Fight or Flight

"Let us say grace," Christine said, folding hands with her husband.

Veronica held Matt's hand in her right and Gabriel's in her left. She glanced at Matt before bowing her head while her mother prayed. Her family wasn't overly religious, but Veronica grew up going to church every Sunday and she was a believer. Her life was proof that something of a higher power existed. She'd seen miracles firsthand. She knew Matt didn't care much for religion but everyone had their differences.

"Dear Lord, bless our family and our food. Thank you for allowing Veronica a second Thanksgiving with us. Thank you for keeping her safe and covered. Thank you for allowing her to meet a nice, young man and guide them through the coming months..."

Veronica's mouth twitched at her mother's thanks.

"Thank you for allowing Gabriel and Lisa to come to this dinner. Please continue to protect them and guide them, also. Thank you for keeping my loving husband well. Bless this meal we're about to have and bless the remainder of the year. In Jesus' name, amen."

"Amen," The table chorused, lifting their heads.

"I guess we'll pass the dishes around the table," Christine suggested. "Sweetheart, will you slice the turkey?"

"Sure will." Robert stood from his chair, grabbing the knife and cutting into the roasted turkey. "We'll try deep-fried next year."

"Dad, Mom already told me about that," Veronica said with a snicker. "Never try that again, please."

"I googled how to do it," Her father argued. "It must have given me the wrong directions. Tried to make me burn down the damn house."

Veronica laughed, rolling her eyes at her dad's accusations. Google didn't make him do anything. She scooped a dollop of mashed potatoes onto her plate before passing the bowl to Matt. There weren't a lot of foods that she didn't like. Her family was alike in a lot of ways and her mother always made their favorites for Thanksgiving dinner.

Conversation returned back to normal while they ate. Veronica drowned her white meat turkey in a pool of gravy. She was sure Matt liked her mother's cooking; most people did.

"How's your new job going?" Veronica asked, looking at Gabriel on her left.

"Busy, stressful," He described his new job with a shrug. As a recent graduate of Berkley School of Law, he'd gotten a job as an associate at a top law firm in San Diego. "My boss is a hardass, but it pays well for a starting position."

"Hm," Veronica nodded her head in approval, bumping her brother's arm. She always told him that he would make hundreds of thousands of dollars as a lawyer. It was a lot more than what she was making in the military. She always joked that when he made a lot of money, he could buy her a new car and support her.

"What's base like these days?" Her father asked.

"Eh, new recruits, new transitions, more training," Veronica shrugged. In her eyes, nothing ever changed much at work. "Same old, same old."

"More training?" Her father said with a scoff. He looked at Matt from across the table. "She's got it easy."

"What do you mean?" Matt questioned.

"For starters, they've got new technology," Robert began. "I didn't have all that fancy stuff when I was back in the Corps. Metal detectors to detect mines? Forget about it. You just got blown up without a second's notice."

"Dad-"

"And our planes and other vehicles? Completely obsolete today," Robert continued. "Vietnam was brutal, son. I wish we'd had the stuff they do today."

"It's a changing world, Dad," Veronica argued. "Techniques and equipment change. We still train hard, if not harder, to be prepared.”

"All I'm saying is that I wish I could detect a bomb from a mile away back in my day," Her father chuckled, putting his hands up in defense. He looked at Matt again, sticking a thumb towards his daughter. "And women in infantry? Never in my day."

"You've gotta be the best to get in, Dad," Veronica smiled cheekily. He'd practically taught her everything she needed to know from a young age. "You taught me that."

"Did I say that?" He laughed as if he didn’t remember. "I don't remember such a thing."

Veronica let out a laugh, shaking her head and returning back to her plate. "Whatever, Dad."

She picked up conversation with her brother and his girlfriend while Matt fell into conversation with her father. She listened closely to their conversation, almost eavesdropping to make sure her father didn’t embarrass her. She stopped listening to the conversation when she realized it was just about sports.

"I've got a sweet potato pie in the kitchen and an apple pie in the oven," Christine announced after dinner.

Veronica was stuffed, but her sweet tooth told her to go for the pie. She figured she could wait a while for her stomach to digest all the food she'd ate. "You want me to help with the dishes?"

"No, honey, that's what we have a dishwasher for," Her mother told her, stacking the plates and carrying the dishes to the kitchen.

Veronica turned around, noticing Gabriel and Lisa stepping out onto the porch. Robert and Matt retreated back to the living room to watch the football game and have another beer. She followed, leaning over the back of the couch to whisper in Matt's ear.

"I'll be back. I'm just stepping outside," She said. Her dad couldn't do much damage if she was gone for five minutes. She stood up, pointing at her father. "No funny stuff, Dad."

