Chapter 10

THANKSGIVING, 2038

Thursday evening


"Oh my goodness!" Helene said; "I think I might explode! Jaime, you were NOT kidding about the amount of food! Just what your mom gave us to take back to school will feed us for a month!"

Jaime looked at Helene, and at Rina who had fallen asleep leaning up against the bed. That, Jaime thought, looks like a good idea.

"Too bad about the snow," Jaime said. "It was wise of Uncle Nik to tell us not to attempt to drive back to campus tonight. At least there's plenty of room for us here at  the house, and that Zach offered his room to Alexei. I don't think I've ever heard my brother be so thoughtful."

"Just as long as we're all where we need to be by Monday," Helene said; "Then again, if the snow's going to be as bad as they let on, maybe there will be a snow day."

"We can only hope," Jaime said; "If the weather's not too, too bad tomorrow, we'll go out and see the horses and the rest of the animals."

"Rina will like that," Helene said; "She likes horses."

"Rina, what?" Rina said awaking from her unintended nap.

"If it's not too bad out tomorrow, we'll go see Jaime's horses," Helene said.

"Oh," said Rina. "Mio Dio, I'm tired! I wonder if there is any of that pie left."

"The pumpkin pie you were scarfing down?" Jaime said; "We can go find out. You really liked that, didn't you?"

"Oh, yes, I did," Rina said, smiling; "Was that one of the ones we brought?"

"No, Aunt Jas made that," Jaime said; "She makes it so much that she can do it in her sleep!"

"It was so good! Save me a slice, I'm going back to sleep."

Helene and Jaime looked at Rina as she dosed off where she sat leaning against Jaime's bed.

"Tryptophan?" asked Helene, yawning.

"Yep," replied Jaime, trying to stifle a yawn of her own.

===

"Damn this snow!" Ben Walters said as he and two of his grandsons tended to the Summerses animals; "I've lived here my entire life, and I'm still not used to it!"

"I like it, Grandpa," Jeremy Schuylkill said; "Sure is a lot different that Florida, that's for sure!"

"I only dream of Florida," Jared Walters said. "Is it really warm there when it's cold everywhere else?"

"All the people from the Northern states come down to get away from the cold," Jeremy said; "Mom and Dad always said it was the winters that made our grocery store's year."

"Who's running the grocery now that you and your sisters are here?" Ben asked Jeremy.

"My Uncle Mark and Aunt Tara," Jeremy said; "They're my Dad's brother and his wife," he said to Jared.

"It's been in your family a long time, hasn't it, Jeremy?" asked Ben.

"Yes, sir, nearly 60 years," Jeremy replied. "Mom being a tax lawyer helped a lot. She and Aunt Tara kept the books balanced."

Once the chores in the barns were finished, the three headed back inside to get ready for their Thanksgiving meal. Ben's wife Sarah was an excellent cook, and she took pride in it. She often sold her preserves and baked goods at the local farmer's market. She was teaching Jeremy's sisters how to make some of the dinner fixings.

"Jared, I hear that Jaime's home from school with some friends," Sarah Walters said. "She called earlier to ask if she could bring her friends to the barns tomorrow to see the animals."

"I knew she was coming home, Gramma," Jared said; "I'll have to go up to the house and meet her friends."

"Well, she's brought the two girls that she lives with, and the boyfriend of one of them," Sarah said; "I'm sure that Julia will make sure that no hanky panky goes on there."

Jared turned toward Jeremy and rolled his eyes. Then the boys left the kitchen and went into the den to watch football.

"Jaime's the girl you like, isn't it?" Jeremy asked his cousin.

"Yes," Jared said; "She likes me back, you know."

"I got that," Jeremy said. "So Zach is her brother, right?"

"Yep, he is."

"Where does she go to school?"

"She's in college," Jared said; "and she only 16! She goes to Northwestern. I don't know too much about her roommates. Just that Helene is a ballet performance major- she's the one with the boyfriend; and Rina is a computer science major."

Jeremy's ears caught the "computer science major" part of that sentence. It what he wanted to study as well.

"You might like Rina, since you have the same interests," Jared said. "I think Jaime said she was from Italy."

