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Jenna Sauder
Creative Writing: Non-Fiction
Short Story #2

Moms House

Thanksgiving Day, 2016

Now everyone go around the table and say what youre thankful for,
Ellie said looking at everyone with her hands folded on her lap.
My eyes immediately drifted towards my mother, who had just
got up and walked away from the table.

Earlier that day.

I pressed the cold mug against my chapped lips trusting that the
tea wouldnt scold my tongue. My entire body winced as the steaming
liquid drizzled into my stomach. Trying to shake off the feeling, I made
my way over to the window. I could feel the chill of the air trying to
make its way through the glass. I tightened my robe. Looking at the
crimson and orange colored leaves drift to the ground brought back the
warm feeling again. The feeling was short lived when I was reminded of
what today was.

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Your mom just called, she asked when we were leaving,
Damien stopped speaking when he realized I wasnt even dressed yet.
Should I call her back and tell her not for a little while yet? I thought
youd be ready by now, love he started walking toward me.
Trying to take another sip out of the tea, I got caught up in
staring at him. I often wondered how I was able to land such a
wonderful husband as I did. His brown hair looked black, still wet from
the shower and his hazel eyes were shining in my direction. A crooked
smile was developing under the scruff of his facial hair. I started feeling
guilty, for keeping things from him like I did. His eyes met mine once
more, and he started to laugh at me.
Baby what are you staring at me for? He giggled as he
wrapped me in his arms to give me a hug that only he was capable of.
Still in his embrace, I looked up at him. I was just staring at you
thinking how wonderful it would be if we just stayed here this year!
He gave me a confused look, You do this every year dear, ever
since Ive known you! What is it about Thanksgiving that you hate so
much? I mean I know your dog died on this day when you were little,
and Ive told you many times that we can go to that pet shop down the
street and get you dog!
I set the mug that was still filled with steaming tea on the
counter top. I looked down at my hands that were still pink from

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holding the hot glass. My step dad kept creeping into my mind. I didnt
want to see him. Its not just that, its everything. Its that house.
I knew I was being childish. I didnt put up a fight for too much
longer before I was in the bathroom with mint mouth wash swishing in
my between my gums with a curling Iron in my right hand. I looked in
the mirror with half of my strawberry blonde hair up in a knot while I
sectioned the rest off into little strands to curl. It wasnt necessary to
put this much effort into getting ready just to go stuff my face at
Thanksgiving Dinner, but the longer I took to get ready, the longer it
took for us to get there and the longer it would take to see my step
dad. I also hadnt seen my younger sister Ellie in almost two years and
because she is completely unreachable we arent even friends on
Facebook. Ever since she moved out and got her own place, shes
been MIA. A little part of me puts some more effort into my
appearance, just in case she decides to show up. I pouted my lips and
lathered on a burgundy shaded gloss, I was about to glaze on another
layer right when Damien snuck his hands around my waist.
I winced, Damn it Damien, you scared me. Why do ya gotta be
so sneaky babe? I was still staring at myself in the mirror, fixing the
edge of lip-gloss I had smeared out of boundaries.
I know that youd much rather take the time to paint your
mascara on your darling blue eyes and perfect every stroke of lipgloss, but, Im afraid that there are some people that would like to see

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us today, see you mostly. Lets go, you look perfect, Damien smiled
putting his hand on my shoulder.
Rolling my eyes I dramatically followed him out of the bathroom
and down the stairs dragging my feet with every step. I would feel bad
if I let my mom do all the cooking, because I know the jackass that she
calls a husband wouldnt position himself vertically off of the couch to
help her even for a minute. I made my Grandmas famous green bean
casserole. I removed the shiny tin foil from the big glass bowl we had it
wrapped and snuck a peak at it. As soon as I opened it up, warm
chicken broth and the smell of fresh mushrooms and onions drifted into
my nose. My mouth started watering and I decided I couldnt wait the
45-minute car ride. I went to stick my index finger at the edge of it.
Crack. Damiens hand slapped mine away from the casserole. I backed
away, annoyed. All I could think of Alex.

Thanksgiving Day, 2002

Ellie, Its been three years since dad died, I dont know why
youre being so mean to mom about this, I looked at my younger
sister demanding an explanation.
Dont you see Shannon? she looked up at me with tears
building in her eyes. I frowned and shook my head at her.

