Chapter 278: Chaotic Thanksgiving (3-F) (Patreon)

[Edward POV]

After the Thanksgiving meal, all of the family members gathered in the living room to watch football while digesting the food.

“Maggie.” I called out and gestured at Maggie to massage my shoulders. She sighed and sat next to me, getting Amy to move away as she squeezed herself into the double seater couch, and massaged my neck badly.

With my eyes condition getting cleared up by my dad, Maggie realized that she had been presumptuous in punishing me for something that was an accident. A strong feeling of guilt gnawed into her heart as she touched my skin, feeling the warm temperature of the fever. 

Dissatisfied by her lack of skills, I gestured my hand into a ball, and moved it up and down. Maggie and Amy widened their eyes in disbelief, and Maggie’s face flushed red. She quickly shook her head, but I gestured again.

“I’m not going to, um, give you a happy ending!” She whispered with an angry tone. Taken aback, I corrected her, “I’m asking you to hit my shoulders. What the hell are you thinking about?!”

“OH!” She widened her eyes and became frustrated. She couldn’t even meet my eyes afterward. Amy felt glad that she didn’t say anything and joined in to tease Maggie, “This proved that you’re the pervert in this house. Not him.”

“Shut up. I’m still mad at you too.” Maggie admonished Amy. Feeling frustrated by Maggie’s lack of skills, I stood up from the couch and said to my family members, “I’ll go to bed now.”

My grandmother quickly stood up, held my hand, and checked my forehead at the same time, “Your fever has gone down a lot.”

I smiled and said, “Your cooking must’ve cured me. A grandmother’s love must be the cure to all diseases in the world.”

Amy and Maggie rolled her eyes at my word. Amy kicked my leg slightly and scolded, “Kiss ass!”

My grandma was flattered and said, “Such a sweet boy. But you still have to take your medicine. What do you want to eat tomorrow? Just tell me, I’ll cook anything you want.”

“Grandma, I’ll love everything you make.” I said innocently again. Maggie made a revolting sound, and Amy gave a thumbs down while booing me. Grandma smiled widely and told Maggie, “Bring Ed to his room. I’m going to make a special drink for him, with chocolate and marshmallow.”

Amy protested, “I want a special drink too.”

I told her, “Go stand in the snow for 5 hours and catch a fever, then you can drink it.”

“UGH!” She groaned in dissatisfaction, crossed her arms and leaned back on the couch. After getting to my room, I laid down on the bed instantly.

“What are you doing?” I asked Maggie with a quizzical expression. Maggie was confused, “What?”

“Go bring me more blankets. And grab my laptop for me too.” I ordered. 

She rolled her eyes and begrudgingly did it. Instead of giving me the bag, she took out my laptop from it, even connected the charger for me. As I got comfortable on the bed, she placed multiple pillows on my back, propping me to sit up.

“Why are you contacting people instead of resting?” She asked.

I wiped my nose with a tissue and said, “If I can’t leverage my sickness to succeed in a negotiation, then I’ll just be sick for nothing.”

Maggie looked at me in disbelief and retorted, “That’s not what being sick is for!”

“That’ll be all for now, squire.” I said before I waved dismissively at her. Annoyed, she scolded, “That’s it? I did all of that  for you, and there’s not even a ‘Thank You’?”

“Gucci is 1000 dollars, Levis is 750 dollars, Armani 200 dollars, Nike sneakers 400 dollars each–”

Before I could finish listing out all of the items I had lost, Maggie had run away from the room. I chuckled and mumbled, “Well, I didn’t buy them myself though.”

drrr drrr drrr

The call rang for some time, but no one was answering it. Figuring out that the other party wasn’t available, I called his granddaughter by her phone. Within 10 seconds, Haley picked up the call.

“Hi Ed.” She greeted me with a strained voice. “All of us just ate. I’m so full right now.”

“Grab your laptop.” I chuckled as I asked. “I’m going to video call you.”

2 minutes later, the call was finally connected. Everyone greeted me as they saw me. Haley placed me on the coffee table at the living room in Jay’s house– where they all gathered for Thanksgiving today. 

