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Chapter Text

 
Deep down even Sarah thought that Felix and Adele really did look like brother and sister.  The folks back in Charleston, South Carolina whole-heartedly agreed. In fact, the first time Adele’s mother, Irene, saw a picture of Felix she had gasped dramatically, laid her hand over her breast and said, “Well, if that’s not a Harrington, I sure don’t know what is.”  What she meant by that was probably that like Adele and the rest of her father’s family, Felix was tall and thin with thick dark hair, but what really had struck her were the eyes--which were an exact match with those of the late John Michael Harrington.

Over the last year or so since he had first met Adele, Felix had learned a number of things about his biological father—some good, some bad.  John Harrington, along with his brother Teddy and his sister Ruth, had grown up on a horse farm about 35 miles from Charleston.  John was an excellent student and after he graduated from high school, he earned a scholarship to The Citadel (the Military College of South Carolina) where he majored in engineering, but he left the school after his sophomore year having chafed against the school’s notoriously rigid military culture.  He then transferred to the University of South Carolina where he was much happier, completed his degree in mechanical engineering and then got a master’s degree in architecture at Virginia Tech University.   He became a successful commercial architect and his work took him around the world—which was how he came to meet Felix’s mother.  Adele had told him his hobbies included photography and restoring classic cars.  Also, he was considered charming and it sounded like most people who met him, liked him immediately, but he also had a bit of a reputation as a cad.  He surprised everyone when at age 42, he finally “settled down” and married Adele’s mother after a whirlwind courtship. The marriage, however, was short-lived and they divorced when Adele was a little girl.  While Adele was clearly quite fond of her father, Felix got the impression he might not have been all that involved in her day-to-day upbringing.  Finally, while it wasn’t clear that John knew Felix’s mother had died leaving him to the foster system, it was clear he had known about Felix, but for whatever reason chose not to be involved in his life.   

Adele had first broached the subject of Felix coming to Charleston for Thanksgiving during her visit to Toronto that spring. It had been that wonderful first really warm day in May and Felix was contentedly sunning himself on the roof of his building in a pair of floral print shorts and a tank top.  He had long ago talked his landlord (an elderly patron of the arts, so to speak) into letting him turn the roof into his own personal patio—as long as he promised not to grill.  So, when he woke up to a perfectly sunny day and it had hit 75 degrees by noon, he had dragged out his straw mats and a couple of lounge chairs he stored in the basement and then filled a cooler with beer and white wine and parked himself on the roof to enjoy the lovely day.  Adele had arrived in Toronto for a visit the day before and as was customary on the first (well, really any) night of her visits, they’d stayed up way too late talking, drinking and catching up on each other’s lives.  When she finally woke up, she had texted him to find out where he’d gone and then joined him on the roof.

“You realize where I come from, this is sweater weather, right?”

“Adele, it was literally snowing less than 48 hours ago.  I haven’t seen the sun in like 6 months and god knows it’ll probably snow again tomorrow.  I’m going to need you to get on board with this. If it helps, I have enough wine, cheese and trashy magazines to keep us occupied for the entire day.”

“Alright, when in Rome I guess” she chuckled, “I’ll be right back.”  She returned a short time later wearing a strange linen onesie with a cardigan sweater, giant sunglasses and a floppy hat. She had also brought a blanket which she was currently curled up with.  Felix, on the other hand, had taken off his shirt and was applying sunscreen.   

“Sarah called.  She’s gonna stop by before work in a bit.”

“Nice! She’s workin’ again?”

“Yeah, school just got out, Kira’s gone to stay with Cal in the hinterlands for the summer and she’s bartending most nights for Bobby.”

“How’s that going?”

“Fine, I suppose, I think her tips nearly cover her tab and she’s using her position and temporary reprieve from parental responsibility to shag anything that moves.”

“Good for her to be dating again, I guess” smiled Adele.

“Darling,” he sighed, “I didn’t say dating.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing” said Adele with a smile.

