Song: "Country Roads" by John Denver

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Harry arrived at my place bright and early on Thanksgiving morning. "How do I look?" He asked as he stood in my kitchen, anxiously shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

I walked around my small kitchen island and grabbed his hands. He was wearing a gray and black speckled sweater and a black leather jacket. His hair was down, soft and framing his face perfectly. "You look fantastic," I assured him. "And my family is going to love you."

"Thanks," he said, now acting kind of sheepish. "I just haven't done this meet-the-parents thing in a long time."

"It's okay," I smiled. "I get why you're nervous, but it'll be fun. I promise."

We arrived just before 9:00 AM, in time for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, a long-standing tradition in my family. We drove up and Harry exhaled a long, "Wow." I glanced at him and he said, "Your house is amazing."

"Thanks," I replied. "My parents put a lot of work into it. They don't sit still much," I said, to which Harry laughed.

We walked into the warm smells of Thanksgiving. Although we were hours away from the main meal, the scent of pies and warm bread and cranberries hung in the air.

My mom rushed over to greet us. "Hi, sweetie," she said, crushing me in a hug. And then gushing with her classic Midwest hospitality, she turned to Harry. "Hello, I'm Margot. You must be Harry." She was one of those people who hugged you whether or not you wanted to be hugged, so before he could even answer, he was crushed in her embrace as well.

"Thank you for having me," he said with a warm smile after she released him. "It's very nice to meet you."

Mom responded with, "Oh, I love your accent!" And suddenly my dad was at her side, repeating the same pleasantries. He took our coats and we wandered into the kitchen, lured by the delicious smells.

"Coffee, Harry?" My mom asked, already pouring a cup for him.

"Yes, please."

She set another mug down in front of me, too, knowing I wouldn't refuse. Next, there appeared in front of us a plate of sticky buns chock full of pecans and dripping with caramel.

"Oh, I should have warned you," I said to Harry, pulling a sticky bun from the collective mass of buns. "If you don't pace yourself, you might fall into a sugar coma today."

He breathed out a laugh and said, "I'll take my chances." He pulled a bun onto his plate and licked his fingers. "Bon appetit," he grinned, lifting the sticky bun and taking a bit at the same time I did. "Heavenly," he declared, earning a proud smile from my mom.

"Where's Grandpa Gus?" I asked. Grandpa Gus was my father's father who lived in Kennebunkport, Maine. When I was little, I took every opportunity to tell people where my grandma and grandpa lived since the name of the town was so much fun to say.

"He's still sleeping," Dad answered. "His flight was delayed and he didn't get in til after midnight."

"Ahh," I answered in understanding. "And everyone else?"

"Sleeping," Mom shrugged.

"So much for family tradition," I whined, shaking my head. "We could have slept in, too, if you hadn't told us to get here so early." My mom stopped short and cast a curious glance at me. "I didn't mean we could have slept in...together. I just meant each of us. At our own places." I could feel the bright sting of a blush on my cheeks.

"I know," Mom giggled and Harry chuckled as well.

Harry and I hadn't slept together since that first night, and he hadn't even stayed over last night, but I felt like it was glaringly obvious to the whole world now that I wasn't a virgin anymore. My parents had always encouraged us to go the traditional route and wait for marriage. She and my father had done it that way, but they married young and she already had a child by the time she was my age. Ultimately, I knew they weren't going to be judgmental about it and they trusted us to make our own choices. It was just uncomfortable to think about my parents knowing anything about my sex life.

Luckily, my brother Martin walked in just then, followed by Ilana. "Hey, Mom," he said, giving her a robust hug. I loved the way my brothers respected my mom and the way my father taught them to respect us girls as well. They were all going to make excellent husbands and fathers one day.

Martin came to Harry next and introduced himself, and Harry did likewise. Then he came to me and said, "Hey, Firefly," purposely using my nickname because he knew it embarrassed me.

"Thanks, Martin," I said, wrinkling my nose in displeasure. Then I explained to Harry the origin of the nickname.

"That's sweet," Harry assured me. "Nothing to be embarrassed about. Maybe I'll call you that from now on, too."

"Please don't," I begged him.

"Well, your hair is kind of a fiery red," Harry said.

"See?" Martin said.

I greeted Ilana and soon Martin had dragged Harry away to do whatever guys do. As soon as they were out of earshot, Mom said, "He's handsome."