"Computer science has always been an interest of mine, Jared," Jeremy said; "My mom was always telling us that to have computer knowledge beyond what the casual user does will be important in industry for years. The technology just gets better. That's why I want to major in it at college next year."

"Maybe Rina has connections," said Jared. "Ask her tomorrow when Jaime brings her down here."

I think I will, Jeremy thought.


===

"Mom..." Rachel whined as she helped her mother, brother and aunts put food away from their Thanksgiving feast, "Why doesn't Jaime or Miri have to help us?"

"Jaime has company, and Miri has to finalize plans for her wedding while Sandy and Danica are in town," Julia said.

"Know who she sounds like, Jules?" Kate San Marco asked.

"Sandy?"

"No, me when I was about Rachel's age," Kate said. "I complained longly and loudly about having to do all this work while my older siblings got to relax."

"I was the youngest," Jasmine contributed, "and I know I did my share of complaining. Same with Aaliyah when I ask her to help me. Am I right, Rachel?"

Julia noticed that Rachel looked horrified. It was like Aunt Jas read my mind! Rachel thought; Aaliyah does complain about that a lot! We both do!

"Well that shut her up!" Zach chimed in, laughing.

"Now wait a sec, young man," Julia said; "You aren't so innocent either! You complain about chopping wood, feeding Tripod, cleaning your room... shall I go on? What did Jack used to call you? The President of the Bitch-n-Moan Club? So, don't be getting on your sister's case about complaining when you do plenty of it yourself. Ya got me, Zachary?"

"Yes, ma'am," Zach mumbled.

"Now that you're slightly embarrassed," Julia said; "You could go find some bedding to put on the spare bed in your room so Alexei doesn't have to sleep on the floor tonight."

Zach scurried off in search off spare bedding, not wanting to say something else to piss his mother off. After all she was right. He DID complain a lot.

Shit, the Bitch-n-Moan Club? he thought; I haven't thought about that since Jack died.

It was their private joke, and Zach felt bad that he had forgotten about it. Jack taught him a lot of things in the brief time he was in Zach's life. One of those things was to obey his mother without question. She was the boss.

"Boy, don't you ever let me hear you sass your mother again, you understand me?" Jack had said; "I know she puts you in your place when you do; but it's not nice. Your mother is the boss and you should obey her without question. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Zachary?"

"Y-y-yes, sir," Zach said, remembering being a little intimidated by the older man who reminded him of his Uncle Nik.

"You remember that, and we'll get along fine," Jack said; "I don't mean to be gruff with you, not knowing each other well and all, but one of the things I've always hated was when a man talked back to his mother or his wife. Men should treat their mothers, sisters and wives with the utmost respect. It's what I taught my sons from the time they were little boys. They were to obey their mother and watch out for their sister. It what I expect from you as well. Obey your mother and watch out for your sisters. And when you're old enough to date and get married, you treat that special girl with respect, courtesy, and compassion. That makes you a man, son. Not all that macho bullshit."

Zach was in the linen closet when he remembered that conversation, and his emotions caught him off guard.

He closed the door, sat down on the floor and cried.

He missed Jack. He missed his dad. And he vowed to apologize to his mother and Rachel after everyone went home.

===

Friday Morning


Rina was the first of the girls to wake up. Something smelling particularly delicious stirred her from her slumber.

"Pancakes?" she whispered so she wouldn't wake Jaime or Helene.

Quickly, she dressed and went downstairs to investigate. What she found was Jaime's grandmother, Nonna Jordan, making pancakes. It was just Signora Draiman and her husband in the kitchen.

"Buon giorno, Signora Draiman, Signore Draiman," Rina said pleasantly. "I didn't mean to intrude."

"No intrusion, my dear," Jordan said to the dark haired girl she'd only met the day before; "Just trying to get breakfast for me and my husband out of the way before the crowds swarm down here. And we can't cook anything where we're staying out in town, anyway."

"I see," Rina said; "I smelled the pancakes, and was fully expecting Jaime's mother down here."

"Julia's pretty tired out," David said; "She did a lot of work over the last few days, so Jordan let her sleep."