“I know. It’s just sometimes I worry about her.”

“You’re worried about Sarah?  First of all, don’t.  If anyone can take care of themselves, it’s her and seriously, Felix, the way I hear it, before Colin, you were the poster boy for hook-ups.”

“Yeah, I know, but I was always looking for a connection if you know what I mean. Sarah’s practically allergic to real intimacy.”

“Well, you don’t need a degree in psychology to figure that one out. She’s got walls for a reason.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

“Speaking of connections, Felix. I’ve been meaning to ask you.  Would you come home with me to Charleston for Thanksgiving this year?    Everyone’s just been dying to meet you.”

“To your family Thanksgiving? Wouldn’t your mother mind?”

“Well, it’s your family too and it’s actually two separate Thanksgivings—one with my mama’s family which will be stuffy and pretentious and one with Daddy’s people which you’ll love and anyway it was her idea.”

“She wants to meet me?”

“Of course she wants to meet you!  I’ve told her all about you. And look, my daddy had affairs the whole time they were married but after they finally got divorced, thank god, they got along just fine. That is once she accepted he just wasn’t the monogamous type and she forgave him. Hell, she’s surprised you’re the only hit I found on GeneConnexion.  Anyway after they divorced, she went and married Randall Dupree who worships her and owns half the county so she’s happy as a clam.   Anyway, you’ll come, right?”

“Where’s Fe going?” called Sarah as she came through the rooftop door.

“To South Carolina for Thanksgiving with my family.”

“Brilliant. It’s lovely and warm there, Fe.  You’re gonna love it!” said Sarah who made a beeline to the cooler for a beer.

“I thought you were on your way to work?” asked Felix in a slightly disapproving tone.

“It’s bartending, not brain surgery, Fe.  I won’t have more than two, three tops” she winked as she sat down in the lawn chair next to Felix and began shedding layers to bask in the sun.

“Ya’ll are both crazy” said Adele as a stiff breeze came upon them and she burrowed deeper into her blanket.

“What’s she on about?” asked Sarah with one eye open.

“Don’t worry about it. Adele here just needs to acclimate a bit” said Felix.

 “Anyway, when were you in South Carolina, Sarah?” asked Adele.

“Couple years ago. Long story” said Sarah with a wave of her hand.  Adele made a mental note to ask Felix about it later.  Whenever Sarah said “long story,” she was usually deflecting discussion of some wildly entertaining yet sordid chapter in her life.

Right on cue, Sarah changed the subject, “How many brothers and sisters you got again Adele?”

 “Well, my parents split up when I was 7. Daddy never married again and as far as we know, Fe and I are the only children Daddy ever had.  My mama remarried right away and had my sister Maria about seven months later—you do the math.  My step-dad Randall has three kids from his first marriage so in addition to Fe here, I have 3 step-siblings and my baby sister Maria.”

“Everybody get along?” asked Sarah.

“Hell no. My step-siblings are about ten years older than me and they resent the hell out of Mama for marrying their daddy. They think she trapped him with a baby even though it’s been 27 years and anyone with eyes can tell Randall and Mama are in love.”

“And your sister, what’s she like?”

“Oh, she’s like a younger suburban version of me-only saner.  Lives in Atlanta.  She runs a little boutique dress shop and is married to Tom the most boring man alive.  They do have a precious set of two-year old twins named Peter and Emma though.”

“So she’s a bit like Alison, yeah?” said Sarah.

“I said saner” deadpanned Adele.

“Right” laughed Felix, “Anyway, ‘course I’ll come if you think they’d want me to.”

“Felix, they’re all dying to meet my long lost brother the artist. You know I especially want you to meet the rest of Daddy’s family. Sarah, Daddy had two siblings. There’s my Aunt Ruthie.  She’s divorced and runs this amazing coffee shop called The Mill.  And then there’s Uncle Teddy who’s a retired Judge and an artist in his own right.  He was Daddy’s best friend and he paints the most wonderful still lifes and landscapes. Fe, you’re just going to love him. His wife recently passed and I think he’s a bit lonely.  Both of his children live abroad and don’t get home much.  And you know what? Fe here kind of even looks like Uncle Teddy.  It’s a total trip!”

