Sunday in New York

November 22nd, Thursday, Thanksgiving

"Oh mom, he's just perfect." I grinned as I was lying on my mom's bed. It was Thanksgiving, so with tradition, I was over at my parent's place to celebrate with my family. Hudson and Jules were going to come over in a bit; they were spending their morning doing inventory at the restaurant.

She pushed through the clothes that hung in her closet, "Well of course he is, he's handsome, talented, what's not to love?" She gave an "aha!" and turned around and came up to me, holding a large dress bag with a huge grin on her face.

"Now before you try on the dress, let me see that ring again." She laughed, holding out her hand. I placed mine in hers and she grinned as she studied the ring. "And this belonged to his mother?"

I nodded. "I thought it was super sweet and sentimental for him to give it to me."

"It really is. Oh Avery, I'm so happy for you!" She pulled me into a hug and squeezed me tightly. I laughed.

"Has he told his father?" She asked, unzipping the bag.

I thought for a moment, "I think so, he said that he would call him...I don't know, it's been a busy couple of weeks, I forgot to ask him I guess...hmm."

"Well c'mon, try on my dress, I wanna see you." She clapped her hands. I got up and changed. She helped me into the gown, it really was beautiful, she wore this when she married my father 27 years ago. It was a silk-organza and chiffon gown, very simple but still so elegant. I hadn't decided yet whether or not I was going to wear this one or buy another, though Hudson had offered to pay for my gown; "Whatever I wanted," He said.

She zipped it up and gasped, covering her mouth and tears welling up in her eyes. I bit my lip and walked across the room to see myself in the mirror; I couldn't help but smile, and just like that I knew that this was the gown for me. It was exactly what I had envisioned myself wearing.

"This is it, this is the dress." I grinned. I softly glided my hand along the delicate fabric and could feel my heart picking up speed; it was perfect, and Hudson would love it.

My mother hugged me again and I laughed, hugging her back. "Mom, you're being overbearing again, stop. And don't cry either."

"Too late." She laughed as she dabbed her eyes.

"Mom, this is perfect. I love it and Hudson will too." I smiled, holding her at arms length.

There was a knock at the door.

"Don't come in!" I called.

My dad laughed from the outside of the room, "I won't, I'm just letting you know that Hudson and Jules are here."

"Thank you!" I called, I turned to my mom, "Okay, let's get me out of this dress, I wanna go see Hudson."

So after I got changed out of the dress and back into my jeans and a New York Yankees t-shirt, I ran downstairs and into his arms, giving him a tight hug and a quick kiss. He grinned back at me and kissed my forehead. "Hello love."

"Hello my dear." I chuckled, releasing him from the hug as he went to greet my mom and I went to greet Jules. Hudson gave my mother a hug and kissed her cheek, handing her a bouquet of flowers and the Food Network magazine. She thanked him and hugged him again.

"Hi Jules." I smiled, hugging him and kissing his cheek.

"Happy Thanksgiving." He chuckled, lifting up a couple bottles of wine; one was a Pinot Noir and the other was a Riesling.

"Oh thank you Jules, this is really nice." I smiled, taking the bottles and ushering him into the living room. "Jules, you probably met my dad, John. This is my mother Kate, my brothers Jonathan and Paul, and this is Paul's husband, Max."

Jules politely shook all their hands. "Thank you for having me over for this holiday, I wasn't able to go home this time, so I really appreciate this."

"You're very welcome Jules, think of us as your extended family. Our home is your home." My mom smiled at him as my father wrapped his arm around her.

"Shall we open a bottle of wine while we wait for dinner?" Paul asked.

"Yes please." My mom replied. "I'm just gonna go check on the food."

"I'll help." Hudson followed her into the kitchen. So while they were in the kitchen and Paul was pouring the wine, Jules and I sat on the couch together. I could hear Hudson and my mom laughing in the kitchen and that made my heart melt.

I turned to Jules with a smile, "He's really warming up to my family." I quietly spoke.

He smiled back and nodded, "He really is. I've honestly never seen him so comfortable with another's family, even with mine he's still a little hesitant. It's nice to see him this way."

I hugged myself because I was completely and utterly happy. Paul and Max came back with the glasses and handed each of us one.

"So Jules, you work with Hudson at the restaurant?" Paul asked, sitting on the love seat.

"Yeah, we own it together." He nodded.

"I keep telling him that we should stop by, but this guy, he's such a homebody." Max laughed, elbowing Paulie.

Jonathan came and sat next to me, taking my hand to see the ring. He smiled at me, "I'm honestly in shock." He laughed.

"Shock? Why?" I chuckled.

"You're so young, you're only twenty-two." He smirked, cocking his head to the side.

"So? I'm more than ready to become a wife." I laughed,

"That she is, Jonny. She may be younger, but she is a lot more mature than you. Marriage is like, the last step of officially becoming an adult. It's saying that you're ready to share your life with someone." Paul smiled.

Jonny rolled his eyes and gave a laugh, "Yeah yeah, just because you're the oldest and got married first, doesn't mean you know everything."

We laughed. I patted his shoulder, "Jonathan, I'm getting married, deal with it."

"Dinner should be ready in 30 minutes." My mom chimed in, taking a seat on the arm rest of my father's chair. Jonathan got up so Hudson could sit with me.

"This is so great, having our family together for Thanksgiving." She smiled.

Hudson squeezed my hand and smiled at me, giving me that look I knew all too well; he wanted to kiss me but had to control himself since my family was here, he was very modest for a guy. I think it's sweet.

"So, Avery, Hudson. Have you two thought of what you want your wedding to be like?" My dad asked in his deep voice.

Hudson and I looked at each other. We've talked about it, but that's pretty much it. We've both been so busy, especially during this season, with Christmas approaching so soon. I cleared my throat, "Um, something...simple."

Hudson's shy smile became an amused grin as he watched me try to explain our "plans."

"And?" Max chuckled.

"And...it will be nice." I grinned, making everyone laugh.

"Well then, do you at least have a date? Or an idea of one?" Paul asked.

Hudson and I laughed, shaking our heads. "I think right now we're just happy and content with being engaged, the wedding isn't on top of our priority list right now. We've both been so busy, but when the time is right, that's when we'll get married." I replied.

"Regardless, we can't wait to spend forever with each other." Hudson smiled, holding my hand and lifting it to his lips, kissing it softly.

And then I remember what I was going to ask him. As the others began chatting about other things, I quietly turned to him and whispered. "I forgot to ask, you've told your dad about the engagement, right?"

His smile faltered and his eyes darted up to mine. I immediately knew that look too, he was nervous. "Um..."