She turned the laptop for a moment. “Hi Edward!” The entire extended family greeted me. Finally, she stopped moving the camera.

Haley was at the center of the screen, sitting next to her were Alex and Luke. Phil and Claire stopped behind the couch and joined in the call. “Did you have a great Thanksgiving Ed? Why are you already in bed?” Claire asked teasingly.

With a sniffle, I said, “Oh, unfortunately I got a fever, so I can’t enjoy it too much.”

“Awww. That’s awful.” The girls exclaimed with a sympathetic frown. I blew into a tissue even though my nose wasn’t runny, and made it seem like my fever was worse than it actually was.

Haley asked with concern, “Did you eat your medicine yet?” Alex added, “Take both medicine for flu and for fever.”

“I have already eaten it. Thank you guys for worrying about me.” I said with a tired smile. “Did you miss Thanksgiving dinner?” Claire asked with an apologetic expression.

“Oh no. I did eat the turkey.” I replied. “ But the mood is pretty weird. My dad and my uncle had a fight. My uncle even got bruised up. They had already made up for it.”

Phil was curious, “Why did they fight?”

I shook my head and pretended to be confused, “I’m not clear about it. Apparently my uncle wants to propose to his girlfriend of 2 months, and it makes my dad mad or something cause he found out that my uncle only was doing it because she let him use the backdoor of her house?”

“Huh?” Everyone was confused by my wording. “Ed, are you sure that’s why?” Phil asked in confusion. Mitchell and Cam immediately got it. Mitchell exclaimed, “OHHH!! They were–”

As everyone was looking at him, he immediately stopped his sentence. “They were what?” Alex asked in confusion.

“Why does using her house's backdoor make him want to marry her?” Luke asked. Claire also realized it and stammered flusteredly, “Oh no. Um, Ed! Why did you buy a college?” She tried to change the topic, but Haley spoke.

“Dad? What is it? You used the backdoor all the time.”

Claire was flabbergasted, “WHAT?!-- NO! Not all the time!”

Cam whistled from afar, “Oh, so sometimes.”

Claire glared at Cam and warned him, “Don’t! They don’t understand it.”

Luke shouted to Jay, “Grandpa! Did you use the backdoor too?!”

Jay, who just joined in the conversation, replied in ignorance, “I used the back door, the side door, the front door. I paid for the doors. I’ll use the doors.”

Gloria giggled and backed Jay up, also didn’t realize the subtext behind it, “Yes. Every night he’ll even check on the doors to see which one is open.”

Cam whispered to Mitchell, “Your family is more raunchy than I thought.”

“GLORIA!” Claire immediately went to Gloria and Jay and whispered to her about the context. Gloria blushed and her mind blanked out, “WHAT!?”

“Oh geez!” Jay groaned in frustration and walked to the screen. He admonished me, “There’s no way you will not know what a backdoor is. You did that on purpose.”

“Huh?” I pretended to be confused again. “What is it? I really don’t get it.”

Haley whispered to Jay, “Grandpa, he has a fever.” 

Jay widened his eyes slightly, and he thought that I was ignorant about it because my mind wasn’t working well because I was sick. “Oh.” He exclaimed flatly. 

Alex asked, “What is a backdoor?! I feel like there’s a hidden meaning behind it now!”

Haley and Luke nodded, “Yeah. Us too.” Manny turned to Gloria, expecting an answer too.

“Ed! Did you watch the football game?!” Jay changed the topic immediately. “Or continue our discussion about the college construction.”

“Oh right. Now that I think about it, it’ll be unfair for me to ask you to become the head foreman. You live in California. The project is in Colorado. Even though you’re the only person with integrity and artistic ability that I believe in, I can’t do that to you.” I said with an apologetic tone.

“Who’s the person with artistic ability again?” Cam interjected in dissatisfaction. 

“Jay is. He’s an artist with his work. Otherwise, how did you think Pritchet’s closet became the number 1 leading closet brand in the country?” I said to butter Jay’s up.

He smiled and said, “That’s kind Ed. But I’m still not going to become your head foreman. I could become a consultant, but I’m definitely not flying there.”