“Got a picture?” asked Sarah.

“Hang on” said Adele as she began fiddling with her phone until she found one and handed the phone to Sarah.

“Huh…same eyes, yeah? Whatcha think, Fe?” mused Sarah.

“Yeah, I s’pose. And Adele, I really do want to meet them all, but…” he winced.

“But, what darlin’?” asked Adele, not unkindly.

“It’s just a lot…” Felix trailed off.

“I know, but you wanted to find your roots and there’s a lot more to the family than just me, right?” said Adele.

“Yeah I know” sighed Felix, “Yep, alright. Anyway, can’t be any worse than family get-togethers ‘round here. You know, Alison’s still refusing to host Christmas next year” he said with a pointed look in Sarah’s direction.

“I don’t know why everyone blames me for that. That was all Cosima, you know” groused Sarah.

 “What happened?” asked Adele.

“They let Helena drink like a gallon of egg nog, goaded her into redecorating Alison’s tree with her hand-made Ukrainian spider ornaments while Alison was at church, and then laughed when she barfed all over the nativity scene in the front yard while the neighbors who were out caroling all watched.”

“It really was brilliant” said Sarah with eyes shining.

“You know, now that I think about it, Adele, maybe I’ll come for Christmas too.” smirked Felix.

Chapter Text

After Adele went back home, Felix threw himself into fevered preparations for his gallery opening in New York City. The show ran from July 20th through August 21th and featured 45 of the works he’d done over the last five years including the portraits he’d done of the sestras.  In addition to being well-attended and well-reviewed (no small feat in the cut-throat New York City art scene), he sold more paintings in the four week span of its run, than he had previously sold in his entire life.  The show was even the subject of a small feature in the New Yorker’s ‘Goings On About Town’ section which referred to him as an “up and coming post-modern British/Canadian artist who defies easy categorization” and praised his show for “bringing a modern vitality to portraiture” as well as its “fascinating take on identity as a social construct”—little did anyone know how realistic his work really was.    

Colin, Alison and Adele flew to New York for the opening weekend of the show.  Adele proudly (albeit drunkenly) flitted around the gallery dressed to the nines chatting everyone up and extolling the virtues of her brother the “genius” while Alison thoroughly enjoyed herself playing Sarah and her sisters (and keeping an eye on Adele.)  Colin got a baptism by fire into the excesses of the art world, but handled it just fine with unflappable, nerdy aplomb.  In fact, during the entire run of the month-long show, Colin flew to New York no less than four times. Most nights he could be found either at Felix’s side or on the sidelines of the chaos nursing a gin and tonic and beaming at Felix while he held court.  Felix had to admit he lived for that marvelous and hideous moment when Colin told some unsuspecting gallery attendee what he did for a living. Most of them visibly blanched and took a step backward while Colin serenely smirked, sipped his drink and waited to see what they on earth they’d ask next. (“Oh…That’s…interesting…do…do you enjoy that?”) The gallery put Felix up in a funky little boutique hotel overlooking Central Park.  Most nights they’d collapse tiredly into bed in the wee hours of the morning.  Colin’s warm weight a touchstone in the chaos as he drifted off to sleep.  When they woke, they’d make love and then walk to brunch hand-in-hand trying to explore a different part of the city every day. Afterwards, they’d come back and go for a run in Central Park before the evening festivities began anew.  Felix was almost too overwhelmed and self-absorbed by the show to notice, but this was nice--really nice. By the end of it Colin wanted to talk to Felix about moving in together, but decided to wait until they were back home and things settled down.  

