"Thanksgiving means a lot of things." "The food, the traditions." "But mostly it means family traveling far and wide to be together." "Even when times are hard  you know the holiday will be worthwhile if family's coming." "You're not coming?" "Why?" "It's not a tone." "My tone is upset, Mom." "I'm upset." "We were gonna do the Black Friday sales together and use Dad's handicapped placard to park close." "No, don't send the placard." "That is not the point." "If you're not coming, send the placard." "What?" "Mom's going to Janet's for Thanksgiving again." "Okay, we talked about this before." "Cry first, then talk." "Mom is going to Janet's house for Thanksgiving again because she doesn't wanna miss Lucy's ballet recital." "Who has a ballet recital on Thanksgiving?" "Thank you." "We'll have my aunts and your dad." "You invited your dad, didn't you?" "Yeah, of course." "You asked me to." " I'll do it." " Oh, come on." "He makes it so damn hard." "He doesn't wanna be a bother." "I'm gonna say, "You won't be." He'll say, "I don't know."" "I'm gonna wind up begging him:" ""Please, please, come to Thanksgiving." It happens every year." "I want family in this house, Mike, otherwise, it's not Thanksgiving." "It's just overeating." "Financing for the Ehlert Motors..." "I'm up to eight people for Thanksgiving, so it should feel full." "You're not gonna bail on me?" "No." " Mm, you have to let me bring something." " Okay." " I was thinking maybe yams." " Mm-hm." " String beans." " Mm-hm." "And my girlfriend." " Really?" " Yes." "I was trying to slip it in like it was another food, but it's not." " Heh, heh." "It's my girlfriend." " Wow, you have a girlfriend?" "Bob, that's great." "Aw." "So is this someone you've actually, you know, met?" "Of course." "She's the librarian at the public library." "I would never have the strength to approach her if I hadn't been listening to this motivational podcast." "It has given me the confidence to just deal with people differently." "That's right." "I remember last week Pete tried to take the meat out of your sandwich." "You didn't let him." "I didn't let him." "Hi." "Hey, Mom." "I've been thinking." "I know you feel bad because Grandma's not coming to Thanksgiving." "So I was thinking you and I could start our own mother-daughter tradition that we could do together." "Oh." "I thought we could bake a homemade apple pie from scratch." "Oh." "Yeah." "It'll be super-rewarding and bonding because Martha Stewart says apple pie is the most time-consuming and difficult of all fruit-based desserts." "So simple, yet so complex." "Just like the relationship between a mother and a daughter." "It'll be good to have another dessert." "Bob's bringing Miss Gibbs from the library." "Hold on." "The librarian is coming here?" " That's right." " An actual librarian is coming here?" "Looks that way." "Oh, my gosh, but what will I wear?" "What will I say?" "Axl, we have to clean our room." "Ha, ha." "Yeah, that's not happening." "Yeah?" "Let me see if this changes your mind." "A librarian is coming over." "Oh, my God." "Why didn't you say that?" "In that case, uh..." "Hey, uh, this stuff is kind of piling up here." "Have you seen my dad lately?" "No, not since they took him away in the ambulance." "Dad?" "Son." "They told me at the desk you broke your hip three weeks ago." " Why the hell didn't you call me?" " You fix hips?" "I live 15 minutes away." "You don't think I wanna know when my dad goes to the hospital?" "Oh, you got your own concerns." "I was fine." "I dragged myself on my belly from the yard into the house knocked the telephone onto the floor and dialed with my face, heh." "When was I supposed to know?" "I found out because I went by the house to invite you to Thanksgiving." "Oh, no." "You don't want an old man with a broken hip at your Thanksgiving." "That's true, but my wife does." "Please, Dad?" "Please, please, please come to Thanksgiving." "Oh, I don't wanna be a bother." "Not a choice, Dad." "The nurses say you gotta be discharged." "They can't let you go home alone." "Don't worry, we got TV and crummy food at our house too." "You don't exactly roll out the red carpet, do you?" "We were taking turns." "That was the rule." "And then