Where the heart is

 "I don't want to hear any more of Thanksgiving," Casey wanted to make this quick with his brother Chance. Actually, he didn't even want to let him into the house because he hadn't cleaned a thing since Lynsey left. 

Honestly, he was kind of a germ of phobe. OK, he used to be. But not these days. Why put in the effort? Everything he'd ever hoped for was gone. And he didn't know where it all went wrong.

Chance was quiet as he looked around at the dirty dishes. There weren't that many because Casey had forgotten to eat. He went to turn on the electric kettle and maybe wash out a cup or two. But really, why should he? He hesitated. 

Chance only pressed his lips as if he wanted to talk but couldn't. Finally,  he made an effort. "Have..have mom and dad been by?"

"Why would they?" Casey practically snapped as he dropped the cup in the sink. Actually, they had, but he didn't answer the door. He had been as quiet as possible. As if he might be a burglar in his own home. Of course, it was so silent now.

Honestly, he missed the baby crying. He did miss them. He sighed.

"Are you hearing things again?" Chance wanted to know as he sat down at the breakfast bar stool.

Casey shook his head, no.

"Well, at least you aren't that crazy," Chance shrugged. "I did talk to Lynsey." He told him she was OK. She was with a friend.

"What kind of friend?" Casey wanted to know.

"I didn't ask," Chance looked offended that Casey would want to know. "Why didn't you call her?"

Casey went back to scrubbing the cup clean until the coffee ring was gone at the bottom of the porcelain cup.

"I don't know what to say," he cleared his throat. "I know I said all the wrong thing, but..but .." He shook his head wondering who was more livid. Her brother or himself. It was like a vicious disease. He hadn't said a thing back to Jory and then he turned around and said all sorts of horrible things that didn't even feel like something he would say, at least not now. "I was angry." He tensed with a gritted jaw as he went to make some instant coffee for both of them. 

"I said some awful things...because it was like she..she never told me who she really was." He struggled not to be emotional.

"What are you talking about?" Chance wanted to know as Casey got out the milk.

"Jory..Jory said she..she was pregnant before...and..and she had an abortion." Now Casey wasn't even sure he could drink the coffee. Chance kept looking at his milked coffee and said nothing. Finally, he took a sip.

"You can't love her for that?" Chance finally asked. "You couldn't be on her side?"

Casey felt the phlegm in his throat. He was certain to have a meltdown. He wished he could talk. He wanted to talk, but didn't he always say the wrong thing? 

"I'm not like you," Casey managed to say. Chance nodded. 

"But you can't just lose her now. You've made it this far. You have to talk. You have to try." Chance's words only made Casey fidget. He wasn't ready to talk yet.

Sunny didn't know where to begin. Why he hadn't told anyone he was home. His Dad Xander kept looking at him as if it was time to fess up. "You should have been here for Thanksgiving. Where were you?"

Sunny winced. "I'm..I'm just used to being by myself these days," he almost bit his knuckle, hoping his dad believed him, but that was far from the truth. Kind of. Yes, he'd been alone for Thanksgiving but sometime during the night there was Lizzy and that was enough to wait for. 

Not that they were exclusive. She just hadn't broken up with her boyfriend yet. Oh, he couldn't say when it started. They were only going to talk. And they talked about everything. In fact, it was the joy of his day, hearing from her, somehow.

He was certain Lizzy and Keir were on the outs, but she'd spent Thanksgiving with Keir at his parents. They weren't really a romantic couple anymore. And Sunny knew all about her troubles with Keir. He just needed to be there for Lizzy.

Naturally, Sunny randomly talked about the pandemic for a good fifteen minutes are so to his dad. "I just can't get used to how things are, and you know..should we be socializing so much, with all this sickness still about." Oh, he thought it was a good excuse.

"If you say so," Xander was of course alone. Sunny's other adopted dad was at the hospital. He didn't get to come home much these days. "But are you sure everything is all right, what about the housing project you were working with, in Chicago?"

"That ended some time ago. They didn't have the funds, and some other contractor bought them out and..and.." Sunny hated to say it, but he was without a job.

"Well, then..maybe you can help Simon," Xander decided.

"Simon?" What in the world was he talking about?