Felix had asked Sarah to come too but she’d begged off—(“Sorry, Fe. I’m so proud of you, but I can’t do it. It’s still too much, you know?”). He knew exactly what she meant even though it hurt his feelings, but he didn’t press her.  He felt the weight of what had happened the last time too.  Also, he knew for all her bravado, Sarah didn’t like the spotlight and that for her (even with an open bar) a fancy gallery opening was on par with getting a root canal during an algebra exam. So it was fine. Mostly.

 Afterwards, Ali surprised Felix with a giant homemade scrapbook of all the photos, advertising, newspaper articles and glowing reviews of his show.  The cover screamed “Felix’s Big NYC Art Show Adventure!!” in a hideous bright red font over the cockeyed backdrop of the Statute of Liberty and the Empire State Building--the pages inside featured pictures and articles laid out in a baroque overly-stickered decoupage. It may well have been the cheesiest thing he’d ever seen, but he secretly loved it and frequently paged through it when he was alone.

When Felix got back home, he found he had become a bit of a minor celebrity in the Toronto art scene. He had several profiles done in local newspapers and magazines and he got invited to literally every gallery opening of consequence in town.  Colin gamely went with him to the openings when he could, but working the night shift at the morgue often got in the way.  Felix had never been in a serious monogamous relationship in his adult life and that coupled with his newfound celebrity was posing a bit of challenge--he was a natural flirt which meant when Colin wasn’t with him (and sometimes even when he was), he got—a LOT of attention.  Anyway, suffice it to say his newfound success was heady stuff and for the first time in his life, he didn’t have to hustle or worry about money. Luckily, he had Sarah around to keep him grounded.   He’d show her an article or a glowing review and she’d smile and say something like, “That’s great, Fe! Always knew you’d make it. ‘S woulda been so proud. Oh and hey can you come by and do that thing that fixes the toilet again?”  

***

As summer wound down, the excitement began to wear off and he tried to start painting again—only to find himself in the worst creative rut of his adult life.  These days all anyone asked was “what’s next?”  He’d smile and say something coy like, “You’ll just have to wait and see now, won’t you?” The reality was he didn’t’ have a clue.  If he wasn’t staring at a blank canvas, he was disgustedly painting over what he’d just done.  He knew as an artist that sometimes the biggest bursts of creativity and artistic growth were preceded by a big creative block, but he’d never experienced anything like this before. His creative funk bled into his growing ambivalence regarding his upcoming trip to South Carolina.  He knew it was cliché, but what if they rejected him or worse, what if he couldn’t stand them?  How would he explain it to Adele? He tried to put it out of his mind which worked just fine during his whirlwind summer until Alison threw a belated baby shower for Helena’s twins in August and Adele flew into town to attend.

After the party, Felix, Colin and Adele were sitting around back at his loft having a drink and recapping the highs and lows of the day.  The lowlight of the day was, of course, Sarah’s entirely predictable flake-out over her big GED exam followed by her equally predictable freak-out when Alison pressed her on committing to sticking around.  Sometimes Felix had to remind himself that the rest of them had only known Sarah for about a year—a year in which she had behaved in a wholly uncharacteristic reliable, selfless and heroic fashion.  They’d learn. 

The highlight was of course, getting Rachel to give up the identities and locations of the remaining clones around the world.   Felix had been laying the groundwork for that since Rachel had sent him a note congratulating him on his New York show.  It had read:

Felix—

Congratulations on your newfound success. You may not believe this, but I wish you nothing but the best even though I understand my portrait serves as a bit of flooring at the show.  Nonetheless, I found your portraits to be rather evocative of your subjects. Please give Charlotte and Kira my best. 

Yours sincerely,
Rachel 

The note had a return address to a local P.O. Box. It also made Felix suspect that the anonymous buyer of Rachel’s portrait was Rachel—because of course, it was.  Anyway, Felix had replied to the note with a tempered kindness and an idea—

Rachel—

Thank you for your note and for taking my little joke in stride.  I can’t exactly bring myself to wish you well, but I can say I hope you’re as well as can be expected.  I harbour no delusions that beneath it all you’ve a heart of gold (or any precious or even semi-precious metal for that matter), but I’ll leave you with this--it’s not too late for you to become a person of substance--for god’s sake look at Sarah.   If you have any information on how to find the surviving Ledas so we can cure them (and leave them blissfully unaware of their circumstance), I hope you’ll consider sharing that with me.  It could be our little secret.

