During the last few Thanksgivings, it hadn't mattered a lot to Jeremy about where they had it. Dinosaur City was acceptable to him because it was home. However, at the start of the summer, Jeremy realized something. Polly was growing up and he was missing out on it. Not just her second dose made her a physical adult now. But there were things about her daily life that he knew very little about. For one thing, he remembered very little about her friends though he was sure Polly had told him before. As such, Jeremy resolved to be a bit more involved in Polly's life, even if he couldn't always be physically there.
Thanksgiving was a good opportunity for Jeremy to see Polly and meet her friends in person. It didn't take a lot of effort to get Heather, Tyra, and Rex to go as they wanted to see Polly too. The hard part was getting the kids to behave during the flight from Texas to Nevada. The White family was glad to have them, but their house might be a bit crowded to host all of them. As such, they went to the Great Hall for Thanksgiving dinner. It's been a tradition in Animalia since its beginning to have a big community dinner at Thanksgiving. Of course, Animalia has grown a lot since its beginning and the Great Hall was getting rather crowded.
"Maybe we should have made reservations," said Tyra.
"Maybe they need to expand the hall," said Rex.
"I don't think that's likely to happen," said Polly, "But I think they're building another dining hall in the Little Russia district. But they also say they can use Claw Colosseum if they have to."
"Polly, we're going to go look for a table that has enough room for us," said Mrs. White, "Why don't you show your brother to your friends?"
"Well, if I can spot them," said Polly.
"Don't worry, they'll be able to spot you," said Marcy jokingly.
It didn't take too long for Polly to find some of her friends. Jeremy felt like he should have paid more attention to Polly's descriptions of her friends or he might have been a bit more prepared for Mattie. The girl was outspoken to say the least. While she's seen pictures of Jeremy and Heather, this was her first time meeting them. "So cool. I mean, not only did you become the first Dinotopian, but you came a completely new kind of dinosaur. How did you make it work?" asked Mattie.
"Honestly, it was just random chance and blind luck," said Heather, "I didn't even know I had a recessive snake heart gene, let alone that it would allow me to splice with fossilized DNA. And...I'm not proud of the decisions that led me to using that serum on myself. Nor what I did immediately afterwards."
"But it was worth it in the long run, right?" asked Mattie.
"Yes, I suppose it is something to be grateful for," said Heather, nuzzling Jeremy.
Next, they met Jun and her family of black bears. "You know, I somewhat recall Polly telling me she had a Chinese-American friend who became a bear," said Jeremy, "But I guess I just assumed you were a panda."
"Not the first time I've heard people comment on that," said Jun, "I'm actually glad that Mom didn't end up with a panda. I wouldn't want to be stuck in the Chinese stereotype mold."
"You know there are black bears in China," pointed out Heather.
"Well, I'm just glad I found my mate," said Jun's mom, hugging her husband, "And we've had healthy cubs together."
"That's something something to be thankful for," agreed Tyra.
They also had a chance to meet some of Polly's newest friends. Ted obviously looked rather nervous looking up at Polly's saurian family, but he plenty of good things to say about her. "She's been adding a lot to the show," said Ted, "She's been doing great with the science news."
"Well, does get her information from a reliable source," said Jeremy proudly.
"She's really great to work with too," said Ted, "Everybody at the studio likes her."
"What's not like about her?" asked Tyra.
"The way I take up so much space?" asked Polly.
"No one minds that," said Ted earnestly.
"No, we don't," said Heather approvingly, "Well, it's nice meeting you, Ted." As the group walked away, Heather said to Polly, "I think he likes you."
"So does everyone at the studio," said Polly.
"No, I mean he likes you," said Heather.
"Oh, that. Well, a lot of guys like me now thanks to this body," said Polly, looking down at herself.
"He likes you for more than your body," said Rex, "He's obviously interested in your intelligence and amiable nature."
Jeremy gave a small growl and said, "But Polly shouldn't be won over that easily. She has higher standards than that."
Tyra gave Jeremy a light whack with her tail. "Don't be so old-fashioned," she said, "Polly, do you like Ted?"
"Uh, I don't know if I like him more than a friend," said Polly, "He seems nice though."
"Let the two of them get a chance to really know each other. If they do end up liking each other enough, it's only two doses to bridge the gap," said Tyra.
"That's being rather forward, isn't it?" asked Rex.
"For Animalians, that's practically taking it slow,' said Heather dryly.
Polly felt rather flushed under her fur. She supposed she should have expected Tyra to try and play matchmaker now that she was double-dosed. Which made Polly rather thankful that Tyra doesn't live close by. And while she liked Ted, she wasn't sure if she liked him enough to try dating him, let alone a more serious relationship. She was going to have to think on that after Thanksgiving.