"Would you like some pancakes and turkey sausage, Rina?" Jordan asked.

"Yes, please."

Within a few moments, Jordan placed a plate in front of Rina: pancakes, turkey sausage, hash browns and a huge glass of orange juice.

Rina said a brief prayer over the meal, then started eating. By that time, Miri came into the kitchen and said, "Nonna Jordan, why don't you let me take over and you and Granpa eat in peace?"

"Miri, my girl," her grandfather said, "don't take all of your grandmother's fun away! We came over just to get a good hot meal, and not what passes for food at the B-n-B. If I see one more crossaint or one more pastry, I think I will unleash a monkey call on them!"

Rina looked up at David and asked, "What's a 'monkey call'?"

David smiled. "I see that I will have to educate you on how I came to be, um, famous. You've never heard of Disturbed?"

"I have, Signore," Rina said; "but we weren't allowed to listen to popular music at home."

"Ah," David said; "Then we'll have to change that. Jaime hasn't mentioned it?"

"She has. She's how I know Disturbed is a musical group. She said their music was banned during the Occupation. But that's all I know."

"You've never heard a Disturbed song?"

"No," Rina said; "I don't listen to the radio much and I don't download music on my computers. Music interests me, but just the stuff that is popular now and classical music. Maybe a little opera."

David thought about that, then said, "Let me play you the song that got Disturbed on the map, then."

He then got out his secure phone, chose the music app, and played "Down With the Sickness" for a very sheltered 16 year old girl.

===

Later that morning, after everyone had breakfast and got dressed, Jaime took Helene and Rina to the barns. Alexei was engaged in guy talk with Zach, their male cousins, uncles and grandfather, so he did not accompany the girls to the barns.

"I have four horses," Jaime said; "and yes, they're mine. I take care of them when I'm home. There are two females, Wyoming Rose and Misty; we don't breed Rosie anymore because she had a difficult pregnancy that produced twins, who both died. Rosie almost died as well. Misty had a colt with Coltrane last winter. The colt's name is Illini."

Wyoming Rose was the first one of the horses they saw, and Jaime went up to her and gave her a hug around the neck, patting it gently. "Hey there, Rosie, how's my girl?"

"She's gorgeous!" Helene said. "Does she talke riders? I rode a little when I was a little girl."

"She has, but she doesn't always," Jaime said; "This is the most calm I've seen her in months. She's usually very headstrong. That probably is because she had to survive in a herd of wild horses that roamed central Wyoming. She had a difficult time with having Coltrane because it was so cold that winter. She wandered over to where we lived and was prepared to give birth out in something like fifteen below weather, at night. Neither of them would have survived if I hadn't defied my mom and Jack, and talked Miri into helping me get Rosie to the barn."

"Wow," Helene said; "so you rescued both of them! How cool!"

"They were technically property of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, so in order for me to keep them, Jack bought Rosie from them, and Coltrane was mine to keep because he was born on private property," Jaime said. "They were my early 13th birthday presents."

The girls walked over to where Coltrane was in his stall and he whinnied a greeting upon seeing Jaime.

Rina just stared. "Wow!" she exclaimed, "Che un cavallo bellissimo! May I pet him, Jaime?"

"He loves attention, so go on ahead," Jaime said.

Rina patted the side of Coltrane's neck and murmurred something to him in Italian, though neither Jaime nor Helene could make out what it was. Coltrane shook his head slightly hearing the soft voice of the girl patting him.

Rina turned away from the horse and expected to see Jaime and Helene behind her. Instead, a young man slightly older that she was stood there instead.

"Oh!" she gasped; "You startled me! Where are Jaime and Helene?"

"They went over to see the colt," Jeremy Schuylkill said; "Jaime wanted me to tell you where they had gone. You must be Rina."

"I am."

Jeremy offered his hand to her, saying, "I'm Jeremy. I work in the barns for my grandfather."

Rina looked at Jeremy for a moment. He was tall, dark haired and blue eyed. He spent a lot of time in the sun. She liked his looks.

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Jeremy," she said politely.

"Do you like horses, Rina?"

