5In the first week of November, skulls, spiders, witches hats and other scary decorations were replaced with leaves of green, yellow, orange and red. Acorns, stalks of corn and turkeys became the main form of decoration in the Burkhardt home.
It was November fifth when Nick arrived home and inhaled the aroma of roasted turkey, squash, cornbread and sweet potatoes.
"Mom said we're hosting Thanksgiving Dinner this year!" Diana announced to Nick excitedly.
"You do know that Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of the month, right? You still have three weeks."
"I need to practice." Adalind said. "I want everything to be amazing."
"Alright crazy woman." Nick laughed, giving his wife a kiss.
So they wouldn't have nightmares about turkey dinners and start dreading Thanksgiving, and also so they wouldn't waste any food, Nick suggested they take the practice dinners Adalind made to the homeless kids of Portland.
The added bonus was teaching Diana about the less fortunate and how doing kind things could be rewarding.
Seeing all of the homeless made Diana feel extra grateful that she had a loving family and two safe houses to live in.
Being able to teach her children to be kind and giving, as well as providing memories of friends and family gathered together meant a lot to Adalind.
Her own mother was never one to make much of an effort for the holidays other than calling up some business to decorate the house or deliver the dinner.
Catherine Schade only turned on the stove when making potions. Not once in her life did Adalind ever prepare a meal with her mother. And baking together was pure fantasy.
That was why Adalind was so grateful to get to do all of the things she had always yearned for with her own family.
Nick chopping, Diana mixing, Kelly on a blanket on the floor playing with his toys made Adalind sigh with domestic bliss.
The Monday before Thanksgiving, Nick arrived home with the groceries he had gotten after work.
As Adalind and Diana were helping to unload the bags, Adalind held a can out to him and asked, "What's this?"
"Cranberry sauce." Nick replied, matter of factly.
"Nick, this is not cranberry sauce. This is a science experiment American's have been tricked into eating during the Holidays. It's mostly sugar and gelatin with cranberry flavor and food coloring. I'm making real cranberry sauce on Wednesday."
"We should still have a couple of the canned stuff for Hank and Wu." Nick defended.
Adalind rolled her eyes but still put the cans in the cupboard.
When Wednesday came around and Nick walked into the kitchen, Adalind motioned his eyesight to her work space and said, "See, there is real fruit in my cranberry sauce." Indicating the apples, oranges and cranberries in front of her.
Nick shook his head, kissed her on the cheek and said, "I understand your point, crazy woman. But that science experiment is still going to be preferred by a couple of our guests." He laughed to himself at Adalind's indignation. Only his wife could be offended by jellied cranberry sauce.
The day before Thanksgiving, Adalind let everyone know that she was also making a big breakfast. So if they wanted to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and eat the breakfast version of that evening's meal, they were more than welcome.
"There won't be a lunch served, for obvious reasons." Adalind explained. "But I'll have some things out for people to snack on until dinner."
Nick wondered if his wife had gotten the wrong impression on what Thanksgiving dinner is supposed to look like from the eisbiber, with whom they had spent previous Thanksgivings.
With the fact that Nick and Adalind had been living in an old factory and were trying to figure things out as a family, having any holiday meal at a friend's home made the most sense.
And since the eisbiber motto seemed to be, "If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing." The amount of food at these gatherings was enough to feed a small country.
Dozens of different pies, cakes and candies were piled high on tables that lined the walls.
The tables in the center of the massive room were loaded with various side dishes. The very center table having the massive turkeys.
During those dinners, most of the eisbiber women had been boasting about their dishes. They had insisted Nick and Adalind try their creation, each stating it was the best.
Nick worried that Adalind was comparing herself to the eisbiber women and thought she had to be some kind of domestic goddess.
So Wednesday night, as they were getting ready for bed, Nick pulled Adalind into his arms.
"You are the most amazing woman I know. But I have to ask, is there a reason you're putting so much work into the holidays? I know they're a lot of work on their own, but I'm worried your trying to live up to some expectation I don't understand."
"It's not that." Adalind smiled. "I swear, I'm not trying to be like anybody else. For my own peace of mind, I want everything to be perfect."
"You do know it's alright if it's not, right? It won't matter to anyone." Nick moved his hand up and down her back in a caress. "But it would destroy me to see you upset just because you thought you had to make things perfect."
"I know the unexpected in bound to happen. I get that. And I promise not to break down if everything doesn't go according to plan. I just like being prepared. And I really enjoy going all out. I'm having fun."
"And your not trying to live up to someone else's expectations?"
"No. I'm making memories with my family. Doing everything I always wanted to do if my mother hadn't been so obsessed with herself." She ran her fingers through his hair. "Don't get me wrong, I like thinking of myself as the perfect wife and mother. But I am doing everything because it makes me happy."