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Dont you see, If Mom starts to love Alex then that means she
doesnt love da-daddy anymore, her voice cracked while tears started
flowing down her porcelain skin.
I wiped a tear from her cheek, Ell it doesnt mean that. Mom can
love more than one person. Dads in heaven now and she cant love
him the same way she could if he was down here. She needs someone
down here to love.
She has us! She can love us Shannon! I dont like Alex, she
pouted her rosy lips and kicked her legs throwing a tantrum on the
middle of the hardwood floor.
Why dont you like Alex? I don think he seems so bad, I
scooted closer to her trying to console her.
Her baby blue eyes were puffy now looking into mine, he scary
Shannon. I dont like him. Sometimes he.., her voice trailed off as she
heard our mom call us from the Kitchen.
Girls, cmon over and help set the table. We gotta get some of
this food eaten before Roxy jumps up on the counter and has a feast.
I got up first and reached for Ellies hand. She wiped the
remaining tears away with her purple sweater sleeve and followed my
lead. The closer we got to the kitchen the more we could smell all the
deliciousness that we were about to feast upon later. Weaving in and
out of footsteps, Roxy, our 9 pound yorkies tail looked like it was about
to wag right off. Her pink tongue was hanging out of the left side of her

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small mouth panting because she was so close to the heat of the
stove. Ellie dropped down to the floor and started to play with her.
Roxy started barking with excitement.
Alex looked at the dog and shook his head, little mutt, I
remember him whispering under his breath. Alex stomach looked as if
it was about to burst the middle button of his white and blue flannel.
As he started handing plates to my mom, I realized how badly they
looked standing next to each other as a couple. My moms hourglass
figure was complimented by her navy blue dress she had on. Dad had
always liked her in that dress. He told her that it made her blonde hair
and blue eyes pop! Then there was Alex whose eyes were small and
beady like a gray little mouse. His hair, well what was left of it, was
starting to turn grey and there way a small bald patch forming at the
top of his head. I couldnt stop staring at it.
Now Shannon, would you come over here and help, your mother
has gone to an awful lot of trouble to prepare such a nice meal for us,
Alex beamed down at me.
I smile and nodded as I watched Alex and my mom turn close to
each other. My mom leaned in for a kiss. Thankfully, Roxy interrupted.
Ruf! Rufff Ruf!
Alex puckered lips turned into a sour frown as he shooed her
away obnoxiously with his foot. My mom started laughing, Someones
jealous! she giggled.

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Time to eat kiddos, but first lets all go around the table and say
what we are thankful for, my mom looked at the rest of us, You start
Ellie.
Ellie nodded in agreement. I am thankful for you, mommy and
Shannon and Roxy and Daddy, she innocently looked at Alex as if she
were going to be scolded for not mentioning him.
He shrugged it off and turned to my mom, My turn? he asked in
a gentle voice. My mom looked at Ellie with love in her eyes.
Well Im thankful for you too baby and I know your daddy is
looking down at all this yummy food and wishing he could share it all
with us, she reached across the table and folded Ellies hand in hers. It
made me happy that my mom was cheering Ellie up. She really hadnt
been the same since our dad passed away and started acting even
weirder when Alex entered the picture.
Your turn Alex, my mom smiled.
Just as Alex was about to share what he was thankful for, Roxy
started barking and jumping up at his legs.
Ruff! Ruff! Ruffff! Rufff!
We all knew what Roxy wanted, food, and not just any kind of
food, not dog food, our thanksgiving meal food. Ellie started laughing
and went to stick her had in the green bean casserole to give Roxy a
taste. Crack. Alex swatted her hand away almost immediately. Ellies
face turned cherry red and her cheeks puffed out as if she were about

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to cry. We both looked at mom, waiting for her to yell at Alex, but she
didnt.
Ellies eyes locked with mine. I knew she wanted to cry. I shook
my head at her. Be strong Ellie. I wish we could communicate without
exchanging words.
Dont be giving that little yipper food, before we eat any! he
shook his head at Ellie. Dogs dont eat people food, now where was
I..
Ellie looked at mom in disbelief. She wasnt about to let Alex
have the last word. We always let Roxy eat people food. She loves
green bean casserole doesnt she mom!? She looked at our mom
hoping for approval.
My mom shrugged, how about we see how much leftovers we
have first okay, Ellie? Roxy has plenty of food in her dish right now.
Shes just all excited that were all in the same place together.
Ellie lowered her head, I knew what she was thinking, what she
wanted to say. But dad always would sneak Roxy green bean
casserole from the table. But surprisingly, we both kept our mouths
shut. We pretended to care while Alex shared that my mom was the
most amazing thing that had ever happened to him and that he was
thankful for her and the two of us. Ellie rolled her eyes, and I felt as if
mine were going to drift backward too. Maybe she was right. Maybe I
shouldnt like him either, but I couldnt help notice how happy my mom