"I rode competively for five years in Italy," Rina said. "I often spent more time with my horse Giuliano than I did with my family. Coltrane reminded me of my horse. My mother gor rid of him one day after a competition and I haven't ridden since then."

"Why did your mother get rid of the horse?"

"My mother told me because I had not done well in the competition, I could no longer compete," Rina said sadly. She remembered pleading with her father to talk her mother out of selling Giuliano, but he didn't have much luck. He died just weeks later.

"That's cruel!" Jeremy said; "Everyone has a bad day."

"Mother said something about sullying the family name, that all d'Alessandros were excellent riders," Rina said, practically spitting it out; "She blamed my failure to get first place on my 'American DNA'."

"How did you place?" asked Jeremy.

"Second."

Jeremy just shook his head. "What kind of witch does that to her child?"

"My mother. She didn't come to the competitions," Rina said; "Her manservant told her everything."

Jeremy could see that it was a painful memory for her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a sore spot."

"It's okay," Rina said. "That was the last straw. My mother never was a real mother, like your mother probably is. I've hated her from that day on. I know it sounds terrible to say."

"My mother was incredible, as was my father," Jeremy said; "Sadly, they died in a car accident last spring. My grandparents are my and my sisters legal guardians now."

Rina looked at him. "I'm so sorry," she said; "Here I go on and on about a horse, and you don't have your parents anymore."

It was then that Rina felt like crying. The tears fell before she even had a chance to think about it.

"Hey, now there won't be any of that," Jeremy said as he wiped them away gently. "My parents are in a better place, and they're together. I miss them, but they would want me to live my life, too. So I go on and hope that they approve."

"I feel so selfish," Rina said.

"Please don't," said Jeremy. "You couldn't have known."

That made Rina feel a little better. She and Jeremy talked there in the barn for quite a while. Neither of them realized that they had just met their soulmate.

===


"Reen? Are you coming..." Jaime said before stopping short, seeing Rina and Jeremy sitting on hay bales talking.

"Jaime did you find..." Helene said coming up from behind. She saw Rina and Jeremy talking, too.

"Well what do you know?" Helene said in a whisper only Jaime could hear.

"I think that's the most she spoken to anyone other than us since we met her," Jaime whispered back; "I see sparks there."

Helene looked at Jaime and whispered, "I hope you're right. Rina deserves to be happy."

"So does Jeremy," Jaime replied and briefly explained to Helene what she knew about Jeremy Schuylkill's family situation.

"I had no idea! I thought they were visiting their grandparents for Thanksgiving!" Helene said.

"Maybe they'll be good for each other," Jaime said. "Let's go back to the house, and on the way, we'll tell Ben Walters where Jeremy is and to tell Rina where we've gone."

"Okay."

===

Chapter 9

THANKSGIVING WEEK, 2038

Thursday Morning


The phone, or something, was ringing in Suite 313. Helene put the pillow over her head to drown it out in her half awakened state.

She then heard Jaime's voice saying something to someone, and she thought suddenly, Alexei's here! She jumped out of bed in a panic, grabbed her robe and raced out to the living room.

The only person who stood there was Jaime, and she was holding a huge box.

"What the hell..." was all that Helene managed to get out of her mouth. Then, "Where's Alexei?"

"It's only 8am, Leenie," Jaime said; "that was Parker from work with the flowers your folks sent. Alexei isn't due here for three more hours yet! What are you all in a panic for?"

Helene suddenly felt sheepish. She'd forgotten all about the flowers her father said she should be expecting.

"The shop doesn't open til nine," Helene said.

"Parker has been there since seven," Jaime said; "Your parents order was first on the list for today, so he decided to bring it over early before we left for Belvidere."

"They were supposed to come yesterday," Helene said; "How come I'm getting them now? And why is the shop open on Thanksgiving?"

"Helene, you're not making any sense," Jaime said. "Your dad placed the order too late on Tuesday for them to get here yesterday. I looked for it in the computer, remember?"

"I think I better go back to bed," Helene said.

"What about your flowers, Leen?"

"Oh, yeah," said Helene. "I guess I should open the box, huh?"

"Why don't we wait until Rina gets up," Jaime suggested; "Then we can all see them at the same time."