you swoop in with Lucy's ballet recital." "May I finish?" "Fine, forget it." "Mom, I found two apple-pie recipes." "Which one do you think would taste better?" "This one." "If it's Aunt Janet, don't answer it." "It's great that you're keeping your dad hydrated but have two of you done any talking in the last two days?" "Of course we talked." "We talk all the time." "What's on next?" "Don't know." "No." "I mean really talk, Mike about what's gonna happen after Thanksgiving." "He can't go back to that house by himself." "What does your brother say?" "Oh, come on, you haven't talked to him yet?" "Uh..." "Rusty will just make everything more complicated." "Your brother has the right to be involved in this." "He's your brother, your partner for life." "Nothing is more important than family." "I said let it ring!" "So Mike sucked it up  and went over to his brother's house." "Hey, Mike." "Hi." "Rusty." "Hey, how's it going?" " What the hell happened?" " Huh?" "Oh." "Well, you know how it is with the economy." "The economy burned down your house?" "Well, no." "That was a massive fire." " Why didn't you call me?" " Are you a fireman?" "I'm your brother, for God's sake." "How'd this happen?" "Uh, well, I was running the hot plate about four weeks ago." "I noticed one of the cords was frayed." "I kept telling myself, "Keep your eye on that" but I fell asleep face down with a cigarette in my mouth." "Heh." "I blame myself partially." "Well, listen, I came out to find you because Dad broke his hip." " Never told me he was in the hospital." " For crying out loud." "What does it take that old man to pick up a phone, huh?" "Yeah, well, he's gonna stay with us through Thanksgiving." "Guessing you're not doing anything for Thanksgiving yourself." "Wasn't planning anything big." "Why don't you come with us?" "It'd be nice for the kids." "You still got the kids, huh?" "Yeah, the state makes you keep them." "Well, uh, I don't wanna be a bother." "So Mike brought Rusty  and now we had all three Heck men in the house." "At least now the three of them could sit down together  and really talk about the future." "What's on next?" "I don't know." "There gotta be something." "By Wednesday, the kids were fighting  the men were watching TV and the women were in the kitchen." "It was beginning to feel a lot like Thanksgiving." " I'm gonna tell Dad." " I'm gonna tell him you're an idiot." "He cleaned up all my stuff and now I can't find my nunchaks." "They're the only thing I care about." "A librarian's coming." "How do you not get this?" "I can't talk to him." "Let me handle this." "Come here." "Let me give you a piece of advice from my own life, huh?" "If you're going to smoke, don't do it face down in a pillow." "I got her for Labor Day?" "Oh, please." "You don't have a leg to stand on and you know it." " Ow." " Uh, I got a bleeder." "Oh, okay, that's not so bad." "Here." "Rinse it off in the bathroom and keep it elevated." "I'll get the blood out of the apples." "Hey." "So did you talk to Rusty?" "What does he wanna do about your dad?" "I don't know." "Didn't talk to him." "Seems like he's got a lot on his plate." "Heard him talking to his insurance." "They're not gonna give him money." " What?" "Why not?" " I don't know." "Where's he gonna live?" "What's he gonna do?" " I don't know." " You don't know?" "So did you guys talk about anything?" "We talked about how lousy Purdue's playing." "Your dad is dragging himself around on his belly your brother's living in a tent." "They might not see the problem, but there is one." "You gotta figure something out." "Hm, I guess what would make sense is for Rusty to move in with Dad for a while." "That's great." "If there was only a way to transmit ideas from one person to another..." "I'm not gonna tell them what to do, Frankie." "They're grown men." "I don't wanna be a bother." "Oh, no, Mike." "Mike, stay with me." "Resist the pull of history." "Do not be swept down that river with them." " You have to be the sane one." " Fine." "We'll get into it." "At the half." "Don't worry, Mom." "I can still peel the apples with my good hand." "See?" " Ow." " Oh." "It's okay." "I'm good." "See." "So that night, several halftimes later  Mike sat down