Free Web NovelChapter 147: Thanksgiving
The doorbell rang again.
"I’ll get it," said Annette, grateful for the excuse to step away from the kitchen and the sight of Ivan looking entirely too comfortable in it as he boiled the potatoes that Anna and Mikaela had peeled.
When she opened the door, Edward and Ruth were standing on the porch. Edward was carrying an enormous homemade chocolate cake, while Ruth was carrying a box that contained two bottles of fine Navy Port red wine.
"Don’t even think about it. This is the expensive stuff," said Ruth as Annette eyed the wine box.
"Fine," groused Annette, and led them into the kitchen.
The room smelled of bacon, sage, onions and roasting turkey. Ivan had just drained the water from the boiled potatoes, and he put them into two bowls.
"Anna, this one is for the vegans. Use the olive oil and mash it up," said Ivan, handing her a bowl of boiled potatoes and the bottle of olive oil.
"That smells good," said Edward as he set the cake down on the counter.
"That it does," chuckled Ivan, as he turned off a batch of bacon that he had fried up in a cast iron skillet.
"Mikaela, be careful as you mash. This bacon grease is very hot," he said, and poured the rendered fat into Mikaela’s bowl of potatoes.
"OK, Daddy," said Mikaela, and started to carefully mash them with a hand masher.
"Our Thanksgivings were not this chaotic when we were married," said Annette, staring at the number of bowls and platters covering her counters.
"That is because we normally didn’t have guests, and I had to fight tooth and nail for a fried chicken," said Ivan, now chopping mushrooms.
"I don’t even remember our last one," grumbled Mikaela.
Annette folded her arms.
"All right, and what is it you’re making now?" she asked, unsure why Ivan had taken over her kitchen.
"Dinner for the herbivores," said Ivan.
"I can make that," said Annette testily.
"According to Mikaela, you still make everything from ready-to-cook boxes. That’s not happening for this Thanksgiving," said Ivan.
"They’re convenient!" said Annette, trying hard not to snap.
"Well, the vegetables are prepped, you can make them however you want. Just don’t touch the meat dishes," said Ivan, tossing the mushrooms into a bowl.
With a sigh, Annette, took stock of what Ivan had prepped.
There were mushrooms, zucchinis and French beans, with large slabs of tofu.
A far cry from her usual boxed vegan meatballs.
With a sigh, she pulled out a non-stick frying pan, and started on the fried tofu with zucchini and beans, while she kept the mushrooms for a gravy.
---
The timer on the oven chimed.
"At last," said Ivan, pulling on oven gloves.
He opened the oven and carefully drew out the huge turkey.
The bacon had formed a crispy crust over the whole turkey, except for the legs which had been rubbed in garlic and olive oil before being sealed with aluminum foil to roast.
The bacon grease had seeped into the bed of chopped onions, caramelizing and infusing them with the aromatics of the herbs.
Ivan carefully poked a cooking thermometer into the cavity to check the temperature of the stuffing, which consisted of bread, chopped onions and sausages, seasoned with sage, thyme and rosemary.
"74 degrees Celsius. Perfect," he said.
"That smells so good!" said Mikaela.
"It needs to rest and cool a bit," said Ivan, carefully spooning out the onions from around the turkey to make the gravy.
---
Because Annette’s dining table was too small for the gathering, Stefan and Edward went over to Edward’s house across the street and brought over his dining table and chairs.
They joined the tables end to end, and used one of Annette’s spare king-size bedsheets as an improvised tablecloth.
"I suppose we can’t do much about the difference in chairs," said Stefan, surveying the clash between Annette’s minimalist white chairs and Edward’s more rustic looking heavy wooden chairs.
"At least the tables are the same height and width," said Edward.
Annette placed the platter of fried tofu with zucchini and French beans on her part of the joined tables, and a boat of mushroom gravy beside it.
At the center where the tables joined, Maria placed a plate of her corn bread, and placed a boat of Ivan’s dark onion gravy on Edward’s table side.
"Captain Hawkins, would you like to do the honors of carving?" asked Ivan, as he brought the turkey platter to the head of Edward’s table.
"My pleasure," said Edward, clinking a pair of carving knives together.
Annette looked away as Edward started to carve the turkey, the decadent smell of bacon, turkey meat, and herbs wafting over the dining tables.
"Here you go, Mikaela. Hold it by the stem," said Stefan, handing her a wine goblet filled with ice and cola.