"Okay." And with that, Helene went back to bed. "Don't wake me til 9:30, okay?"

Jaime placed the box on the coffee table in front of the sofa. "Set your alarm, Leen," she said; "I'm going back to bed, too."

"Okay."

Jaime shook her head, then wondered how Rina slept through all the commotion. She then headed back to bed herself. She had to drive later and needed to be rested.

===

Rina hadn't been sleeping. She had been busy half the night trying to get access to her father's birth certificate.

She could see a picture of it, but certain details had been purposely scrambled. All it showed publically was his given name: Charles Richardson DeWitt. No entry for his parents, the hospital he was born in, or his date of birth.

Shit, she thought, I'll have to hack it. I have to know what it all says.

Within five minutes, using a program that was widely available to police departments developed by Summmers Tech Systems, Rina gained access to her father's full birth certificate.

This child: Charles Richardson DeWitt
Date of Birth: March 3, 2003
Father: Christian Caldwell DeWitt, Sr.
Mother's Maiden Name: Darlane Charlotte Richardson
Born At: Children's Hospital, Syracuse, New York, at 8:34pm

Hmm, thought Rina. I wonder if Christian and Darlane were married in New York State.

A further search found not only the marriage license for Christian and Darlane, but their divorce decree, and a birth certificate for the DeWitt's older son who was named after his father. There was also a Certificate of Stillbirth for a girl named Charlotte Darlane DeWitt, on February 23, 2001.

Two years before Papa, and two years after his brother, Rina thought. I'll bet neither one of them knew about their sister.

It was when she found the autopsy photos for Charlotte that Rina quit looking.

I wonder if that was routine back then? she asked herself.

She decided to figure that out at a later time. She needed to get some sleep if she was going to be charming for Jaime's family.

But the name Charlotte played on her mind.

===

At 9:30am, alarms went off in all three of the occupied bedrooms in the suite. Rina was the first to emerge and headed straight for the bathroom to take a shower. Though she'd gotten some sleep, it wasn't enough, and she needed to be energized.

Outside the bathroom, Jaime heard the shower running, and figured that either Helene and Rina had beaten her to it. Then Helene came out of her bedroom. She was fully dressed.

"Who's in the shower?" she asked Jaime.

"Rina," Jaime replied. "You want to go next?"

"I had my shower about half an hour ago," said Helene. "I had trouble falling back to sleep after the flowers came, so I just got up and started getting ready."

"That was good thinking on your part, Leen," Jaime said. "I'll hop in as soon as Rina is done, even if I have to take a lukewarm shower. You know how Rina is with the hot water."

"I don't think she realizes that she uses that much," said Helene; "Her showers last less than five minutes on average."

"Maybe we should have the water heater checked, then," Jaime said as Rina emerged from the bathroom.

She was running a towel over her long hair, saying, "Jaime it's all yours, unless Helene wants to go next."

"I've taken care of that, Reen," Helene said; "It's Jaime's turn."

After Jaime got her shower and all the girls were dressed, they had a quick breakfast. "Mom's going to have tons to eat, so don't fill up on breakfast," Jaime suggested. "My family tends to overdo it, even with the number of people who are expected to be there. There are always leftovers! Enough for each family to take plenty home. You'll see."

"Sounds like a feast of epic proportions," Rina said. "I can't wait to meet everyone!"

"They'll love you," Jaime said; "and Helene too, even though some of them have met her before."

Helene looked nervously at her watch. "Alexei will be here in an hour!"

"Helene, you need to calm yourself," Jaime said; "Why don't you open the flowers you got this morning?"

"Right!" Helene said, as if she just remembered she had gotten flowers that morning. She walked over to the table on which the box sat.

"From your family, right?" asked Rina.

"Yes! Let me figure out how to open this darn box..."

She slid off the bow and opened the large oblong box. Inside were roses and babies breath, with some fall mums. Helene gasped as she took the card from its holder.

"They're gorgeous!"

Rina went to get a vase and Jaime placed the flowers inside. Helene then read the card aloud,

"To our prima ballerina on the occasion of her college dancing debut. We love you and miss you and wish we could be there. Love you always, Mom & Dad, Erin, Lili and Eric."

