Thanksgiving at Raiden's

By 5:30, I was ready but I am just a big bundle of nerves. I did not put on, make-up except for mascara and colored lip gloss. I don't know how to put it on and I don't want to look like a clown.

As usual, Raiden is right on time. Five minutes before 6, he's on the front porch. I opened the door and he opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

"Do you like my dress?" I smiled at him.

"I like how it looks on you." He says as he gives me a peck on the cheek. He had flowers again, tulips this time and it matched my dress. I had gotten used to this that I always had the vase ready on the console table by the door everytime he would pick me up for a date. "Ready?"

"Not really, but we can go now because I'll never be ready" I said jokingly.

"You're gonna be fine, I told you. I'm sure they'll love you as much as I do."

"I hope so. Hold on, my mom made some pies for tonight and insisted I bring them, sorry." I ran to get the pies from the fridge. I had put them in their boxes earlier and I had a paper bag ready by the kitchen counter too.

I spent the whole car ride fidgeting with the straps of my bag. I think Raiden noticed it and took my hand in his. It calmed me down a bit but not really. "So, tell me again about your mom, what does she like aside from gardening, painting and throwing fundraisers?" I wonder what we have in common.

"She likes to cook and read, but she barely has time to do all those. Sometimes she would whip something up at the winery restaurant, she loves to experiment with food as much as you like to eat. Haha."

When we got to the dinner, I had to take a moment and a few deep breaths before I stepped out of the car.

"Relax Cas, My family does not eat people for Thanksgiving. I did not bring you here to sacrifice."

"That makes me feel so much better, you should have told me that earlier!" That lightened the mood and made me relax.

"Just be yourself Cas, I fell in love with you because I saw you and I spent time with you and I saw what a wonderful person you are inside and out."

When we got inside, the hall was decorated with twinkle lights and some cornucopia, golden turkeys, pumpkins with flower arrangements and candles on the tables (Dinner table and the wine table). There are turkey standees on random corners. There are fewer people than I had expected. I thought it was a full blown party but I guess not. When I mentioned it to Raiden, he said, "I said it's a dinner party for the family, not the whole town." He chuckled as he handed over my pies to a server and gave him instructions. We went straight to a lady in a red dress, She had brown hair that's up in a neat chignon. She is holding a glass of champagne and talking to two other women.

"Mom, This is Cassie, my girlfriend; Cassie, this is my mom Catherine." Raiden introduced me. "Hi, Mrs. Patterson, Thank you for inviting me."I smiled shyly.

All three women looked at me appraisingly and the woman in red broke into a big smile and stretched out her arms to me signaling for a hug. "Call me Catherine, please. I am so glad to finally meet you Cassie, Raiden has been talking about you all the time!" She enveloped me in a big hug. This took me by surprise but it was a much nicer and warmer welcome than I had anticipated and I felt myself relax.

"These are my sisters Agatha and Maggie." she introduced the two women with her who also smiled at me politely.

"We're gonna go find dad first," Raiden said as he pulled me out of the circle. "I told you it's not so bad." He squeezed my hand tight.

As we were looking for his dad, I was introduced to several cousins and other relatives as well. They all seemed friendly but there's also some who does not seem so interested in meeting me. There are a few girls who sized me up and downright ignored me. One of them complemented my dress "I love that MiuMiu you're wearing, though purple does not really suit me." I wonder if that's the style of this dress. I need to ask Therese since she's the one into fashion. There's no tags on the dress so I don't really know if that's the brand or the style. "Don't mind those brats, if you are not wearing anything worth over $5000, they're not gonna talk to you anyway." $5000 dollars? Would a dress cost that much or maybe he's talking about jewelry. We found his dad by the wine table talking to a young guy about Raiden's age. He looked like an older version of Raiden but with blonde hair. "Raiden, you're here! And who is this beautiful young lady here?" He greeted Raiden with a hug. I guess they're a family of huggers. So much for not being a tight-knit family, I thought but what do I know, right?

"Hi, I'm Cassie and it's really nice to finally meet you sir." I said as I extended a hand to him.

"She's my girlfriend," Raiden added.

"Oh, so you're the one keeping this one occupied at the moment. Randy." He said as he introduced himself and took my hand. "So lovely for you to join us tonight, dear. I hope you enjoy yourself."

"And I'm Matt, Raiden's favorite cousin." Said the young man standing next to us, extending his hand towards me He had blonde hair too but with hazel eyes and he's about a foot taller than Raiden.

"My pleasure to meet you, Matt." I wondered why Raiden has not mentioned him if he's his favorite cousin.

"Pleasure is all mine." Then he turned to Raiden, "Why are you keeping such a beauty from us Raiden?"

