#anywhere

"I... Frankie, you'll always be my brother. I love you bunches and bunches."

"What if you like the NEW brother better?"

"Nope, I am physically incapable of loving any brother more than you. Maybe just as much, but not more."

"What if... what if I broke all your stuff?" He seems to be calming down now, but his curiosity is kicking in.

"Or... or I cut off all your hair!"

"I would be mad if you broke all my things, but I'd still love you. You'd be mad if I broke your things, too." Reasonably.

"But you WOULDN'T." He says with certainty!

"But I wouldn't, no sir."

"But a baby might." He suddenly looks worried again.

"Maybe I can come live with YOU!"

"I think that would make Janice sad."

"You could come stay here, and we can protect each other's stuff? You have a whole room!"

"Then my mom would be sad."

"She can come stay here too? We have LOTS of room. Mama invited her today but she said your mom said she had to go see your Nan. MY Grandma lives in Connecticut." Apparently forgetting that Dad's mom is HER Grandma too.

"Yeah, she went to see Nan."

"But we can't stay here, Frankie."

"Why not? There's LOTS of room."

"Because Dad and Janice are a family now, and my mom isn't part of that family."

"But if she's your family and you're my family then isn't she my family too? "

"I... don't know how that works, exactly."

"Well, you're my sister. So that's that." It makes sense to HIM at least. "Can I have more taters?"

"Sure thing." She scoops!

Dad returns, and he rests a hand on the back of each of the kid's chairs. "You two getting along out here? Frankie, Kitkat? That didn't go over exactly like I think we planned."

"We're fine."

"Fine? Okay, so... that means you're both full, and don't want any dessert?" He jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

A curious chime from Trina's shirt pocket. Dessert??

"Oh, I think there's room for dessert..." A hand on her pocket, a silent shush.

"Pie?!" Frankie squeals?

Janice steps out of the kitchen, arms full, as if on cue. "TWO kinds... pecan, and pumpkin, and whipped cream... I thought of trying to make a coconut bread pudding... but sometimes, traditional is best, right?" A smile to Trina.

"Sometimes, yeah."

"What kind of pie would you like?" She serves Trina first, and then Frankie, and Dad, and takes a piece for herself last. There's no hot cider, like mom always made to go with the pie, but the glasses of milk are almost as good?

"Pumpkin."

She DOESN'T say anything about the drinks. But her face can be loud.

Whipped cream, AND cinnamon! And Trina gets the biggest piece...

The pie is good. The turkey was good too. But it's not Mom's.

The whipped cream is delicious... freshly whipped from scratch. But MOM uses Reddi-Whip, and that's the taste Trina knows and loves... and her phone rings!

"Go ahead." Her dad nods... no phones at the table, usually, but it's Thanksgiving, already mid dessert, and he is eyeing the TV already...

It's mom calling!

She answers! "Hey Mom!"

"Hey, Sweetie! How's dinner going?"

"We're on pie. How's Nana?"

"Where is she, where's my gal?" Trina knows that cranky spitfire voice, as Mom and Nan start bickering playfully, "I just got her - " "Well give me the dang video phone then!" "It's not on face time yet... " "I'll tell it when it's time for my face!"

A grin!