Alex and Daniel went down to the dining room and found Ava and Phillip having a lovely chat with Mr. and Mrs. Diaz. The young couple hands were clasped together as they laughed with their parents.
"It takes Alex forever to go down, doesn't she, Dan?" asked Ava as she and Daniel sat on their chairs. Daniel took the opposite head chair while Alex sat beside her mom.
"I wouldn't have minded locking her in her room for another hour," he joked with them. "But we all have to eat together."
Alex glared at him while her parents laughed good-naturedly.
Mr. Diaz looked over the table.
"Well, since everyone is here, let's start our Thanksgiving dinner," he said and raised his glass of white wine. "I'm grateful that you all are here and everyone is in good condition. I'm really blessed and happy we are all here celebrating this occasion. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!"
"Happy Thanksgiving, Mom, Dad! Everyone!"
Ava and Alex said at the same time before clinking their glasses together with their own men. They started to partake the food on the table to their plates.
"Phillip, you must have the turkey!" said Ava excitedly. She forked a piece of meat to his plate.
"I love turkey," he agreed smiling at her.
Alex looked at them.
"Ava specifically cooked it for you with mom's recipe. Mom's recipe is the best but this year Ava decided to try her culinary skills."
"Very wifely, sweetheart," Phillip said beaming at her.
"Of course, Phillip, if it's for you, I'll cook your favorite dishes."
Ava said in a sultry voice.
She forked a piece of meat and put it in front of his mouth. Phillip bit it with delight. The sexual tension between the two couldn't be denied.
Mr. Diaz watched his daughter openly display her affection to her fiancé.
"So, Phillip, what are your plans once you and Ava get married?" he asked conversationally.
"We're going to London, Dad."
Philip said looking at him as he started eating.
"No, Dad," Ava answered. "We're staying in New York."
Mr. and Mrs. Diaz looked at each other.
Phillip looked back at Ava then continued slicing his meat on plate.
"Didn't you agree coming to London with me, sweetheart?" he asked glancing at her.
"I thought you agree working in New York like last time you mentioned?" she asked back.
Alex and Daniel exchanged each other glances concealing their smiles. Alex bit her lower lip to control herself from bursting into laughter. She threw another glance at her boyfriend who was also holding his laughter. He raised his eyes back to her and both their eyes were laughing. Both her sister and his cousin haven't really talked and straightened out their plans yet.
She should have known. He was an Englishman.
Ava looked at her father.
"But don't worry, dad," said Ava chewing, patting his dad's left hand as she swallowed her food. "We'll work it out. We are getting married, after all."
Mrs. Diaz spoke to Ava as she ate.
"I do hope, you and Phillip will come to a common agreement, dear. Usually the first sign of separation of young married couples is their differences in working address."
And her mom already pointed out about separation. Ava and Phillip aren't married yet. Alex controlled the grin from forming in her mouth and continued chewing her food.
"Mom," Ava bit looking at her mom. "We're not even married yet, yet you're already saying divorce."
"Don't worry, Mom," said Phillip consolingly. "Ava will no sooner join me in London as soon as we are married."
Ava coughed while chewing her food.
Mr. and Mrs. Diaz exchanged silent glances.
They didn't seem to have come up with an agreement. Yet.
Phillip handed her a glass of water as she bent on the table.
"Phillip, would you like to have some pumpkin pie? Sister made sure it's baked golden," Alex asked offering him a slice over the table. "Ava doesn't really work in the kitchen but she was so excited you're coming over, she helped in the kitchen."
"Sure, I'll have some, Alex."
He answered taking the slice on his plate. He spooned a piece and put it into his mouth.
"Hmm…so delicious," he said with closed eyes savoring the baked pie. Then, opened them. "This must be the best pumpkin pie I ever tasted in life."
He looked at Ava with the eyes of love.
"Your pumpkin pie is better than mom, Ava."
Ava beamed back at him.
"Maybe next year, we should have Thanksgiving with your mom and dad." Ava suggested.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Diaz stopped moving their knife and fork for a second before continuing.
Alex felt the sudden silence. The building tension.
But her mom soon spoke up.
"But you've always had your Thanksgiving with us, Ava," said Mrs. Diaz, a little tightly.
Trust their mom to be possessive of her daughters during the holiday.
"Mom," said Ava looking into her mother's face that turned just slightly sullen at the mention of her future plans. "I'm getting married to Phillip. He has parents, too."
Mr. Diaz looked up from his plate and joined the conversation trying to appease his wife's sudden shock at her own daughter's news.
He amicably said, "Maybe you can bring Mr. and Mrs. St. Claire to this house next year, Phillip, so we can all celebrate Thanksgiving together."
Her dad knows how to turn the conversation right. But, Phillip spoke.
"Mom and dad are divorced, Dad," Phillip informed them. "They have been separated since I was a teenager. Mom lives in Paris while Dad stays in London."
Mr. and Mrs. Diaz didn't provide a reply after hearing it. They continued eating.
"We can bring them here next year, Phillip."
Ava said, excitement running in her eyes. Phillip's usual smile cracked a little in front of them.
"Dad doesn't see mom eye to eye. They always end up arguing when they are together," Phillip explained. "That's actually how they got divorced. You will always know there's a fight when mom and dad is in the room."
"But I think it will be an excellent plan to bring Uncle George and Aunt Seine here next year, Phillip," Daniel said looking at his cousin. He was chewing his food. "They would be delighted to see their only son finally married and finding love with a beautiful American woman."
"St. Claire, you are a doofus," said Ava in a jest but was secretly pleased that her little sister's boyfriend could be indulgent for her if not just simply a smart mouthed.