"Whatever Matt." Then he turned to his dad again, "If you'll excuse us, we'll get something to drink first. Raiden replied as he led me away.

"Matt is our version of Bella, so stay away." He warned as we walked away.

"Maybe we should introduce them to each other." I suggested.

"Hmm... not a bad idea" Raiden agreed as we made our way to the other drink table. He asked for a Sangria for me. "You need to try this. Don't worry it's non-alcoholic.

It was so good, a burst of different flavors in my mouth. Just then, I heard some clinking of glasses. It was Raiden's mom, announcing that dinner will be served and asking the guests to take their seats at the extremely long dining table. Then, she motioned for Raiden to approach her. Raiden took me by the elbow and we approached Catherine. "Tonight, a new family member is joining us," does she mean me? "As you all know, this is the first time my son has brought someone to a family affair so she must really be special. Please join me in welcoming Cassie to our family." She took my hand and squeezed it tightly. Then she whispered, "Welcome, dear." I was very much surprised as everyone clapped and there were several welcome remarks being said all around.

"Thank you for having me. I'm very excited to meet all of you tonight and get to know you too." I hate being put on the spot and I can feel that my cheeks are on fire. I was glad when we started to move to our places on the table. Raiden sat me to his left as his mother sat across him. His dad took his seat at one end of the table. There were crostini on the table with some pâté on the side as well as some focaccia bread with balsamic vinegar on the side. Then came the pumpkin soup which was heavenly. I cannot tell what spices they use but it brought out the sweetness of the pumpkin. I was barely finished when they started collectin the plates and then brought out a small platter of stuffed mushrooms There's a giant mushroom in each plate stuffed with some kind of cream. Catherine explained each dish as they came out. Apparently, these are all her recipes, wow! The mushrooms had Boursin cheese, onions, peppers and artichokes, with a dash of paprika and some other spices. Then came the most amazing salad, it was a walnut and apple salad with mango-passionfruit vinaigrette. I need to take my mom to eat here at this restaurant, I thought. The table is very animated but once the courses come out, everyone got busy stuffing themselves and there's silence all around. All you can hear, is the clinking of silverware and plates and an occasional "Mmm, heavenly"; "Delicious"; "You must give me this recipe". It seems everyone is enjoying dinner. Catherine and Randy asked some questions about me, where I'm from, when did I move here to California, how I like it so far, what does my parents do... When I told them my dad died over a year ago, Catherine had a look of absolute pity o her face and said, "I'm so sorry to hear that Cassie. If you or your family ever need anything please do not hesitate to approach us or tell Raiden."

Then came the Turkeys. Yes, plural. There's only about thirty to thirty-five people in attendance but we had four whole turkeys on the tables Raiden's dad and three other men his age stood up and carved it after everyone had said what they were thankful for. I was surprised with the younger ones' gratitude spiels, it made me feel as if I am indeed in a whole different world. Matt, for instance, was grateful for his new speedboat, Trixie was thankful for her new membership at The Hamptons, Leila was thankful for shopping sprees in Paris. How old are these kids anyway? I felt drab with mine. I was thankful for my family, a chance for a fresh start, Raiden and his family.

I was happy that Raiden was also thankful for me but what pleased me was his mom. "Thank you for family and friends that we share this rare occasion with; for the countless blessings bestowed upon our family; and of course, for Cassie, who makes our son Raiden very happy." Then looking at me, "you have changed him so much and we are very thankful for giving him direction and purpose. I hope you won't be a stranger to us and you will see us as family too."

Tears were threatening to fall, so I was glad when she raised a toast for me and Raiden. I had to drink some water to stop myself from being emotional.

After the Turkey was ceremonially carved by the head of the families, the servers took it and served it carved with Salmon and some steamed vegetables. The sauces and gravies were served upon request by the servers as well. After the main courses, we were served a glass of Prosecco (Raiden said it serves as a palate cleanser). Then came dessert. My mom's pecan pies were served alongside the pumpkin pies and Raiden told everyone proudly that my mom made the pies. I was glad at the positive comments I received. "Oh my gosh, Cassie! Can we order these pies for the winery? These are absolutely blissful." Catherine gushed.

"She doesn't really sell but I will ask her." I smiled, glad that my mom's no-fail pie has once again scored me a win. The rest of the evening was smooth sailing and I guess Raiden was right. I did not get eaten by anybody and I did not feel like I was being sacrificed. Though it did make me feel like an outsider. Therese was the most well off person I know personally but she does not even compare to these people. It started to give me doubts about Raiden again. I was just glad it was not one of those movie scenes where the rich mom and dad would offer money to the poor girl to leave their son alone.