I am certain deceased relatives are dancing over their graves as my brother pulled off a Thanksgiving dinner party at his home. There is hope for him yet.
My mother insisted that I be at my brother's house by three, and she shows up at four. I think it was in her master plan to have my brother and I spend "quality" time together. It was cute, because he seemed to be a bit nervous about hosting such a big dinner. He appears to have everything under control, as he pours me a drink, grabs Brian's football and directs us outside.
I sit on his grey stone porch admiring the blue sky and the fact that my brother is about to play ball with my son, his nephew. Brian loves attention from adults. He has one of those odd, quirky smiles one has when trying not to let people know you are thrilled. They throw the football back and forth until my mother arrives. This is the first time I have ever watched my brother play outside with Brian.
My mother arrives with a stuffed turkey in hand and a centerpiece for the table. My brother has prepared numerous side dishes and I start the potatoes. The wait for my niece and nephew begins. Brian sits at the front door watching the street waiting for the two young adults he admires most, his cousins.
Shannon and Johnny, my niece and nephew arrive with Shannon sporting a new vehicle. They aren't children anymore. I haven't seen them since Shannon's going away party. Brian attacks Johnny like a starving dog to its owners, and I hug Shannon. She is so perfectly beautiful. I think she is already wealthier than me... she is her father's daughter.
For the first time, we will be having Thanksgiving with just our side of the family. Felicita is gone, so there isn't this little Italian woman standing at the window seeing if I have brought a new man, then bitching that we are late. It is just my brother, mother, his kids and my son Brian. No boyfriends or girlfriends. It is a true family dinner.
For the first time in the kid's lives we began to tell our family stories and laugh, exposing the kids to the Irish side of their heritage. And like my father before him, my brother has a mental library full of stories about construction and the different paving contractors in this area. Trust me, Jimmy Haffa is most definitely buried in cement. The stories still facinate me and I think they would make a great Chinatown-type movie about the construction industry.
Shannon talks of college and her boyfriend. Johnny is weeks away from driving his own truck. My mother is warmed by the joy of having her family about her. She is the grandma of the day. The usually shy Brian decides to try his dinner story telling skill for the first time and recites a long list of jokes, which make everyone laugh. The best part is the shock on Shannon's face, because Brian's jokes are actually funny; then her great laugh causing Brian to giggle, which causes her to laugh harder which causes Brian to giggle more and the rest of us explode in laughter at the two of them. Brian thinks he is "all that". He even tells Shannon she is beautiful. Oh I see shades of his future with women...
The dinner is excellent and my mother's stuffing gives me heartburn as usual. My brother leans back in comfort from having a nice Thanksgiving with his kids, who I tell some of his best secrets. He can give me all the stern looks he wants, but the kids love it. Especially Shannon... when he harps on her for her boyfriend's age. As she sits there trying to defend the age difference, I clear my throat and tell Shannon to ask him how old Lily was when they met. "Eighteen", he answers. And how old he was ... she looks at him "Twenty-five" he answers again. Shannon laughs and hits his leg as they were exactly the same ages Shannon and her current boyfriend are now when he met their mom.
For some reason it is rare that my brother tells the kids his stories, so they are hanging on every word. Shannon wants to know about our father, as she complains that my brother never talks about him. Shannon asks if he was mean, and my mother and I laugh. "Our dad?" I ask. "Well yeah," says Shannon, "because he never talks about him." looking at my brother. For the first time in years my brother tells a story about our dad. "I had this MG spitfire when I was in high school that never ran right and one day after school it dies. My friends and I push it home. When dad gets home from work I tell him about my car and he says, 'Let's go out and look at it', but I told him I didn't want to, that I want to go to the basketball game with my friends. He says ok, and tells me to have fun. When I get home late that night he is in bed, and when I get up the next day I discover while I was gone to the game, he fixed my car." he smiles and looks away. "THAT," I respond, "That was our dad Shannon. He would have given you the world if you asked." She smiles, pleased. We begin to tell her other stories of him. This is a big step for my brother.
We clean the table and do all the dishes together as a group. It has taken 18 years to get us to this point. My brother's dinner party was a huge success.
And Brian thinks he is the new Rodney Dangerfield...
Until next time-
C