The direction of the conversation changed throughout dinner. They talked about Phillip's work, their favorite baseball game, and their plans for the Christmas break.
"Well, of course, sweetheart, I'm coming here for the holidays," said Phillip looking at Ava.
"Maybe you can invite your father George to have Christmas with us should he consider, Phillip," Mr. Diaz suggested.
Phillip shared with them that he lives with his father in London. That he has a younger sister, the same age as Alexandra, but she lives in Paris with their mother. She works as an Interior Designer in Le Gran Space and her name is Catherine.
"I'll try and ask Dad if he doesn't have plans yet," Phillip replied. "Though I also hope he joins us for Christmas here. It can be pretty dull with him and me only at home for Christmas though last year Aunt Delphi, Allen and Dracus, her sons, and her husband, Uncle Argus joined us to celebrate Christmas Eve. Allen and Dracus are both unmarried, so Aunt Delphi was the only woman in the house."
"Aunt Delphi and Uncle Argus…" Alex said looking at Phillip. "They both sound like ancient names from the Greek text. Did they end up together because they both sound from the mythologies?"
Phillip laughed at what Alex said.
"You say interesting things, Alex." He said looking up at her.
"Alex, I think you're poking fun at their names," said Daniel while a smile played on his lips as he ate. "But Aunt Delphi and Uncle Argus had a pretty interesting love story to tell." He looked back at his cousin. "Go on, Phillip. Share it with us."
The family looked at him with waiting gazes. He cleared his throat, coughing a bit before starting.
"Aunt Delphi has always hated her name when she was younger. Even Dad made a joke of her name especially that Aunt Delphi has Sight with her. He still makes fun of her name when he feels like teasing his younger sister," Phillip shared looking around him. He smiled and went to slice his turkey meat on the plate. "Anyway, Dad told me when she was younger, her friends asked her to go on a blind date while poking fun at her name. They decided to set her up while they were chatting inside a café. She vehemently exploded when she learned of the man's name she was supposed to have a blind date with. She said she will never date a man with an ancient name as Argus who sounded like a man who has been lost in the Aegean Sea…" Phillip stopped for a bit as he chewed and swallowed his food and continued, "…and he happened to be seated behind her and overheard their conversation."
He reached out for a glass of wine and sipped it.
"What happened after that?" asked Ava eagerly. She has been all ears since the outset of the story.
He turned his head to look at her.
"The blind date didn't happen, of course, because Aunt Delphi already knew him but still they went on that date. Their initial dislike towards each other was the reason why they agreed to truce on that date. For neither will bow down their pride."
"Oh. And…?" Ava asked expectantly holding the glass of wine in her hand.
"One thing led to another and still at this moment, they are happily married to each other." Phillip said ending the tale.
"Now, that's a love story to tell," Ava remarked.
"It's a sweet story, isn't it?" Alex said liking the story of Phillip's aunt not-so-ordinary love tale. "It's funny and almost dreamy."
"Aunt Delphi is a funny and dreamy person, Alex." Phillip said looking at her. "You will like her."
"Is she?" Alex asked with interest.
She wondered how the woman looked like for she'd never heard of her yet.
"She has dusty blond hair and almost a stern face, Alex," Daniel said beside her.
"I wasn't asking." Alex said looking at him.
"But you have that look in your face." He easily countered.
"Reading minds again, Dan?" She asked him.
"You're easy to read, Alex. Your face always show what's on your mind."
To which Alex frowned at him.
"Like earlier, for example when you're dreaming erotic dreams of me," he added nonchalantly.
Mr. Diaz coughed what he was drinking while Ava's ears perked up at what Daniel said.
"You're having erotic dreams of Daniel, Alex?" Ava asked her, intrigue swimming in her eyes.
Even Phillip turned to them with a smile on his face.
"No, he's lying, Ava," Alex said immediately and kicked Daniel under the table for even saying it out loud with her parents on the table.
They started with their dessert after finishing the main course. Lemon pie and pumpkin pie were served on the table and a plate of fruit gelatin.
"If you marry me, Alex, we can have our honeymoon in England and I'll let you meet Aunt Delphi. She's my favorite aunt." Daniel said while they were eating dessert.
Alex turned to look at her boyfriend.
"Ava and Phillip are getting married so I'll soon see her."
"Ava, when do you and Phillip plan to marry?" Mrs. Diaz asked over dessert. "Have you found a date yet?"
"We've decided to marry on Valentine's Day."
Ava replied.
"Aren't you and Phillip romantics at hearts?" Daniel teased her.
"Yes, we are, Dan."
Phillip answered holding the left hand of her fianceé.
"Do you know that she never had any intention of ever meeting you, Phillip?" Daniel told his cousin. "Ava practically threw my suggestion in my face when I mentioned of introducing you to her."
"I'm not surprised to know that, cous. This woman was ready to throw me out the moment she heard I was a St. Claire." Philip told everyone turning to look at Ava who was filling her plate with a slice of pudding. "Her face immediately scowled when I introduced myself to her." Phillip looked at Mr. and Mrs. Diaz. "Your daughter is headstrong and she also has a very cutting tongue, Mom, Dad."
"I'm right here beside you, Philip, and yet, you talk of me as if I'm not around," Ava said sweetly as she put a piece of the dessert in her mouth.
"I know you're listening, honey. That's why I'm sharing with them our very interesting first meeting."
"So, you got caught with my acerbic tongue and felt headlessly in love with me?"
Ava asked her Phillip the question.
Phillip silently continued sipping his wine.
"It could be that and more, Ava." He replied in mild tone.