PS: Kira and Charlotte are well and each said to tell you to “hello.”  For whatever reason, Kira also wanted me to tell you to spend more time outside.  She says it will help--so there’s that. 

Felix

A few weeks later she replied:

Felix—

Truthfully, I think the world would be better off if there were far, far fewer of us around, but more importantly I’d much rather stop thinking about them at all.  Where and when?

PS: Tell Kira she was right.

Yours sincerely,
Rachel

And that was that.  Felix’s clandestine meeting went off without a hitch and he got the list. By the time they left Alison’s, Sarah had smiled a few times, Helena had unveiled her book manuscript (which Felix was still struggling to process) and Cosima, Delphine and Scott were already brainstorming how they could administer the cure without making the girls all self-aware and planning their first trip to South America.  A successful evening by any measure.  Which was a welcome change since Felix had been feeling nothing short of useless the last couple months as his creative doldrums persisted.

Back at Felix’s loft, Adele was just mixing herself another martini, when she brought up Felix’s visit.

“So when do you boys arrive? Oh shit!...” slurred Adele as she sat down slopping some vodka over the top of her glass.

“Come again?” said Felix distracted by his phone.

“To South Carolina?” said Adele.

“Oh that,” said Felix with a nervous look in Colin’s direction.  Colin fidgeted with his drink and met his gaze.

“Mama wants a headcount for brunch on Thanksgiving Day.”

“Seriously? It’s three months away” scoffed Felix.

“Yes, seriously. Mama’s a planner.  She has spreadsheets to track her spreadsheets.  Picture Alison on steroids with bigger hair. She practically had to be hospitalized for exhaustion before my weddin’,” shuddered Adele as she took another slug from her martini.

“No, I’d rather not…wait, you were married?” asked Felix.

“Oh yeah, for like a hot minute in my twenties.  Long story. I’m not supposed to talk about it ‘cause of the NDA.”

“Okaaay…that sounds rather interesting and believe me, we will be circling back to that, but…anyway, it’s just gonna be me this time. Right, Colin?”

“Yep.” 

“Well, alright” said Adele with a curious look, “Felix, when are you arriving?”

“I dunno. I haven’t even looked at flights to be honest.”

“Felix! It’s Thanksgiving!! It’s like the single biggest travel weekend in the whole year in the US.  You need to get on that, alright?”

“I know, I know. First thing tomorrow. Promise.”

***

Colin had offered to come with, but Felix had laughed off the suggestion:

 “Are you mad? The odds of this going well are about 1 in 100. No way I’m subjecting you to all that. Not to mention all that fried food.”    

“Don’t be dramatic. What if I want to be subjected to it? Anyway, it’s only fair-you’re coming with me to Calgary for Christmas.”

“That’s entirely different and you know it. You love your parents and your sisters and they love you.   I’ve never even met these people. They could be awful. Don’t tell Adele, but every time I close my eyes I picture the dinner scene in “Talladega Nights.”

“Or they could be wonderful and either way they’re part of you.  I want to share that with you.”

“Colin, thank you for that, but I only half want to go myself. If they’re worth knowing we can go back if you like, alright?”

It probably would have been alright, as Colin understood Felix’s reluctance in the whole endeavor, but it had come on the heels of Felix telling Colin he wasn’t ready to move-in together.  Felix had told him he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to live with anyone.  His living space and art studio being one in the same seemed so integral to his process that the thought of allowing someone in seemed—impossible. While all that was true, it wasn’t the whole truth.  A few weeks ago, he’d eff’d up and slept with someone else.  

