. Remember that year we sneaked in!” She giggled, and I smirked, remembering how we’d decided we were going to have a Thanksgiving dinner if it killed us. So we left the house, walked the two miles to the strip, and sneaked in to Caesar’s Palace.
There were so many people hanging around they didn’t even notice the two little girls that loaded up plates and walked right out. Or maybe they didn’t care as long as we ate. It sounded very much like one of those sad After School Specials, but we had a blast.
I laughed. “Best thanksgiving dinner we had…well, until now,” I said while shoving in a mouthful of turkey slathered in gravy. “Oh, man, this is so good!”
Max crossed his hands over his chest. “You mean to tell me that you’ve never had a Thanksgiving dinner sitting around the table until now? When you’re twenty-five and twenty-one?”
I thought about it. Honestly, it had never dawned on either of us that we were missing out. You couldn’t really miss something you’d never had. Instead of responding, I just shook my head and tasted the homemade stuffing. “To-die-for stuffing, Cyndi!” I complimented.
Her face lit up, and she preened under the praise. “Thank you. Wait until you try Max’s green bean casserole. He doesn’t cook much, but he can make a mean casserole!” She laughed.
I was thankful that she helped steer the conversation away from the past. When she looked up, I mouthed my thanks to her. She nodded and went back to eating.
Silence hit the table after that, the atmosphere feeling a bit tense. I had to fix it. This was our first Thanksgiving, and I wanted everyone to be happy. “Oh! Wes and I have an announcement.”
Maddy’s eyes widened. “You’re pregnant!”
I made a gagging sour face. “God, no! Yikes, Maddy.”
Wes laughed at my response and held me around the waist while I stood next to his chair. “Don’t worry. We’re planning for a couple mini Channings in the future, but we’d like to get married first.”
I shook my head. “Yeah, Mads. Jeez. What I was going to say though is we’ve set a date.” The entire table waited for me to finish. “January first, New Year’s Day.”
“This year?” Maddy gasped.
The biggest, cheesiest smile crossed my face. I couldn’t help it. I was getting married in… “Five weeks!”
“Oh my god. That’s so soon. Are you sure you’re not pregnant?” Her brow furrowed as did Matt’s, but for very different reasons. Maddy’s because it was unheard of for me to have committed to a guy enough that I’d be getting married in the first place, let along doing so in five weeks. Matt’s was more because I told him to wait two years before marrying my sister. I could imagine this revelation was not making him happy, but he pasted a smile on his face anyway. Yep, good guy.
“Well, I’ll be darned! Where?” Max asked his eyes alight with joy. To him, marriage meant family. And he was all about family.
“That’s the best part. We’re going to do a small ceremony on our beach in front of our Malibu home, and then a reception at his parents’ estate. They’re planning the reception, and we’ll take care of the ceremony. Really simple, mostly family and really close friends. Probably around fifty or so on the beach and whoever else the Channing clan wants to invite to the reception. Can you all come?”
“Like I’d miss it! I’m the maid of honor right?” Maddy’s eyes gleamed and turned a darker green.
“That’s right. And I’d love for our Isabel here to be the flower girl. Would you like that, love?” I asked her. She’d been happily shoveling potatoes into her mouth.
“What’s a flower girl?” she asked around a mouthful.
“It means you get to wear a pretty dress and a crown and drop flower petals on the beach until you get to a spot so that Auntie Mia can walk over the flowers.”
“I get to wear a crown?”
I knew adding the crown was a good idea.
“Tiara probably.”
“That’s like a crown with diamonds?” She asked her tone very serious.
“Yes, love, it is.”
She inhaled a huge breath, her entire face getting pink as her eyes widened. “I get to be a flower queen! On a beach! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” She started screaming before Cyndi could even reply.
Jackson woke and started crying at the loud outburst from his sister. Max got Jack and hushed him instantly, holding his son in his very capable arms. Max put this little circular thing they called a binkie in his mouth for him to suck on, and he snuggled right in and closed his eyes again. Being an infant was hard work. Eat, sleep, poop. Repeat.
“Yes, Isabel, you get to be a flower queen. Now, can you use your inside voice and try not to wake your brother again?” Cyndi spoke in that motherly tone I hoped I’d pick up on when the time was right.
“This is just fantastic. Let’s make a toast,” Max said, and held up his glass. We all held up our various drinks. “May both of my sisters be as happy in their upcoming marriages as I have been in mine all these years…”
“And to the newest member of our family!” I shifted my glass toward Jack.