SF Chapter 132: Merry Thanksgiving
Alan and Daniel were heading to Charlie's bedroom.
"So, all good?" he asked, since yesterday was his brother's divorce hearing with Judith.
"Yes, it was split fifty-fifty," Alan revealed, "and Jake will stay with us on weekends, like it's been."
"Mainly because his school is near where my house is," he added.
"How is that a good deal? Most of it was yours in the first place," Dani muttered.
Alan defended himself. "Well, she is still the mother of my son." Then he changed the subject, noticing Charlie looking at himself in the mirror as they entered his room.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Picking out a shirt," Charlie replied while buttoning a red one.
Alan took a look. "That one looks nice."
"You like it?"
"Yeah."
"Then, no."
"Okay..." he rolled his eyes. "Listen, I was wondering, do you have any plans for Thanksgiving?"
"Alan, I don't think that far ahead."
"It's this Thursday," Alan said in disbelief.
"No kidding? I've got no plans. Why?"
"I was thinking, Jake's gonna be with his mom and her parents, and I thought maybe you and I could do something."
"Okay, want to go to Vegas?" Charlie smirked.
"Oh, that's not fair," Dani complained. "Now that I've become a bit more famous, I can't use a fake ID anymore."
"I can't go to the casinos and lose my money again!" he exclaimed.
Alan turned his head toward him. "You've been to Vegas? And you actually gambled?"
"Of course, Alan," Dani made a face like his brother was an idiot. "What do you think Charlie and I used to do? Watch Moulin Rouge?"
Charlie chuckled. "That last one was crazy."
"Yeah," Dani told Alan the story. "Charlie got too drunk and disappeared. I went through a whole saga trying to find him!"
"The funny thing is, he was on the hotel terrace the whole time!"
"I hooked up with some chick up there," Charlie revealed. "Ended up crashing there."
While Alan was glaring at his two brothers, Dani suddenly had an eureka moment.
"Hey, I can use that in one of the movies I've been writing. The Hangover. It's perfect! Since most of it takes place in Vegas."
He made a gesture with his hands. "It's about a group of friends who wake up and try to figure out what happened the night before."
"Now, the main plot is that one of them is missing. The whole movie is them retracing the night and trying to find Doug, getting into all kinds of trouble along the way."
"And the ending is - he was on the hotel terrace the whole time!" Dani stated.
Then he patted his brother on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Alan. I'll name one of them Alan, in your honor."
Alan just stared for a moment before saying, "That would be nice."
"He'll be the one who supplies the drugs - and the one responsible for all the chaos!"
Dani ignored his brother glare, and asked his other. "Charlie, which girl is it?"
"Remember Lisa?"
"The blonde one? Monica's cousin?"
"Yep," Charlie nodded, "that one."
"Uhh, she was incredible beautiful. She seems like a good one." Dani remarked.
Alan chimed in, "So, she's gonna take you back again?"
"Hey, who said she's the one who broke up with-" Charlie started to defend himself, but seeing his brothers' expressions, he gave in. "Yeah, I'm hoping."
"Good luck, bro," Dani smiled.
"And here," he said, handing Alan a wad of cash, "now that you're single, no more excuses. Go get a lap dance in Vegas."
"Believe me, it's incredible for your mood," Dani smirked, remembering what Lexi had done.
Even if she was a little clumsy, it was Lexi after all.
"Great idea," Charlie said before Alan could refuse. "Here's what we'll do. We'll fly to Vegas, have a big steak dinner, get you a lap dance, and a bucket of nickels."
"What are the nickels for?" Alan asked, confused.
"I'll explain it on the plane."
"That actually sounds kind of fun," Alan admitted. "Two single guys, rocking out in Vegas - the glitz, the glamour..."
"Dude, don't gay it up," Charlie scoffed.
"Okay, I'll go to Sis, so I don't get too envious," Dani commented.
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"Hello, my beautiful family," Dani said cheerfully in Claire's kitchen.
Phil gave him a bro-style high five.
Right after that, Phil spoke excitedly as he saw his son, "There he is. Big day's coming up."
"What do you want for your birthday, big dog?" He asked.
"It's okay. I'm good," Luke replied casually.
But Phil kept pushing. "Come on. Sky's the limit. Dream big, my boy."
"Well, I guess I could use a belt," Luke pondered.
Claire made a strange face. "A belt?"
"Yeah, you're right. I don't need it," the boy said, lifting his shirt. "An extension cord works pretty well," he added, showing how he was holding up his pants.
"Oh my God, sis, you're Cruella!" Dani said dramatically.
[Phil and Claire commentary]
The couple was sitting on the couch. Phil started explaining, "Every year, Luke's birthday falls right around Thanksgiving, so it gets lost in the holiday shuffle."
Claire continued, "One year we forgot completely, and we had to improvise a cake out of stuffing."
"Which, by the way, he was totally fine with. He's one of those kids - you get him a gift and all he wants to do is play with the box."
"Yeah," Phil recalled, "one year we actually just got him a box. A really nice box."
"And we made the mistake of putting it in a gift bag."
"So he played with the gift bag," Claire finished, making a conflicted face.
"We can't get it right."
"No."
[Commentary ends]
"I feel terrible," Phil said to his wife. "We've gotta do something."
Claire agreed. "Oh, yeah. Well, the family's gonna be together for Thanksgiving… for the first time in - I don't even know how long."
"I'm so with you. We should go all out… and throw Luke the best birthday party of all time!" Phil remarked.
Dani turned to his brother-in-law. "Phil, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Amusement park rides?" Phil said, voicing his thought.
"Exactly. We need to rent out an entire amusement park for Luke's birthday!" Dani stated, already planning it out.
"Nope," Claire immediately shut it down. "No, no, no."
"Oh, come on, sis, when I was eleven, I dreamed about shutting down Disney just for my friends," he complained.
"You also proposed to an actress," Claire pointed out. "But thankfully, Luke is normal."
"Wow, you really are a Cruella - bringing up such a painful rejection," he mocked.
[Dani and Phil commentary]
"I've booked several amusement park rides, and they'll be set up here for Luke's birthday," Phil revealed in the end.
"See," Dani raised a finger. "This is the concept of strategy. From the Greek stratēgia. Sis wouldn't agree with Phil's idea of having amusement park rides here."
"But-" he paused, "when I proposed renting out an entire amusement park, all of a sudden Phil's idea doesn't seem so bad for her."
"It's the anchoring effect!"
[Commentary ends]
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