Turkey Surprise ~ CC

Leith groaned as his phone ringing woke him up.  He hadn't meant to fall asleep at his desk... again, but he had to get the revisions done on his thesis.  As he grabbed the phone, he noted that it was 4 am.  Someone better have a really good reason for calling at this hour, even if it did do him a favor and let him know he needed to move to his bed so his neck wouldn't hurt any worse than it already did in the morning.

"Yeah, wuzzup?" he mumbled.

"Hardly the kind of greeting I expect from my brother the English professor," his sister's voice teased.

"Is four o'clock in the morning, Cailyn, what do you want?" He snapped.

"I just wanted to let you know that Mom and Dad got out of the house ok, and they are fine."

Leith blinked and sat up straighter in his chair.  "I think I'm going to need more information, sis."

"There was a fire in their kitchen tonight, but the alarms went off and woke them up and they got out.  The fire department got there in time to put the fire out before it spread to the rest of the house, but there is some smoke and water damage to the dining room as well."

"Oh my god, you're sure they're ok?  Do you need me to come.... Actually, where are they now?"

"They're going to stay with Byron and me and the kids.  They are taking our room.  Byron is bunking in with Treven, and I will stay in Cara's room."

"Well at least I know I won't become an uncle again tonight," he joked.

"Don't be crude, little brother," she scolded.  Leith thought she sounded just like their mom when she did that.  "And no, you don't need to come home any sooner.  Wait until your Thanksgiving break next week.  By then, they should be ready to put you to work helping clear out the burned-out kitchen to get it ready to rebuild."

"Oh great, just how I wanted to spend my Thanksgiving and birthday."  Then something dawned on him.  "If everyone is ok, why are you calling me in the middle of the night?"

"I figured if we were all awake, you might as well be too."

"Remind why I put up with you."

"You know you love me, little bro."

"No, that is a nasty rumor started by our parents to fool the neighbors into believing that you were normal."

"Goodnight, Leith.  See you next week."

 

****

"Leith, get over here and give me a hug, baby.  Oh, that horrible night all I could think of was not being able to see you one more time before I burned to death in the fire."

"Mom, Cailyn said you and Dad got out of the house just fine," he pointed out.

"Well, things could have gone a lot worse.  You never know."

"I'm really glad you and Dad are ok, Mom," Leith admitted as he hugged her tightly.  His dad came over and did the manly one arm over the shoulder thing that he had been doing since Leith was fourteen and had decided he was too old for hugs.  Near death experiences of your parents overrule masculinity's posturing, however.

"UNCA LAID!" Leith winced at the words, not the adorable little voice or the precious boy it was coming from as said boy grabbed his leg like a leech.

Leith scooped up his little nephew and blew raspberries all over the boy's tummy making him squeal and squirm.  "How's my favorite nephew?"

"Awww, Unca Laid, I'm the only nephew."

"Well, then that makes you the favorite, doesn't it?"

"Really?"

"Really really," Leith assured him.

"Mommy said she was going to have turkey dinner here this year since Grammy and Poppy's house burned up, but I made her not do it."

"You made her not.... What did you do, little man?"

"Your nephew told me that he liked you, and that I was not allowed to cook for you because you would never come visit again."

"You are absolutely right, Treven.  She used to feed me mud-pies when I was littler than you.  I bet her cooking hasn't gotten any better either.  I would definitely not want her to cook."

"Neither did we," their mother whispered, but apparently not softly enough.

"MOTHER!"

"The truth can hurt, Cailyn," their father shrugged as he grabbed Leith's suitcase and carried it up to his old room.  The house was safe to stay in according to the fire marshal, but the kitchen was sealed off by plastic sheeting over the doorway.

"So, what are we going to do for Thanksgiving dinner, Mom?" Leith asked.

"Your father is taking us all out, thanks to the insurance check we just got."

****

"Oh, Dad, do we have to eat here?" Leith didn't mean to sound like he was whining, but he really was. 

"What's wrong with here?  I know the place is brand new, but I haven't heard a single bad thing about the food."

"Hello, Leith, we have to eat here," his sister snarked.  "This is Thanksgiving Day and it's a small town.  This is the only place open within an hour's drive, you dork."

"Mommy, you not posta call people names," Treven scolded from his spot on his uncle's hip.

They all entered the restaurant and were about to be shown to a table when Leith saw him.  Attmore was working two tables away from where we were seated.  Leith had met him two months ago at an LGBT function at school, and the two had instantly hit it off.  They had gone on several dates and started spending more and more time together before the Thanksgiving break.  Leith was getting the impression that Attie was ready to take things to a more serious level in their relationship.  At least he was hoping Attie was ready to, because he knew he was.  Attie was a graduate student in the business school.  Attie hadn't seen Leith in the restaurant yet, but Leith knew it would happen.  They were in his family's restaurant, after all.  Sure enough, Attie walked over and stood near Leith's dad and began speaking.