"Ooh! Thanks, Mr. Stanislaus," said Mikaela, taking the goblet carefully by the stem.
"Just water for me, Dad. I’m not drinking that junk," said Anna.
"Where on Earth are you picking this stuff up from? I mean I know it’s got sugar, but you can bend the rules on occasion," said Stefan, but nevertheless, handed Anna a wine goblet filled with water instead of cola.
"I’d rather not," said Anna, taking the goblet by the bowl instead of the stem.
"Hmph! More for me in that case," said Mikaela, resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at Anna.
Ruth uncorked one of the red wine bottles she had brought over, and carefully poured it out into wine goblets for the adults.
"Seriously Ruth?" asked Annette, as Ruth handed her a half-filled wine goblet.
"Annette, it’s a Thanksgiving dinner, not a sorority initiation. You’re supposed to swirl and sip this wine, not chug it down," said Ruth.
"You know what? You can keep this pretentious shit. I will not be dictated to in my own house!" snapped Annette, and shoved the goblet back into Ruth’s hand.
She marched to the kitchen, opened a cupboard, and pulled out one of her own magnum wine bottles.
She unscrewed the cap, and took a massive drink straight from the bottle, before marching back to the dining tables, sitting down at her place, and slamming the bottle onto the table in defiance.
"Here we go again," thought Ivan dourly, but Edward saved the situation.
"All right, everyone. Before we dig in, let’s all say what we are thankful for this year. I’ll start. I’m thankful for moving over here to this wonderful town, and meeting a very clever young lady, who always brightens my day," said Edward, tipping his glass towards Mikaela who blushed furiously.
"What about me?" asked Ruth with a pout.
"I’m thankful for you too," said Edward, suavely enough for Ruth to blush in turn.
"I’m thankful for Anna, whom I love. Even if she doesn’t like my taste in cars," said Stefan, which earned him a chuckle from Ivan and Mikaela, and a glare from Anna.
"I’m thankful for my Dad, even if he gets on my nerves," groused Anna.
"I’m thankful that you all came today," said Annette, without much sincerity.
"I’m thankful to Annette, for allowing this supervised visit and Thanksgiving dinner," said Ivan, which mollified Annette a little.
"I’m thankful for Daddy, and for Mom, for allowing us to be together once in a while like this. And I’m thankful to Mr. Stanislaus, Ms. Hirschfield and Captain Hawkins for stopping them from fighting all the time. And I’m thankful for Anna, my best friend ever," said Mikaela, which caused everyone except Anna to shift uncomfortably.
"I’m thankful for being invited here, and spending Thanksgiving with the smartest girls in my fifth grade class," said Maria, which caused both Mikaela and Anna to smile and blush.
"And with that, let’s dig in," said Edward, passing around plates of turkey and stuffing.
---
"Ms. Washington, is this corn bread vegan?" asked Anna.
"That depends on where you draw the line. It has egg and milk, so if you don’t mind those, you can eat it," said Maria.
"The eggs we get at the supermarket don’t hatch and grow into chickens, Anna. They are considered safe," said Stefan.
"And why don’t they?" asked Anna.
"Because they didn’t get to date a rooster, to make baby chickens," said Stefan.
"Stefan, I’m trying to enjoy my dinner," warned Annette.
"Yeah, I think I’ll pass," said Anna, and took another small helping of the vegan mashed potatoes instead.
"Well, I’ll try the corn bread," said Stefan, taking a slice.
He bit into it, and closed his eyes in bliss.
"This is good! It pairs perfectly with this turkey," he said, finishing it in a few bites.
"Thank you," said Maria, blushing slightly.
"Dad, can you get me some water? And bring it in a bottle please? This wine glass doesn’t hold enough," said Anna, looking at Maria sharply.
"Something wrong, Anna?" asked Maria, caught off guard by Anna’s look.
"Nothing, Ms. Washington," said Anna, shaking her head a little.
"Here you go, a bottle," said Stefan, handing Anna a large water bottle.
Anna eagerly took it and drank greedily.
"Ah! Glasses are so overrated," she sighed in contentment.
Mikaela just shrugged, and sipped on the ice and cola in her wine goblet.
"Ms. Petra, these veggies are great," said Anna, a little miffed by Mikaela’s attitude.
"Thank you, sweetie," said Annette, pleased that Anna was enjoying her cooking.
"Daddy, this turkey and bacon are awesome. I never knew meat could taste this good," said Mikaela, forcing herself to eat slowly and with as much sophistication as she could.