"I know," I smiled proudly.

"How's he doing?" She asked.

"I think he's doing all right," I said happily. And we're in love, I continued in my head. But I wasn't ready to share that part just yet.

"He looks good," she commented. "I mean, I don't know how he looked when you first met him, but he definitely looks healthy to me," she said and then I put my finger across my lips, signaling for her to lower her voice since I didn't know how far the guys had gone. She continued in a whisper, "He seems well-adjusted."

"Parents," I huffed playfully. "Always wanting to make sure their kids aren't dating psychos."

"I'm picking up on your sarcasm," she said, flashing me a reproving smile.

Ilana jumped in just then and said, "Well, my parents were a little suspicious of Martin at first, too."

"Well, that's entirely understandable," Mom said, making us all laugh.

Later, I found Harry in the living room with the guys. I sat next to him on the end of the couch, squeezing close to him even though there was more space than I was giving him. I was just happy he was there with me and my family.

He grabbed my hand surreptitiously without missing the beat in the conversation. To be honest, this felt so sudden, to have Harry here meeting my family, but at the same time, it seemed like I'd known him forever.  We had been comfortable with each other since the beginning, and he seemed to get along just fine with my family.

Soon, Grandpa Gus and the rest of my siblings awoke, Grandpa and Grandma Wood arrived from Port Huron, which was only about an hour away, and Charlotte arrived just before noon. I went through the introductions with Harry about five times, and I was sure he still wouldn't remember everyone's name.

Our Thanksgiving Day tradition was to eat the big meal around one in the afternoon and then suppertime would consist of leftovers on your own. What usually happened was that someone would wander in the kitchen around six or seven in the evening and start warming up leftovers and soon everyone was drawn back by the smells of Thanksgiving, suddenly forgetting that just a few hours earlier they had sworn they would not eat another bite for at least a month.

Thirteen of us crowded around my parents' enormous dining room table to say grace and enjoy the feast. We left a spot open for Lauren's boyfriend Scott who was supposed to be coming later in the day. That would be nice for Harry, having one other person he knew besides Lauren and me, although he seemed to be getting on fine with the rest of my family as well.

Dinner was, as always, loud and wonderful and delicious. Harry smiled at me, nudged me or squeezed my hand numerous times throughout the meal and I could tell that he was really enjoying himself. During the meal, another tradition was simply for everyone to share something for which they were thankful, either in general, or something from the past year. Most people said they were thankful for things like family and friends, good health, good jobs, etc. I didn't stray far from the norm when I said, "I'm thankful for everyone here and I'm especially grateful that I met Harry. And of course, I'm thankful for Grandma Mel and the example of her life, may she rest in peace." Grandma Mel was my paternal grandmother, Grandpa Gus's wife, who had died three years ago. We remembered her each year, but as soon as I mentioned her, I wondered if I should also mention Cathryn. I didn't want things to be awkward with people asking about her, but at the same time, I didn't want to leave her out. So I quickly added, "And for Harry's late wife, Cathryn, that he had eight good years to spend with her. May she rest in peace."

He flashed me a small smile after I'd said that, and then he added, "I'm also thankful that I met Regan, and for all of you welcoming me into your home."

After everyone finished, Grandpa Gus spoke up. "Did she say your late wife, Harry?" Harry nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry. You're so young to be a widower. I lost my Mel three years ago. We had just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary."

"Thank you, sir," Harry answered. "My condolences to you as well."

A short but awkward silence ensued, which led me to wonder why death made us so uncomfortable. We should have been able to talk about it just as we talked about life, but I guess it was just hard because no one ever knew quite what to say. Except someone who had been through the same thing.

After we had cleaned up dinner, Grandpa Gus approached Harry. "Again, I'm really sorry for your loss, son. May I ask how your wife passed?"

"A car accident," Harry said.

"Such a shame," Grandpa Gus answered. "How long has it been? I mean, are you two..." He trailed off, hoping Harry would fill in the blank about the nature of our relationship.

"Cathryn died a little over a year ago. I met Regan at the library right around the one-year mark since her death."

Grandpa Gus looked at me for the rest of the information. "Yes, we're seeing each other, Grandpa," I smiled and his curiosity was sated. It felt funny to say boyfriend and girlfriend, so I wasn't sure what other term to use. But we were together, weren't we?