Nick's body relaxed with relief. "Well, I would be a horrible husband if I didn't help my perfect wife in any way I could. So why don't I make sure we get a good night sleep, tonight, so we'll be able to pull off this big Thanksgiving dinner."
Adalind grinned with understanding. "A horrible husband is something I would never call you."
A full body massage and a dozen orgasms was Nick's way of ensuring Adalind had a fully restful night of sleep.
In the morning, both woke with smiles on their faces and plenty of energy to tackle that days feast.
The kids were still asleep since the promise of a lot of food was not enough to get them excited. That would have to wait till Christmas morning. Nick and Adalind were already anticipating being woken up before the sun on that day.
Since the kids were still snug in bed, Nick and Adalind were able to the first stage of preparing the meal in peace.
By the time that the doorbell rang and the first of the guests came in, the house was filled with the delicious aromas of a fall feast.
Adalind knew her family.(Friends were counted as family) And she had anticipated what she was certain they would try to do as they waited for the evening meal.
Both Trubel and Wu were food thieves. Especially when it came to the sweet stuff. That was why she had promised a large breakfast to those who arrived in the morning.
Though it was a blessing to have the female grimm home for the holidays, there were still precautions that had to be taken to keep her from raking a whole pie.
Wu was no better. The man seemed to have the complete inability to resist temptation, especially if it was filled with fat and sugar.
Stage one to keep thieving hands away from the pies was to stuff the owners stomachs full of waffles, sausage, assorted fruits, and any toppings preferred from a waffle bar Nick and Adalind set up.
They made sure to make plenty of waffles and offer plenty of various types of toppings.
Adalind smiled in satisfaction when she saw everyone sitting in front of the television, watching the parade, looking as stuffed as the turkey she was preparing to put in the oven.
However, though it was no surprise, a few hours later, Adalind overheard Wu ask Trubel if she knew where Adalind hid the pies.
Trubel had shook her head saying she didn't and the two began to speculate. They got up from the couch, walked to the kitchen and slammed into an invisible wall.
"What the?"
"How the?"
"My wife is a hexenbiest." Nick explained with a proud smirk. "She worked too hard to make things perfect and she doesn't want anyone getting into the desserts before turkey is served."
"Why don't you guys go outside and play football in the yard." Adalind suggested. "So you guys don't hurt yourselves when the smell of food makes you forget and you try to come into the kitchen again."
Monroe offered to stay behind and help, but came sulking out to join the group a half hour later, explaining Adalind got mad at him for suggesting making half of the mashed potatoes mashed cauliflower to make them healthier.
The whole group laughed.
"You know, Nick. I am really liking your wife more and more." Wu commented.
"Beautiful and intelligent, what more can a man ask for?" Hank added.
"My mommy is the best!" Kelly shouted. Not really understanding the conversation but knowing they were talking about his mother.
Nick scooped up his son. "Yes she is, buddy."
"My mommy best." Freddie(Winifred), one of the triplets argued, going up to and hugging Rosalee.
Her brothers, Felix and Martin, believing it was part of the game, joined in and "tackled" their mother's legs.
The football game devolved into scooping up the kids, smothering them in hugs and kisses, and the adults tackling each other, when they weren't holding a child.
By the time it got dark, most of them were out of breath from laughter and all of them had worked up a huge appetite.
Nick joined Adalind and Diana in the kitchen, which let him in because he wasn't trying to steal anything.
But hearing him say those words made her fall even deeper in love with him.
Adalind shrieked and giggled when Nick touched her with his cold hands.
"I should have put up a wall to keep out mischievous grimms." Adalind laughed.
"Has any of your plans worked against me before?" Nick asked with a smirk.
"Hey, I was able to convince you to go as Morticia and Gomez for Halloween. And to have an elegant gothic Halloween dinner." Adalind protested.
"That wasn't working against me, that was convincing me." Nick countered. "We both know it wasn't that hard to persuade me because I got plenty of benefits. But there is not a force in heaven, hell or on earth that can keep me from you."
Adalind smiled and moved in to meet him for a kiss. "That's one of the things I'm always thankful for.
Soon, dinner was placed on the table. Nick carved the turkey, as well as the tofu turkey for Monroe and placed everyone's preferred meat onto their plates.
Sitting with his family and friends at the table, Nick felt his heart filled with a warm sensation.
He had so much to be thankful for. He met Adalind's eyes and knew she felt the same way. They both had been through so much pain when it came to family. Different situations but the results had been the same, sorrow and loneliness.
Now they had their friends, their children, and their family.
It was a lot to be thankful for.