"Welcome to Khalil's.  I want to assure you that even though we are a Lebanese restaurant, today we are serving the traditional American Thanksgiving meal, turkey with dressing and sweet....  Leith, is that you?  What are you doing here, Hayati?"

"Oh, Attie, this is my family.  Everyone, this is Attmore Khalil.  We met at school a couple of months ago."

"Leith, I know we have been talking about getting more serious, but really, you didn't have to bring your folks to my family's restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner.  We could have arranged some other way for the families to meet."  He gasped then and apologized.  "OH, I'm so sorry.  I completely forgot about you telling me they had a fire.  I am so happy that you are all ok.  Leith said you were fine, but he still cried in my arms for like two hours freaking out about how close he had come to losing you."

"Attie!" Leith hissed trying to get him to shut up.

"Yes, Hayati?  Oh, I'm sorry.  Here I am jabbering away, and you all need to order your food."

Leith's family just sat there in silence, except for little Treven.  "I wants turkey and sweet taters and pecan pie."  Leith's parents, his sister, and brother-in-law just stared from Attie to him.

"Oh, my mother will be so excited to have you here, Mrs. Renier," Attie gushed.  "She absolutely loves the pecan pie recipe I gave her from Leith.  She will be so pleased to be able to make it for you."

"You gave his mother my pecan pie recipe?" Mrs. Renier finally spoke to her son.  "You cried in his arms for two hours?"

"Mom, I can explain."

"You owe me, mister," Cailyn blurted at her husband and held her hand out to him.

"Nora, pay up," Mr. Renier told his wife.

"What?" Leith demanded.  His mother and brother-in-law each forked over cash into the waiting hands of their spouses.  "What did I just miss?"

"I bet Byron ten bucks you were gay the day I brought him over to meet Mom and Dad," Cailyn confessed.

"I was hoping she would forget about that," Byron confessed.  "I mean it has been ten years."

"I made the same bet with my wife when he was fourteen, Byron.  Cailyn is my daughter.  We don't ever forget a bet, especially when it's a sure thing," Leith's dad announced.

"I get the crying, Leith," his mom was saying.  "You've always been such a sensitive boy.  I tried for years to convince myself it was just because you were always the smallest in your class.  But you could have told me that you gave my pecan pie recipe to a restaurant in my own town.  I've been keeping that secret from the old biddies in this town since before you were born."  She looked up at Attmore who was more than a little confused and just a little nervous now.  "I suppose it's all right to give it to family, though.  He did say you two were talking about getting more serious, and he called you Hayati.  My college roommate was Lebanese and her mother called her that all the time.  I know what it means."

"What does it mean, Mom?" Leith suddenly blurted.  "Attie's been calling me that for a week and he won't tell me what it means."

"It means you are my life, Leith," Attie answered.  "I live for you.  My life was so boring and bland until I met you, Hayati.  I never cared for literature and reading before, but when you read those sonnets by Shakespeare to me on our third date, I felt moved in ways I had never experienced before.  I see your golden curly hair shining and shimmering in the sunlight as you walk across the campus, and even in the cold days now, I feel warm all over.  It was when you came pounding on my door at 4:30 in the morning last week that I knew I had found my life, though.  When you were scared and hurting, even though you knew things were ok, you sought me out to comfort you.  I felt so proud and touched and I wanted to wrap you in my arms and hold you safe forever."

"Little brother, if you don't keep him I will," Cailyn told Leith as she kicked him under the table.

"Excuse me?" Byron demanded.

"Oh relax, honey, I just want him to teach you how to be romantic."

"Wait... You all knew I was gay... for years... and none of you ever said anything to me?"

"We've been waiting on you to tell us, son," his dad smiled.  "I was starting to wonder if you ever would."

"You are such a blond, little brother," Cailyn teased.  "Now, I would like the turkey dinner, but I want baklava for dessert, and so does he," she said pointing at me.  "Put a birthday candle on it, too.  Or maybe you should put the candle on yourself later, Attie."

"CAILYN!" her mother, father, and brother all yelled at the same time as her husband.

"Mommy's in trouble," Treven giggled.  He looked up at his uncle and asked, "Are we gonna eat soon, or are we gonna keep talking to your boyfriend?"  Leith's head thumped onto the table as everyone around him giggled.