Only In It For A Minute

“OK so I know it’s going to be a bit crowded here for the next few days but you’re just going to have to put up with it,” John’s mum was telling his brothers.

We had arrived at John’s house about two hours ago and his mum was already doing everything she could to make sure I felt at home. Thanksgiving was tomorrow and so she was preparing all the food for that. Various members of the O’Callaghan family were coming to stay, hence why it was going to be more crowded at their house.

“I just want your first Thanksgiving experience to be a traditional one,” she told me when she explained who was coming and how much food she was preparing.

“You don’t have to do all that for me,” I told her.

“Nonsense. It’s about time we had a proper celebration. With John on the road most the year, this is the first since he was at school that’s he’s actually at home to enjoy. And having you here just makes it all that more important,” she said.

“Well, there must be something I can do to help,” I suggested.

“How are you with desserts?”

“They’re my specialty.”

“Alright,” she smiled. “I’ll leave the apple pie to you then.”

She handed me the recipe book and told me where the ingredients were and I got to work with the baking. John was with his dad catching up on tour antics while his brothers had now both gone out.

“Nervous for your first day next week?” his mum asked as we both mixed and cooked ingredients.

“Yes, but I’m actually more nervous at the moment about moving into my new flat. I haven’t even seen it yet since it was John that checked it out for me, and I haven’t met the person who’s going to be my roommate either.”

“Are they already living there?”

“I actually have no idea. I know I’m going to be working and living with them but that’s about it,” I told her. “Their name’s Jamie so I don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“When are you moving in?” she asked.

“John said he’ll take me on Saturday to give me a few days to settle in before I start working on the 1st of December.”

“Hmmm,” she sighed.” You know, I think me and Jay might come too. You’re kinda our responsibility now so I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“Oh thank you, that would be lovely,” I told her.

“It’s fine, Tash, you’re part of this family now,” she told me as she continue to chop vegetables. I looked to her as she said this and smiled. This was only the second time I was meeting John’s family but they already made me feel so welcome.

We chatted as we both cooked and I put the final touches to the apple pie. John came in every so often, wrapping his arms around me and placing kisses on my cheek and neck. John’s dad also came into the kitchen, wanting to taste everything and catching the smells from everything that was cooking. Once I was finished, I went to the living room where John was. Before I walked in the room, I could hear him and his dad talking.

“She’s a great girl, you know,” Jay said.

“I do know. She wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t,” John laughed.

“It’s nice to see you so happy, son,” Jay spoke again. “I hope you treat her right. She reminds me a lot of your mother when we were first together.”

“Really?” John asked. I was still hovering outside the door, smiling to myself about the conversation I was hearing.

“Yes, her whole personality is just like your mother’s,” his dad laughed. “Tash’ll make a great wife one day. And an even better mother. You’ll see, son.”

“Woah dad, don’t get ahead of yourself there,” John said. I tried to hide the grin from my face as I walked into the room.

“Oh hi Tash,” Jay smiled, as I sat down next to John. He immediately took my hand in his and entwined our fingers whilst flashing a quick smile from his dad to me.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out at his house as a few of his family members arrived. By the end of the day, also in the O’Callaghan household were John’s aunt Victoria, uncle Charlie and their daughter Taylor, who arrived first, and his other aunt Maria and her daughter Eleanor.

The next day, once everyone was up, showered and dressed, we all found things to do for the next few hours. Victoria and Maria were helping Jenny in the kitchen. Jay was watching sports on the TV with Ross, Shane and Charlie while Taylor and Eleanor played in the backyard. Me and John got to work on setting up eleven places around the table. It was a tight squeeze but we managed to fit everyone in as they all came to take their seats. I went into the kitchen and helped bring in all the food. Before we began to fill our plates, Jay started saying his thanks from the head of the table which moved around one by one until it got to John on my right.

“I just want to say thanks to my wonderful mother and father for having everyone here today, and to all of my family for being here. I’m thankful for being at home this time of year for once, it’s long overdue,” he laughed. “And finally, I’m thankful for my amazing, beautiful girlfriend, who I’m fortunate enough to have here today. I hope this is the first of many holidays we spend together,: he smiled at me, squeezing my hand. He nodded his head, signaling it was my turn.

“Erm, OK. I want to say thank you to Jenny and Jay for having me here again and letting me a part of you family at a time like this. I’m also thankful for all the opportunities I’ve had the past few months that have lead to me being here. And of course I’m thankful for having such a perfect boyfriend.”

“Oh yeah, who’s that?” Shane joked, making everyone laughed.

“It’s, of course, thanks to John I’m here today. Again thank you Jay and Jenny for raising such a good son. And thank you all for being so welcoming and making my first thanksgiving a perfect one.”

John leant over and kissed my cheek as Shane began his thanks. Once everyone had said a few words, we all tucked into our food and enjoyed the rest of the day.