The mid-November sky shined bright and cloudless as Kate, Olivia, and Nathan sat outside on the patio on a Friday afternoon. Vedder was sunning himself on the clay tiles and Olivia was finishing a phone call with her mom. 

"Yes, mother. I will be home in time for dinner, okay?" she sighed. "Yes, mother." She ended the call and put her phone on the table. 

"Headed home?" Kate asked, stretching her arms over her head. 

"I should. She's losing her shit about this dinner tonight. She's hosting some CEO or something and everything has to be perfect apparently," Olivia sighed. 

"So...a typical Friday night at your place, then?" Nathan joked. 

"Unfortunately," Olivia groaned, stretching as she stood up. Vedder lifted his head from the tile and yawned. She walked over and rubbed his head. "Alright. I better head home. Talk to you later."

Kate gave her friend a wave as she disappeared into the house to head home. She turned to Nathan, who was sitting next to her. "Just us, then," she remarked. 

"Are you still pissed at Jared?" he asked, sipping from his water bottle.

She shrugged. "I guess not. Its really a stupid thing to get upset about, to be honest. Its not worth the time. She didn't win so it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Kate looked out over the small pool area where leaves and seed pods were floating on the water's surface. The water rippled, casting the sun's reflection back at them. 

"Why don't you like doing anything for your birthday?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Even as a kid I didn't really like doing anything fun. It was always boring to me. My friends were busy and there wasn't a lot to do."

"Aww. Poor you," he teased, nudging her. 

"There you are, Kate. We're doing dinner soon - is Nathan staying?" Emma asked, appearing in the doorway. 

Nathan looked at his phone with a frown and a sigh. "No. I should probably get home."

"Are you sure? We're just doing Kate's birthday dinner. There's plenty to go around," Emma asked, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Indian."

"As good as that sounds, my parents are in town tonight, so I have to go see them," he said sadly. He stood up and walked into the house, with Kate and Vedder following him behind. 

"Nathan, you can stay. It's really not an issue," Kate assured him as they made their way to the front door. 

"Thanks, but it just feels weird. Plus, my parents really are in town. They expect me home for a family dinner," he replied. "As if that's really possible anymore," he added under his breath. 

Kate looked at him carefully. "Are you okay?" she asked. 

"Yeah. My parents just aren't really making life at home easy," he said finally. "They aren't talking to me. They've basically told everyone at the house not to do anything for me. It's like I'm some stranger in my own house."

For Kate, not having a chef to cook your meals or a maid to clean up after you, it didn't seem like a big deal. But she knew Nathan had grown up in a certain lifestyle and to have to suddenly figure it all out on your own, it had to be startling and stressful.

"Is there anything you can do to make it better?" she asked. 

He scoffed. "Become straight?" he suggested wryly. 

"Don't say that," Kate said. "They'll come around. You just have to give them time."

He shrugged. "If you say so."

Kate watched him go, giving him a wave as he drove out of the lot. When she got back to the kitchen, Emma was setting the table.

"Five? I thought it was just you and Tom and Connie and I?" she asked.

Emma shook her head. "Shannon's coming by for dinner."

"Really? I thought he was too busy for the likes of us," Kate said. 

Emma rolled her eyes. "You know he's got things to do with Black Fuel. Plus he likes to travel. He's bringing dinner."

It had been some time since Kate had spent much time with her uncle. He had been out of Los Angeles for the better part of two months and their text conversation had all but dried up completely. No sooner had Emma finished setting the table than Shannon appeared from the front door, carrying a large paper bag. 

"Food's here!" he called as he walked through the house. "Where's the Birthday Girl?" 

Kate met him in the hallway. "Hey stranger."

He gave her a big bear hug with his free arm. "Hey! How are you?" he asked. 

"I'm good," she said as he squeezed her tightly. "Oof!"

"Mom said Indian was okay," he said as he released her and held up the bag. "I got a few different things, so I hope that works."

"It'll be fine. No problem," she assured him. "Emma's already set the table, so just bring it right in."

He set the bag on the table and started unpacking it, putting takeout containers all around the plates and cups. Tom came out of one of the offices and joined them, giving Emma a kiss on the cheek as he passed through. After everyone's glasses were filled with water, they sat down to eat, dishing food onto their plates. 

"So Shannon, what have you been up to? I feel like we haven't spoken in a long time," Kate said. 

"Been busy, really Gremlin. I've been going back and forth between LA and Seattle for Black Fuel. Trying to get some serious work done to set things up," he explained. "What are you doing now that you aren't on the soccer team anymore?" he asked. 

"Dunno," she said around a mouthful of dal. "I think I'll have to wait until the next season starts to get onto a team. Nathan said something about the swim team, but I'm not sure."

"Is he on the swim team?" Emma asked. "I thought he did diving?"

"He does. For now, at least," Kate answered. 

"Oh?" Connie remarked. "Something wrong?"

Kate wasn't sure if she should tell anyone. In the end, being the sole keeper of all of Nathan's secrets was just a little too difficult for her. 

"His parents aren't too pleased with him being gay. So they aren't really being supportive of him right now," she explained softly. 

"Jesus," Tom muttered. "That's harsh."

"So why wouldn't he stay on the team , though?" Shannon asked. "Doesn't the school pay for everything?"

"They do. But he's not sure he's coming back next semester," Kate said. "He's 18 now. They can kick him out."

"I don't think they'd do that to him. Not now. I've met the Suzukis - they seem like really reasonable people," Connie said. 

Kate shrugged. "I don't know. Can we talk about something else, please?" she asked, dying to change the subject. 

The rest of her dinner passed with Shannon regaling them with his most recent trip to Seattle and the new blend he was trying out and Emma and Tom discussing the work they were doing on their new house. At the end of the meal, Jared Facetimed in to join them.

"Gremlin! I'm so sorry I didn't call earlier!" he apologized as soon as she answered. "I only just got off. We were doing a really complicated scene and we had to do extra takes. I'm so sorry."

"Its fine," she assured him. "You didn't miss much." She spun the camera around so he could see the others around the table. "It's just Connie, Tom, Emma, and Shannon. Nothing big."

"Seventeen. How does it feel?" he asked.

Kate shrugged. "Just another year."

"I know. I promise I'll make it up to you when you come over for Thanksgiving," Jared said. "You'll love it. I'll have a lot more time for you. We'll do something really fun." He paused for a second. "What's wrong? Why do you look so sad?"

"It's Nathan," Connie offered from the other side of the table. "Apparently his parents aren't taking the whole gay thing well."

"At all, Jared," Kate added. "They're making his life hell."

"What do you mean?" he asked. 

"They literally don't talk to him. They're not even taking him with them for Thanksgiving to New York City," she explained. 

Jared shook his head. "That's disgusting. How is he holding up?"

She shrugged. "He seems okay. But that's clearly not enough to really tell."

"So he doesn't have any plans for Thanksgiving?" he asked. 

"Not that I know of," she replied. 

"Bring him with you," Jared said. "If you're okay with it, of course," he added. 

"Really? But I don't think he has access to any credit cards anymore," Kate said.

"I've got it. Don't worry. Bring him with you. He can give us a personalized tour of Japan, I bet," he said. "It'll be fun."

She brightened considerably. "If you're sure."

"Absolutely. Bring him with you and we'll have a great time," he assured her. Shayla said something off camera. "Shit. Listen, I've gotta go. But I'll text you, okay? Happy Birthday Gremlin."