After our early dinner, almost everyone settled in front of the TV to watch football and of course, to fall asleep before the next touchdown. I honestly didn't feel like sitting, so I asked Harry if he wanted to take a walk. The road my parents lived on wasn't highly populated and so there were mostly fields and trees lining the way. It was a sunny day for November and the leaves were just about gone, but we could still catch some glimpses of color before everything became a depressing brownish-black.

Harry slipped his hand in mine as we ventured out onto the road. "Thank you for inviting me," he said, flashing me a warm smile. "I enjoy your family."

"You're welcome. I can tell they like you, too. I hope it wasn't awkward that I mentioned Cathryn at the table. I didn't want you, or her, to be left out, but I didn't know if you really wanted to field a lot of questions about her. Luckily it was only Grandpa Gus."

"It was fine," he assured. "At least I know he can understand what I'm going through." He stopped and turned me to face him and then tugged me close. "Have I told you that you're really sweet?"

"Am I?" I asked innocently.

"You're always concerned for my feelings and that's very sweet. I appreciate it. I just don't want you to feel like you have to tiptoe around me or anything."

"Okay," I said. "I'll keep that in mind."

He leaned down to kiss me and I grabbed the collar of his jacket to anchor him while I returned the kiss. We stood like that for a long while, letting the wind carry a flurry of leaves around us.

When our cheeks turned cold, we started walking back. Since the night we said I love you, my curiosity had gotten the better of me because I didn't know as much about him as I thought I should.

"You said that you had stopped going to law school after Cathryn died, right?" I asked.

"Right."

"Do you have to go back within a certain time frame, or are you just not going back at all? I'm just curious because I guess I still don't know a lot about your life, besides Cathryn." Admitting that to him made me feel a little uneasy, wondering how I could have fallen for him before I saw a clear picture of his life. On the other hand, I knew him, his personality, his character, and he'd shown me a lot more of his heart than most people probably would in such a short amount of time.

"I dropped out completely," he stated in a flat voice. "I have no intention of going back."

While that bit of information surprised me a little, I didn't shrink back too much. "I can't believe I've never asked you this before, but do you even have a job? I mean, it kind of seems like you don't, but...I don't really know. You've never talked about it."

"I don't," he sighed. "I was working part time at a law firm in addition to law school. I worked for Cathryn's dad. So I just had to make a clean break; I couldn't keep working in a place that reminded me of her at every turn."

I didn't say anything else right away. I just pondered what he had told me, realizing that I didn't really know him as well as I thought I did, and wondering if my opinion of him would change as I discovered new things. I hoped it wouldn't; I was sure it wouldn't unless he was hiding some bizarre secret. We walked the rest of the way in silence, but before we went back inside, Harry stopped me and said, "I'm working on sorting things out. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I know I have to make some decisions. Be patient with me, okay?"

"I'm not trying to pressure you into anything, Harry. I was just curious, that's all. Do what you need to do to get back on the right track and I'll support you in any way I can," I told him.

"Thank you," he said, cupping my face and kissing me. "I'm working on it. I know I have to find a way to provide for myself." He hesitated before he added, "And for you."

Harry's words clung heavily to my heart for the rest of the day. What was already a whirlwind suddenly felt like a full-blown hurricane. Unless I misinterpreted something, providing for me meant serious stuff, like marriage. It wasn't like that thought had never occurred to me, but it was always some future thought, not necessarily imminent.

On the other hand, if we were in love, why not talk marriage? Everything about our relationship had been fast forward, so I didn't find it odd that Harry was thinking that way, even if he did catch me off guard.

Harry kissed me as soon as the door to my loft was locked. I returned his kiss, pressing myself into him and groaning just slightly at the way his mouth moved. Everything about him made me feel high and I couldn't imagine any drug I'd want in place of him. Peeling our coats off, we still kissed and slowly made our way further into the apartment.

Finally, Harry retreated but he still held me tightly in his arms. "I had a great time with your family. They're pretty awesome."

"Thanks," I said softly. "It's obvious they love you already."

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My cousin took this picture of the road I grew up on. Such a glorious walk in the fall with the colors bursting around us! Imagine Regan and Harry taking their walk and kissing under the canopy of colors <3

And thanks for 8K reads! You're awesome!