Chapter Text

November—

“Darling, you made it!” cried Felix.

“I know! We’re like two ships passing in the night here” said Cosima as she dusted herself off, “But I had to see you before your big trip. When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow.”

“All packed?” 

“Not in the slightest. How was Spain…and Portugal, right?” asked Felix as he got down a bottle of wine from his wine-rack and poured them each an inky glass of syrah.  So far, Cosima and Delphine had managed to locate and cure 84 clones, mostly in North and South America and the Caribbean, and they’d just started working their way through the European clones.  They’d gotten back from Madrid the day before, and planned to spend a few days seeing the sestras in Toronto before traveling to San Francisco to spend Thanksgiving with Cosima’s family.  

“Totally amazing. I could seriously live in Lisbon in a heartbeat!  What about you though? Howya been?” asked Cosima, even though she sort of knew the answer was some form of “not good.”

“Oh I’m alright, I guess.  Still haven’t painted anything worthwhile in ages and Colin and I broke up--you probably heard—totally my fault as it were.”

“Yeah, I heard. Any chance you’ll get back together?”

“I’d wager that’s a ‘no’ since I got drunk and slept with a hot sculptor one night at a gallery a few months back while Colin was elbows deep in a cadaver, and then he found out when he saw us snogging in photos in the newspaper.  Not exactly my finest hour.”

“Ooh that’s not good” she winced, “but are you sure you can’t work it out? You two seemed so good together. I mean anyone can have a slip up?”

“Now you sound like Sarah.  Who, as you know, is not equipped whatsoever to be giving anyone anywhere relationship advice.  Did you know that in the span of one week this summer she unwittingly slept with one married man and one married woman and had both of their spouses turn up at the bar to yell at her at the same time?”

“No” laughed Cosima, “but that sounds about right. Anyway, all I’m saying is you seem sad about it and if you’re sad, maybe he is too.  Have you talked to him lately?”

“No, he hates me.”

“I doubt that. Anyway, are you at least excited for your trip down south to meet the extended family? Sarah’s told me a bit.  Should be interesting.”

“A bit nervous actually. Lately all I can think about is what if they don’t like me? Honestly, who could blame them as I don’t really like me at the moment.”

“Hey! That’s my friend your talking about there, Felix! And anyway, who would dare not like you?” smiled Cosima as she patted his arm.

“Thank you, my darling. Or worse, what if I find out even more things about my biological father that I don’t like? Like what if I find out I’m related to a bunch of homophobic gun-toting rednecks waving ‘round Confederate flags with MAGA hats on?”

“Well, you’re half-American. Scratch that—half southern-American. Deal with it. You probably are related to some rednecks, but if they can accept Adele, who no offense, is completely nuts, I’m sure they’ll have no problem with you. Besides don’t get bogged down in a bunch of unexamined clichés about the south.  Not to gloss over the hateful bad shit which of course exists, but there’s wonderful stuff too!

“Oh yeah, like what?  Deep-fat fried candy bars and twinkies?”

“Felix…” she drawled.

“Sorry, please continue.”

“Seriously, believe it or not it’s by far the most interesting region of the States in terms of food and Southern hospitality is like a real thing. And then think about all the artists--like Faulker, Tennessee Williams, Walker Percy, Flannery O’Connor, Alice Walker and Harper Lee!  Oh and don’t forget about blues and jazz!”

“Okay, point made! I’ll try and keep all that in mind. But it’s more than that—like when I met Adele, it all happened so fast and I was just so excited to have found out who I really am and where I came from that I didn’t even have time to get nervous about all this.”

“I totally know what you mean.   After I met Beth and found out what we were to each other I was just so fascinated and overwhelmed, that it never occurred to me to worry about what she would think of me.  It started to dawn on me when I met Alison, that this was all extremely complicated.  What are we to each other? Are we twins? Sisters? I mean we didn’t grow up together. Are we automatically family just because we share genes? And look at you, your family is Sarah and Siobhan and Kira and like it or not all of us and it has nothing to do with blood at all!”