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looked. How her white teeth have flashed more now than they had in
the past three years combined. She was happy. Ellie and I had to
accept that.
Roxy slept through most of Thanksgiving Dinner once she quickly
realized that no one would be sharing, thanks to Mr. Baldy. Our table
looked pretty, set up so nicely with our fine white china dishes. We
would only use them on Holidays or when we had company coming
over. Our shiny white plates wouldnt take long before they were
covered in an abundance of colorful, delicious food. What made up our
feast was our tangy cranberry relish that we topped on our creamy
mashed potatoes and savory turkey. We had our light and buttery
crescent rolls on one corner while on the other side was our burnt
orange sweet potatoes that mom had made a warm caramel glaze to
drizzle on top. Last but not least, and what most of us went for seconds
on was the green bean casserole. Everything was tasty and it didnt
take long before everyone looked at their plate in complete disgust as
our stomachs turned from what we had just devoured.
Roxy noticed that we were all getting up from our seats and
started running around in circles of excitement. She skipped around in
joy waiting for even the littlest of crumbs to fall to the ground
Chill out dog!, Alex sneered as he looked down viciously at
Roxy. Wooh! Baby that was delicious, but Im so stuffed. How bout we
clean up and everything, maybe change into some looser pants, before

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we start on that pumpkin pie, he held his gut while it jiggled over his
belt as he laughed.
My mom headed for the bathroom while Ellie had made her way
over to Roxys dish with her dinner plate that still had just the right
amount for some leftovers in hand. She started scraping some of the
food off of her plate and into Roxys bowl with her fork. Roxy twirled
and danced around excitedly; finally realizing she was going to get
what she had been patiently waiting for almost all day.
The clinking of Ellies fork and Roxys dancing quickly caught the
attention of Alex. He turned over and strutted over to Ellie almost
immediately. He lowered himself to reach her eye level. Hey, he said
sternly looking Ellie in her panicked blue eyes, what did your mother
say about feeding Roxy our Thanksgiving leftovers?
He went to reach for the plate and take it out of Ellies hand
when Roxy jumped up and bit him on one of his knuckles. He dropped
the plate that shattered into a bunch of tiny pieces onto the tiled floor.
Roxy ran into the next room startled.
That little bitch!
I looked up from the table, not sure whether he was talking to my
little sister or the dog, but I was sure if my mom had heard him curse
in front of us, that she would no longer be gleaming at him all lovey
dovey like she had been all day.

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My mom walked back into kitchen. Her eyes got big as she saw
one of her favorite plates, destroyed, in pieces on the ground.
What in the world? What happened!?
Its that little dog of yours! Ellie was trying to feed her leftovers
and I went to take the plate away from her and that thing bit me! Alex
protested.
Roxy bit you? she looked at the minor red mark on Alexs hand
in concern. Shes never done that before! Im so sorry.
Ill be fine, he smiled up at my mom.
We made sure all the rest of the food from our plates was either
thrown into our trashcan or boxed up for lunch for the rest of the week.
The table was just about cleared off and my mom was already cutting
the pie and putting ice cream into dishes for all of us. She turned to
Alex and smiled. I know youve already done so much helping today,
but would you mind running that trash out to the dumpster. Its right
down the driveway and its too dark for one of the girls to do it now. I
can give you a flashlight!
No problem, babe, he said as he watched Roxy dance around
his feet.
Maybe you should let the dog out too, she probably has to go to
the bathroom.
He frowned down at Roxy, Yeah I can do that too, he said
smiling back at my mom.

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I remember the way Roxys little tail wagged as she happily sat
by the door waiting to be let out. Alex took the flashlight in one hand
and carried the big black bag of garbage in the other. Come on, you
he said to Roxy as she ran in front of him out the door.
It seemed to take awhile for Alex to walk down to the dumpster.
Our driveway was decently long, but this trip took longer. When he
finally got back to the door he looked red and was wheezing out of
breath. The trash was no longer in his hand and neither was the
flashlight.
Whats the matter dear, you look as if you just jogged a
marathon! my mom stared at Alex who was dramatically out of breath
in the doorway.
Its Roxy, he shrugged, I cant find her. She must have run
off.

Thanksgiving Day, 2016

I had butterflies when we pulled up to my moms house, and not
the good kind, these felt more like bats waving around in my stomach.

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