to have a heart-to-heart with his family." "So, uh, listen, the thing is, Dad you're gonna need somebody to live with you." "Rusty, it's gonna start snowing any day now so you're gonna need a house." "You know, without a zipper." "So, what seems logical to me is for Rusty to move in with Dad and help take care of him." "Oh, I'll be fine." "Oh, yeah, don't worry about me." "Okay, then." "Good talk." "Let's see what's on TV." "Look, they said they're fine, they're fine." "Not everybody's like your family with feelings and talking and needs." "Oh, I'm very aware of how your family is nothing like my family." "Well, at least my family's here." "Uh-oh." "My family loves me." "Happy turkey day." "Hey, Mom, Bob just arrived with his date, Lisa." "Oh, yeah, uh, I'm gonna give you to Axl." "Okay." "Just talk to her." "Come on." "Ah..." "Happy Thanksgiving, Grandmom." "Oh, Sue's trying to get the phone from me." "Come on, Sue, wait your turn." "You're so rude, God." "Frankie, this is the new ray of sunshine in my life, Lisa." "Thank you for inviting me into your lovely home." "I brought my own mashed potatoes." "Oh, you didn't need to do that." "I'm lactose intolerant." "Trust me, I'm doing you a favor." "Isn't she amazing?" "Oh." "Grandma, I gotta go." "A librarian just walked in." "Is that Pat?" "Happy Thanksgiving." "Lisa, I think you probably know my son Brick from the library." "Sure." "Nice tie." "Well, thanks." "It's really hard to find clothes with a book theme." "Tell me about it." "Well, send pictures of the recital." "Heh." "Let me give you to Big Mike and Rusty." "Uh, yeah, sorry, I couldn't find them." "Yeah." "Okay." "I gotta go." "Frankie says dinner's about ready, so let's take a seat." "Bird looks good." "Jeez, it's nice to see the family all together like this, huh?" "Mm-hm." "Hey, look at Aunt Edie." "She's holding on pretty good, huh?" "If I was a thousand years older, I'd take a run at that." "So you really read all of Dickens?" "Yep." "I started last summer and finished by the spring." "When I was his age, I was quite the reader myself." "No Dickens, though." "I was home-schooled." "My reading list was all about how to avoid the devil." "No kidding, you're still driving?" "Well, that's just terrifying." "You know, you're eating butter, by the way." "Well, it looks sort of funny, but at least it smells..." "Ow!" "My foot." "Oh, it burned my foot." "Honey, this pie is gonna kill you." " Oh, for my foot?" " No, no, for dessert." "Let's go back to my old tradition." "As long as you heat it up at home, it's homemade." " Really?" " Oh, yeah." "From my mother to your mother to you." "And so I give it to him, and he files the book under 592 and it was a botany book." "Oh, my God." "Everyone knows botany is 580-589." "Of course." "You know what book I really love?" "Catcher in the Rye." "Really?" "What was your favorite part?" "When he caught the rye." "That's what I thought." "Hello?" "Hi, Mom." "What?" "Oh, wow." "Yeah, I would love that." "She wants to drive down and meet me at the mall for Black Friday." "Yeah." "That's a long way for you." "I could meet you halfway at the one at Decatur." "I know, I'm sorry we've been fighting." "I know, I love you too." "I'll see you tomorrow." "All right." "I love you." "Yeah." "Love you." "It's nice how you guys say "I love you" to each other all the time." "Ha." "You know us." "We're pretty gushy folks." "Gets a little silly sometimes." " It's not silly." "It's nice." "It's really nice." " Oh." "I know there's not a lot of that in your family." " No, no, we don't go in for that, um..." " Yeah." "Once a waitress told me..." "She said that if my father had told me he loved me just once my life would have turned out completely differently." "Oh, Rusty." "You would have liked her." "Oh." " Wow, Brick, this is very impressive." " Thank you." " And you've read all of it?" " Sure have." "Excuse me, I thought this was the bathroom." "What are you doing?" "Brick was just showing me his books." " He's got an amazing collection." " Oh, really?" "I showed Lisa my car when I drove her here." "Because I have a car and a driver's license." " Do you have a driver's license, Brick?" " No, but I have a library card." "Oh, yeah?" "I