"Oh how nice!" Jaime said; "And the flowers are gorgeous!"

"Yes, very much so," Rina said; "Your family is proud of you!"

Helene thought she caught a sad look in Rina's eyes for a brief second, and thought, her father's dead and her mother doesn't give a damn. I want to do something to let her know she's just as special as I am. But what?

Jaime caught it, too, and wondered if spending time with her family will make Rina feel more welcome. Helene and I can do only so much. Rina needs a family who cares about her.

Jaime, of course, had no idea that was going to begin that day. Someone would go out of his way to make Rina feel special. Someone who was in a similar situation.

It would change Rina's life in a significant way.


===


At nearly 11am, the phone in the suite did ring. Rina answered it, listened, then said, "Yes, we're expecting him. We'll be down in a moment," then hung up.

"Alexei's here?" Helene asked hopefully.

"Very much so," Rina said; "We should get the stuff we baked and bought and head downstairs. We don't wish to keep the man waiting, do we?"

Jaime was already in the kitchen, sliding cookies into tins, covering cupcakes, and stacking boxes with pies inside into several bags with handles.

"Helene, you take the pies; Rina, grab the bag with the cookies," Jaime directed; "I'll get the cupcakes."

"This is an awful lot of stuff, James," Helene said as she picked up the bag with the pies in it. "Will it be enough?"

"Sure it will. We're not the only ones bringing baked goods you know," Jaime said, laughing; "No doubt that Rachel has been baking up a storm since yesterday after her lessons were done. Miri may have even helped her for all I know. And my cousins are bring stuff, too, so there will be plenty of sugary confections to satisfy everyone."

"At least we packed our belongings in the car last night," Rina said.

The girls then headed downstairs, after Jaime made sure the suite door was locked. Standing in the lobby was a tall, dark haired, muscled young man wearing a heavy coat, boots and gloves. That must be Alexei, Jaime thought. He is a handsome devil if I do say so.

"Ah, Helene," Alexei said as she gave him a chaste hug; "So good to see you again."

"Yes," she said, blushing; "Come, meet my roomies. Jaime, Rina, this is Alexei Bastov. Alexei, this is Jaime Summers and Rina Alexander."

They shook hands, Alexei saying, "Helene has said so much about both of you. I'm glad to finally make your acquaintance."

"And we finally get to meet the dashing Alexei," Rina said; "Helene has said nice things about you as well."

"I'm hardly dashing. I'm just me," Alexei said.

"Speak for yourself," Jaime said. "Helene, you were right about him. He is gorgeous."

"Oh, Leenie, you didn't really say that, did you?" It was Alexei's turn to blush.

"I did indeed," Helene said; "It's the truth."

The group bantered for a few moments, then Jaime suggested that they get on the road. Helene got the parking pass for Alexei's car, then headed out to where Jaime's car was parked. Once they were all inside, Jaime stuck the key in the ignition and turned it.

Nothing.

She tried again. Still nothing.

"Dammit!" she said under her breath.

"It was running okay the other night when we went to see Helene dance," Rina said. "Are you out of petrol?"

"No..." said Jaime while checking the gas gauge. It showed that the tank was nearly full.

"The battery perhaps?" offered Alexei. "We could try to jump it."

Jaime slumped down in the driver's seat. It was the first time since she had the car that it refused to start.

"Let's try that," Jaime said; "I have jumper cables."

As Alexei went to get his car, Jaime opened the hood. It was then she discovered why the car didn't start.

Someone had stolen the battery.

"Oh for the love of God!" she said disgustedly.

"What?" asked Helene.

"I've become the latest victim of the battery snatchers," Jaime said. She noticed that the latch that held the hood down had been tampered with.

"Let's call the campus police," suggested Rina; "I'm sure they're sick of hearing about stolen car batteries, though."

Jaime got out her secure phone and called the University police to report her battery as stolen.

"Who steals a battery out of a car?" asked Alexei when he drove up and asked what was going on.

While waiting for a University Police officer to arrive, Jaime called her mother to report that they might be a little later than planned, that she had to find a place open on Thanksgiving to get a new battery.