I grinned as I got what I wanted, “Consultant is it. Great. I’ll draft up the contract.”

Jay realized that he had fallen into the trap, “Damn it.”

Claire interjected while giggling at her father’s misery, “Ed. Are you still working even though it's a holiday, and you’re sick?”

Haley grumbled and admonished me, “You should stay with your family!”

I groaned and said, “What’s that? The signal isn’t that great–”

“We’re using your network. There’s no way the signal is bad.” Alex interjected teasingly.

“I can’t hear you.” I pretended to cough heavily and said, “I need to rest. Goodbye everyone.”

Then, I cut the call immediately. “Robin, pull up the 3D render of the college.” I ordered. Suddenly, I realized that I didn’t have the pen I wanted, and my bag was quite far from the bed.

“MAGGIE!” I called.

Maggie begrudgingly stomped her feet into the room a minute later. I pointed at my bag, and she rolled her eyes as she picked it up and brought it to me. I said casually, “You know this can actually be avoided if you just bring me the bag in the first place.”

“What are you doing– ARE YOU WORKING?! SERIOUSLY!?” She scolded in a loud tone, even wanting to snatch the laptop from me. I glared at her as I picked my laptop up, moving it away from her reach.

“Did you forget you’re my bitch– I mean slave– Let’s go with Maid.” I narrowed my eyes at her, my words made her gasp as she took offense. “Remember your place, or else I’m getting the whip.”

“That’s really inappropriate.” She grumbled. Then, she got curious as I took out my digital pen. “What are you doing?” She asked again, this time with curiosity instead of judgment.

“I’m fixing the flaws of the schools based on its blueprints.” I said casually. As my hand moved swiftly and smoothly, sketching on the screen, Maggie became intrigued. She sat next to me, crossing her legs and leaning forward as she peeked on the screen.

The design skill I got from Ted Mosby worked quite well. However, I didn’t think that this Ted Mosby is the same one from the show. The skill level was too high. It was high enough for me to imagine him as a 50 years old professor who kept upgrading his skills in architectural designs. 

While I was doing my work, Amy walked into the room too. “What are you guys doing?” Amy asked in confusion.

“What are you doing?” Maggie turned back the question to her. Amy replied, “Grandma asked me to check if Ed is sleeping yet.”

“He’s not sleeping. And I don’t think anyone can make him go to bed.” Maggie said with a smirk. Amy sat on the opposite side of Maggie and looked at the laptop.

“You’re drawing– Ah, this is the college you just bought?”

I turned to her in confusion and asked, “I’ve been meaning to ask this question, how in the world did you know?”

“Hmm? It’s on the news, and it’s trending on social media. People said you’re an eccentric kid who just has too much money.” Amy explained as she slowly wrapped a blanket on her feet.

As I looked at her weirdly, she shrugged and said, “My leg is cold. So did you really buy a college? For how much?”

“Actually it was free.” I replied with a smirk. “Robin, show the hidden department.” I ordered, and the screen turned into the hidden room with the servers I had found the dead Russell Borchert in. He was animated in there too, so I quickly said, “Robin, remove the corpse.”

“Corpse?” Amy and Maggie were confused. Then, I told them about the treasure hunting adventure I had in that college. Amy’s eyes glittered in excitement, but Maggie’s was looking at me weirdly.

“So you went Treasure Hunting, and became this…Um… VD’s heir?” Maggie asked in confusion.

“Vice dean. Never simplify that to VD. Never simplify anything to VD.” I told her sternly.

Amy was curious, “What is VD? I saw that in FRIENDS ' tv show, but I don’t remember it.”

“Google it yourself.” I replied with disbelief.

Maggie waved her hand dismissively, “Never mind the treasure hunting, you said you went on a date later on?”

With a disdainful look on my face, I rebuked Maggie, “That’s what you’re interested in? I literally just told you a story about how I made millions effortlessly.” 

She shrugged, “Yeah. But you’re already a millionaire. So it’s old news. But you, went on an actual date? Now that’s gossip. I want to hear it.”

“Well I’m not telling you.” I retorted playfully. The three of us talked for quite some time. Before I realized it, I had fallen asleep, so did the two girls. 

