Episode 742: Thank You

"I’m thinking of pie," Ava replied, "Thanksgiving pie, not wedding cake, not now, Lila."

But, as Sebastian carried one of the many covered dishes for their holiday dinner to the table, he figured if anyone could push Ava into settling on a cake, and more importantly, marrying him, it was Lila. He didn’t know anyone as persistent as her.

Sebastian tried his best not to focus on the thought that Ava needed to a push into marrying him, but it lingered, and it must have shown on his face.

"Hey," Bowie quietly said as he set a platter of hot buttered rolls, freshly baked by Ava, on to the table. "I wasn’t sure about you for awhile there, Sebastian, but you’ve grown on me, and you’ve grown on her, too. It’s just jitters and making things a lot more complicated and terrifying than they need to be, we’ve all done that in relationships. Lila and I had a lot of false starts, but we eventually made it down the aisle, you will, too."

"Thanks, man," Sebastian said. The quick and unexpected pep talk picked up his mood as everyone sat down to dinner.

Listening to everyone around the table say what they were thankful for, Jesse knew what he was grateful for, though he kept the truth to himself, no desire to raise eyebrows or suspicions given that most teens weren’t concerned with their health, but he sure was pleased to have his. It wasn’t perfect, he still suffered exhaustion and aches at times, it just wasn’t hitting him quite as frequently, or in front of anyone.

The doorbell rang. His mom asked him to answer it, and he wasn’t as worried as he had been over the past year that maybe he might not be able to rise from his seat, so, yeah, he wasn’t in ideal health as it had appeared in the summer, but at least he was improving from what it had been earlier in the year.

Jesse’s dad asked if they were expecting anyone else. Ava thought that maybe her dad had returned home early from his business trip, which Sebastian totally faked his enthusiasm over, well, that was what it sounded like to Jesse.

Jesse opened the door and immediately his shoulders bunched with tension. Why would Charlie come to see him? Had he figured out Jesse’s interest in Caroline? Would he beat a guy up for that?

Charlie handed him a pie. A pie? "Sorry for dropping by during your dinner," Charlie said, "it’s just this is my family’s tradition, we each drop pie off to somebody who’s really helped us out in the year. I wouldn’t have won that election without your help. I can’t thank you enough."

Actually, Jesse thought he could have stopped thanking him any time now. Jesse could barely stand the guilt of it anymore, he almost thought about giving up his bid to win Caroline back. Almost. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, depending on how you looked at the situation, Jesse possessed enough of his scheming mom’s DNA not to just relent and do the right thing.

Episode 743: If You Want It