"I'll drive us to your family's house, Jaime," Alexei offered; "Just tell me how to get there."

"Thank you, Alexei," Jaime said; "That is most kind of you."

The officer arrived and took the report and Jaime's contact information, then left.

The group transfered the girls belongings from Jaime's trunk to Alexei's (which was bigger anyway), then piled into the car and got settled. Jaime gave Alexei her mother's address for the GPS and they were on their way.

The whole way, Jaime kept asking herself: who the hell steals car batteries for shits and giggles?


===


"Jaime and her friends are going to be late," Julia said as she hung up the phone; "Someone stole the battery out of her car overnight."

"Who the fuck does that, steals batteries out of cars?" asked Jeremiah.

"Weirdos," Zach said. "What are they going to use all those car batteries for, anyway?"

"It's probably a scam," suggested Nikolai Vincent; "Stuff like that happens at Harvard, too. Some group of weirdos steals, say, secure phones, then tries to resell them back to the people they stole them from."

"That's stupid," Zach said. "Sounds like people are too lazy to get jobs, or make their own money. So they steal something valuable, like a phone. But this is car batteries. Who buys a used car battery?"

"Someone who needs to get somewhere for Thanksgiving and all the auto parts stores are closed," Jeremiah said.

"I hope Jaime didn't fall for that," Zach said.

"She didn't," his mother said; "Helene's boyfriend is driving them instead."

"That's good," Jeremiah said; "I'd hate to think that they'd be stranded at school after looking forward to this trip for weeks."

"We'd have one very disappointed farm hand in our midst if Jaime couldn't make it home," Julia said. "Jared has been looking forward to seeing Jaime since she left last summer."

"They yakk on the phone all the time, Mom!" Zach said.

"That's not the point, Zachary," his mother said and let the subject drop.

"Didn't the Walterses recently take in Jared's cousins?" asked Jeremiah; "After their parents were killed in the car accident?"

"Yes, Jere, they did," Julia said; "Jared's father's sister and her husband were killed in that 19 car pileup last spring on their way home from celebrating their twenty-second wedding anniversary. Jeremy is almost 18; Jackie is 16, and Jenna is 13. Their grandfather is their guardian."

"That's terrible!" Nikolai's twin sister Vixen said, joining the conversation.

"It is, Vixen," Julia said; "But they're in good hands with Ben Walters. Their mother was Ben's only daughter, and he felt that he had the obligation to take the children in."

Nothing more was said about the ranch foreman and his family for the time being. Julia looked forward to the arrival of her second born child and her friends. This is going to be some party, she thought. I hope I have enough of everything for everyone!


===


It was Thanksgiving and Vito slept late.

When he awoke, he got up, showered, dressed, then headed down to his car to meet a special young lady with whom he was going to spend the holiday.

Carrie Comeau was from Massachusetts, and had family all over New England. But she told her family that she wanted to spend this day with a new friend she met at school who was from Italy, to show him the traditions of Thanksgiving.

Vito had become quite taken with the statuesque brunette with the big brown eyes. Carrie was in several of his classes, and their friendship began when Carrie asked Vito if he would like to study with her.

At first, Vito resisted his attraction to Carrie, but soon, neither one of them was able to deny it any longer. Before long, they were spending nights together. He was certain he was in love, but he didn't trust himself. What if I'm no better than the men my mother picks up? he often asked himself. It tortured him.

Carrie noticed his behavior and thought she was the cause. One night, they fought. "Why don't you just tell me you don't care, Vito!" she screamed at him.

That caught him offguard. Of course he cared. He realized that his inner fears were showing themselves in his outward behavior, and told her about his family; how his father was trapped into a marriage with his mother; how his father tried to be a good man and good role model to him and his sister; how his mother acted like the children were burdens, to be ignored.

"Carrie," he had said then, "It's me. I can't tell you I don't care because I do care. It hurts when we fight because that's all I heard during my childhood- my parents yelling at each other. When my father died four years ago, my sister and I were separated and sent to boarding schools. Mother knew all Audrina and I had were each other, and she took that away from us, too."

