Not quite a black Friday

 

Sal felt he'd been making Thanksgiving dinner since Wednesday. Of course, there was plenty to go around at the bar. He'd made a feast and plenty of the oldtimers were happy about that. He felt as if he'd asked too much, but everyone gave plenty at ten bucks a plate. 

Of course, he hadn't intended to feed the world. He'd just have food until it ran out. 

Late in the evening Fan's friend Donna showed up with her son Aaron. Of course, she was already tipsy then and Aaron was starving. Thankfully, there was plenty to feed them both. Pumpkin pie too. 

"Well, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie." Sal smiled as he put some whipped topping on the pie for Aaron.

But Donna almost fell off her stool at the bar. 

Naturally, it was the beginning of a long night. Drunk Donna and Aaron came home with Sal. Of course, after the nightly news, Fan called to see if Sal had seen to a Thanksgiving with her bunch.

"Oh, I haven't seen them at all," he told her he'd been at the bar all day. "I am sure they were just fine."

"Well, they didn't call me," Fan was out in Denver with her boyfriend. 

"I guess they were busy," Sal didn't know it was his business to do everything for Fan's family. After all, he'd gotten Donna to the guestroom, and the last he knew she was snoring. Aaron was watching TV and drinking coffee.

For a second, it felt as if he'd entered a new universe. He wasn't sure how to tell Fan this. "I think everyone is staying well." He told her he'd gotten his booster COVID shot last week and his arm only hurt a little. He'd had a night of cold chills the first night, but had slept soundly.

"Look, Donna's here, and well, I better-"

"Donna?" Her voice shot to a harsher volume. "What's she doing there?"

"Oh, Aaron's here too." He did his best to smile, wondering if Aaron would be sleeping on the couch.

Naturally, Fan gave him an earful about Aaron not being stable and how he and Donna had awful fights. 

Sal nodded. He hadn't seen it. Aaron seemed pretty easy going to him. Maybe, he just couldn't handle drunk Donna. 

"We're doing OK," he said wishing he could tell her about the baby. Yes, for a split second he wondered if he'd hate himself if something happened to Fan while she was out in Colorado and she never knew about Angel and Jared's baby. "Fan," Sal finally said.

"What is it now?" She did sound put out with him. It was as if he'd crossed the line with Donna.

"You're going to be a grandma and..and I'm going to be a granddad."

"Nobody's gonna call me a grandma!" She yelled back at him.

Sal just smiled.