Chapter 7 - THE NEW NOVEMBER
By November, the familiar air of autumn settled over the town. Normally, November was the month my anxiety reached a fever pitch. I would be waking up at 3:00 AM worrying about turkey weights, pie crusts, and whether Uncle Dennis’s gluten intolerance clashed with Carol’s dairy allergy.
This year, November was blissfully silent.
On November 15, an invitation arrived in my physical mailbox. It was a beautifully printed card with silver foil embossing.
You Are Cordially Invited to the Annual Hargrove Family Christmas Celebration
Hosted by: Colton & Meredith Hargrove
Location: The Historic Alpine Lodge
Your Only Requirement: Bring yourself, wear comfortable clothes, and relax.
RSVP: Not needed. You’re the Guest of Honor.
Attached to the bottom of the invitation was a small cheque. It was the full repayment of the $812.46 I had spent at Costco the previous October, signed jointly by Colton and Meredith.
I called Meredith immediately.
“What is this?” I asked, holding the cheque in my hand.
“That’s long overdue,” Meredith said warmly over the phone. “We went through your old receipts, Mom. We can't pay back eleven years of work, but we’re starting with last year. And before you ask—no, you cannot give it back.”
“Meredith, the Alpine Lodge is expensive,” I noted, knowing the picturesque stone lodge at the edge of town.
“We all chipped in,” she said proudly. “Carol, Colton, me, even Cousin Rachel. We booked a private dining room with a fireplace. Colton’s smoking a brisket, Carol’s making the sides, and I hired two local college students to serve the food and handle all the cleanup afterward.”
I leaned against my kitchen counter, tears pricking the corners of my eyes.
May you like
“You hired staff?”
“Mom,” Meredith chuckled softly. “We realized that if none of us wanted to wash dishes for twenty people, we shouldn’t force anyone else to do it either. We’re doing this right.”