“Exactly” nodded Felix.

“You know,” she mused, “I’ve come to appreciate that there’s a lot more to Alison than meets the eye, but if I’m being honest, she’s not exactly someone I would gravitate to naturally—which is a super weird concept in its own right since we’re genetically identical, right?  And listen, I know she’s not some homophobe, but sometimes, I wonder whether it’s…I don’t know….maybe unsettling to her that we’re genetically identical and I’m a lesbian.”

“I’ve actually asked her that one” said Felix with a sly smile.

“Really?”

“Yes. One night this summer when she was particularly relaxed and forthcoming after about an hour and half of pilates and half a joint. She said she’d actually thought quite a lot about that and whether she’d just accepted the default of religion and society for herself and all that.”

“And?”

 “She said where she landed was that she loved and was attracted to Donnie, but if that ever changed, however that changed, she’d keep an open mind. And then she started cleaning out my refrigerator. So there’s that…Now, let me ask you Cos, does anything about your sisters unnerve you?”

“I really don’t think I’ve had enough wine for this conversation, Felix.”

“Oh come on! I mean how DO you feel about being one massive childhood trauma away from being a total deadbeat like my sister or a reformed serial killer or like…” he paused, eyebrows lifted “Rachel?”

“Oh god! I don’t know. I’m not touching that one with a ten foot pole…”

“Come on!”

“Okay fine, this isn’t my final answer, but I really would like to know more about Krystal’s upbringing so I can make sense of…” she paused and waved her hands around, “that whole situation.”

“Oh I dunno” said Felix, “I think she’s a bit like Sarah in a weird way—She does as she pleases and just has a very particular skill set if you know what I mean.”

 “Maybe” said Cosima sounding unconvinced.

“Now Cos, I need your help.  What exactly does one wear to an American Thanksgiving? Obviously we have our own version of Thanksgiving in Canada but it seems like a lot less big of a deal—more like just a nice three day weekend to get together with family before the snow flies.”

“Ooh…that’s a hard one. I mean, it really varies. Thanksgiving really is a big deal holiday in the States because it’s like the only paid four day holiday weekend most people get off of work in the whole year. But like some people have a really formal sit-down dinner and other people just sit around in sweatpants watching football.  The only real common denominator is everyone eats a disgusting amount of food and after people have been drinking for a while they have awkward political discussions with relatives they only see once a year.”

“Well, that sounds very American.”

“It is.”

“What was Thanksgiving like ‘round your house?”

“Oh, it was great. My parents both really like to cook so they went all out.  They’d invite all sorts of people like visiting professors from other countries or really anyone they knew who didn’t have somewhere to go.  We’d have like 20 people over and everyone would bring something to share. We weren’t religious at all so it was kind of our big family holiday.   I remember one year my dad almost burnt the house down trying to deep fry a turkey in the back yard!  The next year, my mom declared turkey was for people in flyover states and served Cioppino as the main dish instead, but really I think she just had PTSD. Anyway, what did Adele say about it?”

“Well, she said we’re going to her mother’s house the first day and it would be, I quote, ‘stuffy’ and we’d be going to her father’s family the next day for some ‘low country’ fare whatever that means.”

“Well, I’m not sure, but you probably should wear at least a dinner jacket to the first one and it sounds like you can probably wear whatever you want to the second one.  I’m not 100% positive but “low country” is what they call that area and its cuisine which I think is like crab boils and gumbo and shit or something like that, but it sounds pretty casual. Now Felix have you told Adele you’re nervous about all this?”

“Not really, she’s just too excited and I don’t want to ruin it for her.”

“Well, listen, it isn’t always easy, but my life is so much richer for having embraced my sisters, warts and all. I guess what I’m saying is try and keep an open mind. ”

“Alright, then, any other advice?”

“Yes. Talk slow and don’t make fun of religion, football or country music.”

“I can’t promise any of that” smirked Felix.