He grumbled something under his breath about just wanting to have a talk with Matt. Veronica glanced at Matt before leaving the two of them alone in the family room. She was glad that he'd seemed to have gotten more comfortable around her family.

"Hey." Veronica closed the door behind her. The wooden planks of the porch were cold under her sock-covered feet. She pulled the sleeves of her sweater down over her hands. It was really only about fifty degrees but that was freezing for Californians.

"Hey." Gabriel pulled his cigarette from his mouth, exhaling the smoke into the air. Lisa leaned into his body to keep warm. A lot of times, it was like she wasn't even there.

"Do you like Matt?" Veronica asked. Sometimes she valued her brother's opinion a bit more than her parents. Parents would be parents, but Gabriel was practically her twin.

"He's alright," Gabriel nodded. "Seems like a cool guy."

"I like him," Lisa piped up, putting in her two cents.

"Thanks," Veronica said uncertainly. She wasn't sure if she valued Lisa's opinion because she was a part of the family or if she was confused because Lisa never really voiced her opinions. Veronica licked her lips, leaning her elbows on the balcony.

"You're leaving soon," Gabriel stated more so than questioned.

"Yeah." Veronica looked up at the sky. The sun had set long ago and the moon hid behind a curtain of clouds.

"I hate it when you leave," Gabriel expressed, turning to her. Their identical eyes stared into each other.

"I know." If anyone took it harder than her parents, it was her brother. Her parents didn't take her deployment announcements too hard anyway, being that they'd been through it before. The only thing they could do was give her a hug and a kiss and send her off to do her job.

Gabriel stubbed his cigarette into a flower pot before dropping it on the ground. He pulled open the door, ushering both women through first.

"I watched the guy on my right get half his face blown away..."

Veronica stepped right into the middle of their conversation. Another one of her father's old war stories. They could have been exciting to some people, but some stories were more horrid than others.

"Do you know what death smell like? It's really gruesome and messed up..."

"Dad!" Veronica screeched, interrupting him. "I'd rather you not ruin his appetite. Don't you have any happier, funny stories to tell?"

"Oh, yeah, I have those too," Her father laughed. He always claimed the lighter stories were boring to tell.

Veronica glared at her father. She didn't want her father to make her boyfriend throw up after dinner.

"Alright, alright. I'll tell the 'better' ones..." Robert jumped into a story about when he first enlisted.



"Son, it was good to see you," Robert shook Matt's hand one more time before they all left.

"It was a pleasure to meet you too," Matt said.

"Make my girl very happy, okay?" Christine said, embracing him and kissing the side of his face.

"Yes, ma'am," He nodded, returning Christine's hug. "Dinner was delicious."

"Oh, come over any time," Christine said. "I have no one else to cook for but Robert."

"Mom, we've gotta go," Gabriel said before Veronica could voice the same thing. "It's a long drive back to San Diego."

"Alright," She sighed. She kissed Lisa before turning to her children. "Get home safe. I love you both."

"Love you too," The siblings said in unison as their mother kissed their faces. They both kissed their mother's cheek.

"Dad," Gabriel gave his father a manly hug.

"Bye, Dad," Veronica wrapped her arms around her father's still-fit frame.

"You kids get home safe," Robert said as the siblings and their significant others walked down the driveway to their separate cars.

"We love you!" Christine yelled from the porch.

Veronica and Gabriel both shared a 'kill-me-now' look. Veronica fished her keys from her purse, hitting the button to unlock the car doors.

"Sis." Gabriel walked over to her, opening his arms wide.

"Brother." Veronica enveloped him into a hug. "I love you."

"Love you," He pulled away. He nodded his head towards Matt as a goodbye.

"Bye, Lisa," Veronica waved at the blonde before getting into the driver's seat of her car. She glanced over at Matt, snapping the seatbelt across her body. "I guess we're going home."

She had a habit of calling Matt's house "home". She turned the key in the ignition, backing out the driveway to unblock her brother's car. She waved and honked her horn at her parents, who were still standing under the porch light.

"That went well," Veronica said, tapping her hands on the steering wheel as she drove. Her anxiety level dropped back down to zero now that it was all over.

Matt nodded, "I like your dad. He's a character, I tell you."

Veronica laughed, "I think he likes you more. Sorry if he told you too much about his time in the Corps. He can talk a lot."

"Nah, his stories were actually pretty cool," He told her.

She smiled. At least he hadn't lost his appetite or been too freaked out over her father. She was glad the night had gone pretty smooth. She knew it went a hell of a lot better than dinner with his parents.