"I had no idea," Carrie said; "My family is close and we can lean on each other. It never occured to me you didn't have the same. I want to show you that you are worth more to me than just a casual fling. I could give my heart to you with no problem. Please, Vito, come home with me for Thanksgiving. You need to see what a loving, close family looks like."

And so, as he drove toward Carrie's apartment, Vito thought about all the things he had- the title of Comte d'Alessandro and everything that came with that title. His little sister, making friends of her own at Northwestern; the freedom of not being under his mother's thumb and at her beck and call.

All he really needed, besides those things, was Carrie. He would learn to trust himself by trusting her.

She was waiting for him outside her building. They would be going north of Boston to Andover where her parents lived. As she got into Vito's car, she said, "There's going to be a lot of people there who will have a lot of questions for you. Don't take any of them personally; they're just a curious lot is all."

"Checking out the new guy, eh?" Vito asked. "Make sure the foreigner takes care of their little girl?"

"They'll like you, Vito," Carrie said; "My grandpa will talk your ear off about business. My guy cousins will ask if you have sisters. Silly stuff like that."

"I can't wait, then, Carrie," said Vito. "As long as I'm with you, I think I'll be fine."

Carrie sat back in the seat and smiled. No one's going to dare mess with her Vito.


===

It didn't take nearly as long as Jaime thought for Alexei to find her mother's house. They had gotten there at about the same time as originally planned before she learned that someone stole the battery out of her car.

Rina looked out the window and asked, "Jaime, does all this belong to your family?"

"Yes, it does," Jaime said; "Mom said that Dad got a good deal for the land, and he personally supervised the building of the house and the barns. After he hired Ben Walters, who runs the place, Dad even had a couple of smaller houses built for his family so they could be on site when needed."

"How is Ben related to Jared, Jaime?" asked Helene.

"Jared is Ben's grandson," Jaime said; "and Jared's cousins came to live with them over the summer after their parents were killed."

"I can't wait to meet everyone," Rina said as Alexei drove up the driveway to park in front of the house along with all the other vehicles that were there.

"There's a lot of people here!" Helene said.

"I told you guys I had a huge family," Jaime said, laughing as they got out of the car and grabbed the baked goods they brought; "Most of them are probably here!"

While they were talking, a familiar voice asked, "You kids need any help with all those bags?"

Jaime looked up and saw her Granpa David standing there.

"We could use some extra hands, Granpa David," she said as he walked toward her.

David smiled, then, "You wish is my command, Granddaughter." Then he yelled behind him toward the house, "Zach! Danny! Nikky! Peter! Adam! Jaime needs some extra bodies out here!"

"Wow!" Rina said as Jaime's brother and cousins came out to help them; "When Grandpa says jump, ask how high!"

"Yep," Jaime said; "You don't dare say no to Granpa David!"

"I'll bet not!" Helene said laughing as she handed off her bags to Adam Donovan.

Once in the house, Jaime introduced her friends to the rest of her extremely large family. Almost immediately, Aunt Natasha was talking to Alexei in Russian; Rina and Helene were being bombarded with questions from the younger girls; and Jaime got a hug from her big sister Miri.

"It's so good to see you, James!" Miri said; "We heard that someone stole the battery out of your car?"

"Yeah, some asswipe who thought it was funny watching all these people discovering their clever little tricks," Jaime said; "Now I'll have to dip into my allowance and buy a new battery when I get back and get the latch on the hood fixed."

"Looks like you'll have to rescue Rina and Helene from your sister and cousins," Julia said as she gave Jaime a hug; "Rachel is way too nosy for her own good. She just asked Helene how she and Rina were related."

Jaime thought about that for a second, then told her mother, "They do look similar, but they're not related. Wherever did Rachel get an idea like that?"

"I honestly don't know, James," Julia said; "Alexei is very nice and polite. It was nice of him to drive you all up here. I know he wasn't counting on it. He and Helene make a handsome couple."

"They do, don't they?" Jaime said in agreement. "And look, Rina is chatting with Aunt Jas and Aunt Kate!"

"And Nonna Jordan is talking to Helene and Alexei," Julia said; "I'm so glad you brought them with you!"

"Me, too, Mom," Jaime said.

===