stayed up till midnight last night." "How about you?" "Guess what, Mike." "Your family is not fine." "Your brother is crying out for love." " What?" " You know what he just told me?" "That If he had heard your father say "I love you," it would change his life." "Rusty said that?" "To you?" "Well, a waitress said it to him and he told me." "It was very emotional." "Your brother has never heard your father say "I love you."" "He has been craving it all these years." "And now he's reaching out through the waitress to me to you to your dad." " Was this in a local restaurant?" " Oh, Mike." "You're not getting this." "This is huge." "That's why you're all the way you are." "You know what you have to do now." "You have to tell your father you love him." " Oh, my God." " Words are powerful, Mike." "If you say "I love you" to your dad, then he'll be able to say it back to you." "And then to your brother." "And then you'll all just unlock and be able to talk to each other about this stuff." "And then a floodgate will be open." "Everything that you've ever wanted to say to each other will just come pouring out." " That sounds awful." " Mike." " Not happening." "No." "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." "Okay..." "I know you and your brother have had trouble." "Maybe we could help each other out." "Does he have any weaknesses?" "Vulnerabilities?" "Bob, are you scared that my brother is gonna steal your girlfriend?" "So allergies, maybe?" "Oh, if we play football after dinner, I call Dad on my team." "When you and Uncle Rusty were kids did you used to play football?" "Uh..." "You know, I guess we did." "It was just so long ago." "Did we, Rus?" "I remember we played poker after dinner, and we'd use peanuts for chips." "Before you knew it your dad and I would be shoving peanuts up our nose and then we'd shoot them out at the TV." "He was really good at it." "The last time we were together on Thanksgiving, your mother was alive." "All right, ahem." "Okay." "I'm gonna..." "I'm gonna..." "Uh..." "Whew, okay, ahem." "I am gonna get the ball rolling." "And here I go." "Uh, just gonna say it, ahem." "I love you, Dad." "And I love you, Mike." "And I love you, Sue." "I love you too, Mom." " And I love you, Brick." " Love you, Mom." " And I love you, Axl." " Got it." "Anybody else wanna chime in, go ahead." "Love you, Axl." "Love you, Brick." "Love you, Sue." "Love you, Axl." "Yeah." "Yeah." "I kind of love you, Brick." "And Sue, oh, my God, I just love you so much." " I love you, Miss Gibbs." " I love you, Brick." "I loved Dick Peterson." "But he was a black man, so it was forbidden." "It was a different time." "Just a different time." "These mashed potatoes are sure something else." "Who would've thought "I love you"  would be the biggest wet blanket ever thrown over a Thanksgiving dinner?" "But then two hours later, the Colts won." " Yes!" "What a comeback!" " Well, how about that?" "What we couldn't solve in five days  Peyton Manning solved in five seconds." "Well, I appreciate the hospitality these past few days but I'd best be getting back to my place." "Well, at least, uh, let me drive you, you know?" "You probably shouldn't be driving yourself." "If you're gonna drive me there, might as well stay the night." "Yeah, I could pitch my tent in the yard." "You pitch your tent, you might as well come inside." "If I come inside, I might as well, uh, move some stuff around in your place." "You know, fix you some meals, uh, until you get rid of the walker." "Okay." "Suit yourself." "Yeah." "Suits me." " So long, Mike." " Dad." " Good seeing you." " Thanks for the meal." "You're welcome, Big Mike." " Take care." " Be careful." "Wow." " Has that ever happened before?" " No." "I hope it never happens again." "This may be the best Thanksgiving we've ever had." "It was horrible, and I don't wanna talk about it anymore." "Come on." "It was incredibly moving." "Did you, uh?" "Thank God I spoke up." "I knew your brother was crying out for help." "Then when you opened the gate, the love was just pouring through from you to your dad to your brother." " I just..." " Okay." "All right." "You're getting a little cry-y again here." "Remember, cry first, then talk."