Vader and Ace also joined in after their adventure in the snow, and they snuggled with us too on the small bed. 

…

[General POV]

“Shit…I forgot to find an on-site foreman…” Edward mumbled in his sleep. Grandma Jules stealthily walked into the room and checked on Edward’s temperature. She smiled and said, “His fever is gone.”

Watching her grandchildren sleep together on the same bed made her smile softly. “Just like when they were young.” She mumbled to herself before giving all 3 of them a kiss on their forehead. 

Grandpa Sam was waiting for her in the living room and asked, “How is he doing?”

“He’s fine now. But that doesn’t mean you can wake him up early tomorrow to work.” Jules said playfully as she sat next to Sam.

“Amy and Maggie slept in his room too?” Sam asked in confusion. Jules grinned widely and said, “Remember when Edward was 4 years old, and he had a fever? Maggie and Amy wouldn’t leave his side and cried so hard for us to let them sleep with him.”

“Yeah I remember. And then they fight each other again immediately after he feels better.” Sam chuckled as he lost himself in the memories. It was only for 5 seconds before he got up and said to Jules, “Well, if he can walk, then he can work.”

“Don’t wake him up!” Jules replied in annoyance, shooting glares at her husband, but then she giggled as she knew he was joking around.

The next morning came quickly. Inside Edward’s room, a mustached shadow crept to the bed before pulling the blankets away from the trio, and 2 cats.

“Rise and Shine!! Come on, we have work to do!” Sam announced mercilessly as the trio whined and groaned from the sudden wake up call.

“It’s 4 in the morning. Let me sleep Grandpa. I need my beauty sleep.” Maggie complained whiningly.

Edward groaned and said, “Show more pity to the patient.”

Amy said, “I don’t want to.”

“Wake up! Or there’ll be no breakfast for all of you.” Sam threatened. “Ed, if you still feel sick, sweating it off from an honest day’s work will do good for you.”

Amy subconsciously wrapped her legs around Edward, “Grandpa, let Maggie do Edward’s work. She owes him the favor.”

“Nooo~~ Let me sleep.” Maggie sobbed dryly as she hugged herself from the cold.

Edward grumbled, but as his sleep was already disturbed, he decided to just wake up and follow his grandpa. 

Amy saw that Edward went willingly and criticized them, “Now we know why Ed works way too much. He must’ve gotten Grandpa’s genes.”

Maggie added, “They can’t live without working hard. Um, I’m going back to sleep–”

“Maggie! Go pick up some eggs for your grandma!” Sam commanded before Maggie could lay down again.

Time passed by quickly, and after almost 2 hours of work on the ranch, the family gathered together for breakfast. Aaron, Jim, and May weren’t at the ranch as May and Jim had gone home for the night, and Aaron went to have dinner with his girlfriend’s family today. 

Maggie initiated the conversation as they were eating breakfast, “Grandpa, Grandma, do you know Ed will act in a movie?”

“Oh, what kind of movie?” Jules asked with interest. Edward replied, “A lewd one. I’ll be shirtless the whole time.”

“WHAT?!” Jules and Sam widened their eyes in shock. Ted looked at Edward with disbelief and said hurriedly, “He’s not doing that. He’s messing with you.”

Maggie giggled and said, “You should definitely do that Ed. Then, you can compete with the competing movie.”

Edward ignored Maggie and told his grandparents, “It’s a rom-com. I’ll be playing a hateful character in it.”

“So you’re just playing yourself?” Amy chided. “I’m sorry, have you grown yet? Should we get you a kid’s table?” Edward shot back. Amy glared at him and Edward looked coyly at her.

“See, hateful.” Amy said as she pointed to Edward while looking at her grandparents. Edward pretended that he was surprised by the allegations and waved his hands dismissively.

The family burst into laughter, and shortly after that, Edward received a notification on his phone.

“Oh, so she released it huh.” He muttered casually.

“Who, did what?” Maggie asked.

“My ex. Releasing a diss song about me.” Edward replied.

“WHAT?!!” Amy and Maggie exclaimed at the same time.