Catherine and Johns Saga, Ch - 26 Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner

Daylight was just beginning to come into the bedroom windows. Mother looks at the clock and sees it’s still early. Its 5:30, I am going to lay here and think about John, she thought to herself. I think I am going to like him; he seems to be sincere when he talks about Catherine. I want her to be happy.

Enough dilly dallying. Get up and get dressed she thought to herself. After putting on the coffee pot, she went back up stairs washed her face and combed her hair. My hair seems to grow so fast she thought to herself. Mother opens Catherine’s bed room door. She smiles and says good morning to her mother.

“I’ll get up and get dressed. I’ll be downstairs in a jiff.” Catherine says.

Catherine takes shower brushes her teeth and blow dries her hair. She puts it in a French knot and then goes down stairs. Catherine gets a cup from the cupboard, and pours herself a cup of coffee. Mother is already drinking hers. Mother takes the turkey out of the freezer, puts it in te sink and runs cold water on it.

“Where’s the sausage for the dressing?” Catherine says.

She puts diced apple, chopped celery, and diced onions in a bowl. She gets the crutons from a bowl and pours it in then adds chicken stalk for moisture. They stuff the bird and put it in a large roaster. They forgot to turn on the oven. When the oven is hot they put the roaster in the oven.

“Did you have a nice visit with John?” Catherine asks.

“I had a nice visit, he seemed to be sincere in our talk. He comes from a nice family, what religion is he?” Mother asks.

The conversation was interrupted.

“We’ll talk later.” Mother says.

John enters the kitchen and gives Catherine a hug. Catherine gives him a mug for coffee. It was nice and hot.

“We are going to have toast and cold cereal for breakfast, cold fruit also.” Mother says.

Catherine had everything on the table. She forgot the peanut butter, and jelly. John couldn’t eat without it. Father came downstairs after they had finished eating. He said it felt good to sleep in.

“I have three more days to catch up on my sleep.” He said.

All Father had to eat was toast and coffee. Mother put butter on the toast for him. He was saving his appetite for the big dinner.

“Mother what are we having?” Father asked.

“We’re having Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, squash, corn, Brussels’ sprouts, cranberries, and two kinds of olives. Then pumpkin pie for dessert.” Mother said.

“John lets you and I go for a ride in the car. We’ll drive to the lake and watch geese and ducklings.” Father said.

Catherine cleared the dishes and put them in the dish washer. Mother asked Catherine if John had a temper.

“He gets angry and that lasts a couple minutes, anger is not bad it’s when he turns to revenge is when it’s bad. That’s when your anger wants to hurt the other person, more than they hurt you. He’s pretty mellow.” Catherine said.

“How do you know he wants to marry you?” Mother asks.

“He took me to the bus stop when it was raining, we worked together at a block party, got the butcher to donate hamburgers, brats, and wieners. He opens the door for me, asks how I am, and he cares for me.” Catherine said.

“He believed me about leg surgery, men don’t listen otherwise. I’m sure he loves me.” Catherine ended.

“Catherine we need to talk to father. “ Mother said.

“I talked to father when I picked him up from the air port. I’ll have John talk to Father.”

“We better check on the turkey it smells very good. The timer is popped up on the bird. We’ll let it rest on the stove. Will you mash the potatoes Catherine?” Mother asked.

“I’ll put the buns in the oven to warm up.” Mother said.

Rita put her vegan burger to cook on the stove to cook. Catherine went to the den and she seed the guys are playing chess. She tells them dinner is almost ready.

“John will you please pour the wine? Father the bird needs to be carved.” Catherine asks.

“Can I help you; I’m not a stranger to the bird.” John says.

John carves the turkey and father tells him he is a good carver.

“On the farm we butcher turkey, pulled out the feathers and pulled the inside out. Then we would wash and throw it in the roaster to bake.” John said.

“Catherine will you double check the table to see that everything is on it? We’ll put Rita next to John.” Mother said.

She went up stairs to get dressed. They all sit down at the table, Mother comes down and then Father says a prayer before they begin eating.

“Oh heavenly father, thank you for the food we are about to eat. Thank you for the friendship of the people who are gathered here today. Amen.”

“Let’s toast to good health to everyone here.”

“Please pass the cranberries. You know they are very healthy for you.” