On Thanksgiving weekend, Beatrix “Trixie” Fairchild expects her three grown children to meet her in Niagara Falls. For what, she won't say -- but her cryptic invitation spark a certain kind of magick and makes it so each one of her adult children returns to their hometown with hope, and only a small amount of resentment, in their hearts.<br><br>Whether it's Ivy, the oldest, who fears following in her mother's witchy footsteps; or Hazel, the middle child with itchy feet and a wanderlust that can't be sated; or Rowan, the youngest and only boy, now a trans woman struggling to integrate her past and present lives; each returns home, expecting some sort of resolution to their family woes. What they get is a surprise love interest along the way.<br><br>Will Ivy continue to overthink her own happiness, refusing to see what is right in front of her? Will Hazel feel too betrayed by her false family line and leave now that she has no home anchoring her in place? And will Rowan be able to finally integrate the best parts of herself without compromise and hurt feelings in the aftermath? What is Trixie planning for the holiday weekend?

The Thanksgiving Invitation

“If only he knew,” Ivy murmured aloud now. “I barely have a choice at all.”


Ivy braced herself for a million different circumstances that could happen tonight when her mother’s official family meeting would adjourn, but all of them faded when she saw a faded neon sign for a diner. Or maybe it was a bakery? The sign read Patty Cakes, open 24 hours, and since it was the only lot in Ivy’s surroundings that wasn’t packed tightly with cars or completely barren due to being closed, she pulled inside.


Ivy grabbed her grading from the backseat, along with her laptop in her satchel bag. Though her mother had written on the invitation to prepare for at least three days in the Bridal Veil Falls hotel, Ivy had packed more red pens than she had pairs of pants. Wishful thinking, she figured. She wanted to only make an appearance tonight, and hopefully, cancel her reservations at the hotel come tomorrow morning, when surely whatever nonsense her mother had gathered them all for was mostly over.


Chapter 3