"My pleasure, Princess," said Ivan.
---
"Here we are, chocolate cake for dessert. It doesn’t have egg, so don’t worry, you can eat it," said Edward, handing Anna a dessert plate with a slice of cake.
Anna looked at it suspiciously, before carefully tasting it with a spoon.
"Too sweet," she said, pushing it away.
"You’ve had cake before. What’s gotten into you?" demanded Mikaela.
"I wasn’t vegan before," retorted Anna.
"Oh yeah? Well I have to endure no meat for most of my life. Suck it up!" snapped Mikaela.
"And I have to endure meat for most of my life! You suck it up!" shouted Anna.
"Girls! That’s enough!" barked Stefan, as he and Ivan came between them. fгeewebnovёl.com
"Princess, Anna is within her rights to refuse, don’t push her," said Ivan, as Mikaela clung to him.
"Anna, apologize. You shouldn’t be so rude with your refusals," said Stefan.
"Sorry," said Anna, still glowering.
"It’s all right, don’t worry," said Edward, trying to defuse the tension.
"It’s a lovely evening. How about we play outside? I have a ball, we can play catch," suggested Maria.
"You and Anna go ahead, Ms. Washington. I want cake first," said Mikaela.
"OK, come on Anna. How about you join us as well, Mr. Stanislaus?" asked Maria, as she took Anna’s hand.
"Sure," said Stefan, going with them.
---
"Captain, this cake is good. Pay no attention to Anna," said Mikaela as she ate her cake.
"Don’t worry, I’m not upset about it," chuckled Edward.
"Well, Captain, I’d say this was a success," said Ivan.
"Speak for yourself. My kitchen is ruined now with the smell of dead animal," grumbled Annette, before Edward could answer.
"Nothing a little steam cleaning won’t fix. I’ll be happy to do it for you," said Edward.
"Actually Edward, I think you and the others have overstayed your welcome. Get out of my house, and take your damn table with you," said Annette, grabbing the cloth and yanking it off her table. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"Come along, Mikaela, let’s go play with Anna and Ms. Washington," said Ruth, steering Mikaela out of the dining room.
"Annette," began Ivan, but Annette cut him off.
"I’ll not ask again. Get the hell out of my house," she said, her hand gripping the empty magnum bottle like a grenade.
"Fine. Come on, Captain, let’s get this stuff out," said Ivan, and he and Edward picked up Edward’s table.
---
"I told Daddy that I would listen to Mom when he’s not around. I can’t do that anymore," said Mikaela, blinking away angry tears as she sat on the hood of Stefan’s Aventador, watching as Ivan and Edward carried the table and chairs across the street.
"Well, it’s not like your dad isn’t at fault either, sweetie. He knows how much your mom hates that kind of stuff," said Ruth.
"Well, she can suck it up once in a while! I barely get to see Daddy anyway!" shouted Mikaela.
"I know, dear. I know," said Ruth, trying her best to comfort Mikaela.
"Can’t I move in with Daddy instead?" asked Mikaela.
"I’m sorry honey, but the courts let your mom keep you. Besides, you need her more than you know," said Ruth.
"You have to say that because you’re her lawyer," grumbled Mikaela.
"Actually scratch that. She needs you much more than you need her. You’re the only thing that is keeping her from falling apart," said Ruth, deciding to throw caution into the winds, and tell Mikaela what she really thought.
"Why?" asked Mikaela.
"Think about it. She didn’t want your dad, but she fought very hard to keep you. Yes, she thinks he is a bad guy, but if she truly didn’t care about you, she would not have fought so hard would she?" asked Ruth.
"Yeah, well. She has a funny way of showing it. Sometimes I feel she’ll be happier with Anna," said Mikaela.
"I don’t know about that. The way I see it, Anna is the one who is jealous of you for having your mom still alive, even if she and your dad have split up. That’s why she’s acting out," said Ruth.
"Hmph! I’m done with her as well. Vegan, vegan, vegan. I don’t see anyone else crying and calling a perfectly good turkey a dead animal. Can’t they just shut up and eat?" asked Mikaela.
"That I agree on. It drives me crazy too," chuckled Ruth.
"I’m moving in with Captain Hawkins. If I can’t move in with Daddy, I want at least him to be around," said Mikaela.
"You can spend tonight at his place if you want, but you still have to stay with your mom during the day, OK?" said Ruth.
"Fine. Come help me pack," said Mikaela, hopping down from the hood of the Aventador.
