I'll Pick It Up After Work--Sparia
Spencer Hastings hated Thanksgiving. She’d always hated Thanksgiving and the pressure that came with it, but this year was especially bad. This year her parents were coming to her and Aria’s house for dinner, and they were notoriously judgmental about family gatherings. She had been cooking for what felt like hours, but had only actually been about a half hour. She was determined that everything would be up to Hastings standards. She was making everything: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie. Her parents hadn’t told her what—if anything—they were bringing, and she didn’t want Peter or Veronica to find anything they could fault. She’d never forget the year they went to her aunt’s house and her parents had been scandalized by the canned cranberry sauce. They’d never gone there for Thanksgiving again.
“Aria, where’s the whipping cream?” she asked. She didn’t need it yet, but she’d learned from cooking shows that you should always know where all your ingredients were before you started cooking. She couldn’t find the whipping cream anywhere and she was starting to be concerned. Pumpkin pie without whipped cream wasn’t pie at all.
“I don’t know. Why?” Aria asked, walking into the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. Spencer fought the urge to roll her eyes and snap at her girlfriend. Why did she think?
“Because I can’t find it and I’m worried it somehow got left off our shopping list. You did the shopping, right? Do you remember buying it?” she asked. Aria shrugged, adding milk and sugar to her mug.
“I don’t know. Maybe? But just take a breath and calm down. It’s okay,” she said. Spencer glared at her.
“It is not okay! I’m probably going to burn the stupid turkey, my parents are going to know I made half of this ahead of time, and if I ruin dessert the entire meal will be ruined because that’s what we’ll end with! Damn it, why couldn’t they crash Melissa’s house?” she asked, near tears. Aria stepped toward her girlfriend and put her hands on her arms.
“Spence, breathe. Everything is going to be okay. They’re not going to Melissa’s house because you and I both know they still hate Wren. Honestly, I’m flattered that they like me more than him. They’re coming here, and everything is going to work out fine. You will not burn the turkey, and lots of people start cooking ahead of time. Otherwise they wouldn’t get everything done. I don’t know if we have whipping cream, but it doesn’t matter. You’re not going to make the whipped cream until tomorrow, right?” she asked. Spencer nodded.
“Okay. I’ll pick it up after work. If you happen to find it in the fridge in the meantime, just send me a text. Or don’t, it won’t kill us to have extra whipping cream,” she said seriously. Spencer nodded again, trying to calm down. She already felt better, but she was still stressed out.
“Now do you think you can be alone in the kitchen and not burst an aneurysm? Do you want to see if Emily will come over?” she asked. Spencer rolled her eyes. She knew Aria was coming from a place of concern, but that was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard.
“I’m not going to ask Emily to come over and help me cook for a meal she won’t even be eating,” she said. It was Aria’s turn to roll her eyes.
“I didn’t mean she would help you cook, I meant to keep you company. I happen to know that Paige has work today and Emily’s home alone. They’re not hosting Thanksgiving, so Emily doesn’t have anything to do,” she said. Spencer shot her a suspicious look.
“How do you know all of this?” she asked. Aria shrugged innocently.
“Paige might have mentioned that Emily’s been a little bit down lately, and she thought it might be good for her to hang out with her best friend,” she said. Spencer narrowed her eyes.
“So why didn’t she call Hanna? You and I both know Hanna isn’t busy cooking today,” she pointed out. Aria snorted at the idea of Hanna cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Caleb might try to throw something together if he was feeling festive, but more than likely the couple wouldn’t do anything special.
Most years, the group of friends all came together on Thanksgiving. They’d take turns with whose house they’d gather at, and they all brought a dish. It was a relaxed, fun way for them to spend the day. They’d been planning on doing the same thing this year until Peter and Veronica Hastings—who had moved to Philadelphia for Veronica’s job—had announced that they’d be in Rosewood this year and would Spencer mind if they came over for Thanksgiving? Of course, Spencer had felt like she couldn’t say no.
“Damn, I was really hoping you’d say you wanted Emily to come over,” Aria muttered. Spencer put a hand on her hip.
“Aria Montgomery, what did you do?” she asked. Aria shrugged.
“I told Emily that you’d be happy for her to come over for a couple of hours today,” she admitted. Spencer groaned.
“If she’s coming over, she’s going to help me,” Spencer threatened. Aria nodded.
“She’s okay with that,” she said. Spencer frowned.
“On second thought, maybe not. The last time I ate something Emily cooked it had a hair in it,” she remembered. Aria rolled her eyes.
“That was high school. She’s improved since then,” she promised. Spencer grimaced.
“Fine. And you better remember to go to the store!” she reminded her. Aria nodded and gave Spencer a peck on the cheek.
“I will, don’t worry. Emily will be over in a half hour, so try not to have a meltdown before then,” she said jokingly. Spencer rolled her eyes. Aria kissed her again, saying goodbye.
“I’ll be home after work. Try not to stress out too much. Your parents will love whatever you do,” she promised. Spencer snorted. Clearly Aria hadn’t spent enough time with Peter and Veronica.
“Don’t forget the whipping cream!”