"My mom wants you to come for Thanksgiving."

I blurted the news out one night in November, after sitting on it for longer than I should've. At the time, Josh and I were squashed up against one another in my twin-sized dorm-room bed. It was just the two of us. Hanna's magazine—now christened GXRL, with the first issue hand-distributed to newsstands across campus—had launched the week before, and she was busier than ever with the upcoming second issue, pulling all-nighters on the regular. I did wonder how she was managing to function, and suspected it involved a lot of strong coffee—but it also meant Josh and I were granted many nights alone in my bedroom.

At first, he didn't say anything. The few seconds I spent staring up at the ceiling in the dark were enough for the doubt to creep in; I started wondering if I'd made a big mistake.

But then, "She does?"

"Yeah," I said, taken aback by the tone of his voice. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"I don't know." There was another pause. "I, uh... wasn't expecting it, I guess."

"If you already have plans, you can totally say no. I won't be offended, and neither will my mom."

But that wasn't it, as evidenced by the way he cut in quickly. "No, no, I don't. I mean, I know I'm welcome back at my last foster home if I ask, but... well, I haven't. Not yet." He turned to look at me. "She really wants me to come?"

"Of course."

The dark obscured the finer features of his face, but I could tell he was smiling. "That's really nice of her," he said. "And I'd love to."

So the deal was sealed, and Mom was delighted when I told her. She knew about Josh—at least all the family-friendly details—but since Davidson was an hour away from home, there hadn't yet been a natural opportunity for my family to meet him. Plus, I wasn't exactly eager to hurry things along. It wasn't him I was worried about; I knew he could dial the charm up to eleven without batting an eyelid, and a few short minutes in his company would be enough for them to fall head over heels. It was him meeting them that had me concerned.

All families were embarrassing, but mine had a special talent for it. My mom would gush and be incapable of stopping herself talking. My dad would definitely find a way to bring up every embarrassing thing I did when I was younger. And while Vanessa would be polite and friendly and everything else she was supposed to be, she was so put-together and perfect that I'd probably seem like a mess in comparison.

It was almost a blessing that Caleb wasn't around, knowing the lengths he'd go to embarrass me.

When we pulled up outside my house in Josh's truck the night before Thanksgiving, it was safe to say I was terrified.

He shut the engine off, letting silence descend on the car. Only then did I notice I was shaking my leg violently. Without a word, Josh reached over and placed a gentle hand on my thigh.

"Sorry," I said, with a small smile. "I'm just a little nervous."

"You're not giving me much confidence here," he said. "Is there something you're not telling me about your family? Should I be way more scared than I am?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm overreacting, like usual. My family are great, and I know they're going to love you. I'm more worried about what they're going to say that's going to embarrass me into next year."

"And that's exactly what I'm most excited about," Josh said, with a laugh. "Come on. Let's head in."

We got out of the truck and pulled our bags off the back seat. Josh insisted on throwing mine over his shoulder, even though it wasn't heavy and I was perfectly capable of carrying it myself. Gravel crunched underfoot as we headed up the driveway, past Dad's trusty black Corolla and my mom's much-shinier Hyundai, toward the front door I hadn't seen for weeks...

Which swung open before we'd even made it to the porch.

"Hi!"

Mom was at the door with her arms outstretched, wearing a smile that stretched from ear to ear. The first thing I noticed was that her hair was different; her dark-brown curls were usually as unruly as mine, but today they looked smooth and sleek, like they'd been professionally styled for the occasion.

That was all the observation I got to make before she stepped outside and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Despite the fact I'd been craving that hug for weeks, it was a little tight for my liking—not to mention I was very aware of Josh standing behind me, watching with an amused smile. "It's just me. No need to squeeze the life out of me, Mom."

She released me. "Sorry! I'm just so excited to have you back, Morgan. I know it's only been a few months, but it's felt like a lifetime." Her eyes drifted behind me, and her smile seemed to defy all laws of physics to grow even wider. "And, of course, I'm so excited to finally meet this young man."

My cheeks flamed, but still I gestured behind me. "Mom, this is Josh. Josh, this is my mom."

As cool and collected as ever, he reached out a hand. "Great to finally meet you, Mrs Cain."

"Likewise," she gushed, taking his hand. "And please, none of that Mrs Cain business. Call me Susan."

"Mom," I cut in, before this exchange could go too far. We were all standing out in the cold, after all—and she was wearing slippers. "Shall we go inside?"

Thankfully, she took the cue, and we followed her through the doorway and into the much warmer hall. I should've anticipated that we were about to be greeted by a second entourage. Having followed the commotion, Dad, Vanessa, and Vanessa's fiancé Stephen were all gathered there, keen to be part of the introductions.

The only upside was that my face couldn't physically get any redder.

"Hey, kiddo." Dad pulled me in for a sideways hug of our own, ruffling the top of my head. "Glad to have you back."

Then, he turned to Josh. And suddenly got weirdly formal, which I guessed came from not being sure how to react. My parents were well practiced at meeting Vanessa's boyfriends: a collection of impeccably mannered and polished boys, of which Stephen was the final example. And Caleb had brought home more girls than I could count, although none of them had stuck around for long. For their youngest daughter, however, it was entirely new territory.

But Josh wasn't fazed.

"Nice to meet you, sir," he said, holding out his hand again. Knowing how much my dad appreciated a strong handshake—not to mention how much he'd be secretly enjoying being called sir—it was from this moment on I knew he was onto a winner. "I'm Josh."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Dad said, with an approving nod. "But like Susan said, there's no need for formalities here. Stuart will do."

Josh was still looking him right in the eye, smiling confidently. "Now I see where Morgan gets that accent from."

"Accent?" Dad echoed. "I was hoping you were going to say good looks. I'm disappointed."

They both laughed, right on cue, like they'd known each other for two years rather than two minutes. In a weird turn of events, I felt like the outsider looking in.

Vanessa was next up, and the look we exchanged about Dad's attempt at a joke at least helped me feel a little more grounded. Other than on a few video calls, I hadn't seen her since the beginning of summer, and in person she seemed to have done a lot of growing up in a short space of time. In an expensive-looking blouse, with her pin-straight hair swept back into a ponytail and a diamond on her ring finger, she seemed much older than twenty-four.

She didn't wait for me to initiate introductions. "Hi," she said to Josh, with a picture-perfect smile. "I'm Vanessa, Morgan's older sister. And this is Stephen, my fiancé."

"Josh," he said, smiling back.

There was an awkward multi-way exchange of hellos and nice to meet yous, and then that was it: the introductions were over. Somehow, we'd made it through. Now we just had to navigate whatever came next.

There was a beat of collective silence—the moment I'd been afraid of—in which everyone tried to figure out what to say.

Mom was the one to break it.

"So," she said, "who's ready to eat?"

-----------------------------

So... a quick trip back to BEFORE, and Morgan's family are in the picture. Question of the chapter: how do you think this Thanksgiving gathering is going to go?

I think I've mentioned this before, but I'm further ahead in the manuscript than my upload schedule, and right now I'm writing the SECOND LAST chapter. I can't believe I'm almost there! I'm looking forward to typing THE END, but I'm *not* looking forward to that weird empty feeling you get after finishing a story you've been working on for months. Anyone else relate? Luckily, there's still around 15 chapters to post here (and it only gets more and more twisted from here on out) so I'll relive it through your guys' comments!

Until next time...

- Leigh