In the end, Derek has to set out a whole separate table just for the pies. I've made sure to arrange them all myself, complete with little upturned labels so no one would have to guess what they might be serving themselves and, I have to say, they at least look good. I can only hope they all taste good, too.

After helping bake and prepare all morning, we'd gotten done in time for me to run home and change. Which is the only reason I'm dressed in my nicest pair of jeans and a seasonally-appropriate red waistcoat instead of my flour-covered apron.

I'm not at all surprised by the number of people who show up, each one of them just as happy as I am to be included in Derek's brood of loved ones. This feels like exactly the perfect event after everything we'd encountered in that nightmare version of Darrow, all of these people collected in one spot to remind Derek just how loved he is. My only hope is he can hold onto this for long enough to at least quiet the terrible voices that continue to linger in his mind.

I can't help sneaking him glances every now and then, happy to see him smiling and laughing nearly every time. This is good for him. This is so, so good.

If the day's festivities leave me a little bit homesick, that's really no one's fault. It's just hard to not imagine my mama's jello salad and Coach's voice screaming at football from the other room, the squeals and pitter-patters of my cousins' feet all around the house. Even if I'm starting to build a solid group of friends here, it's hard not to miss the family I left behind.

It's hard not to consider the fact that I may never see them again.

Luckily, with so many happy faces gathered around the table and the abundance of delicious food, it's easy enough to ignore for awhile.

[Find Bitty at any point during the feast!]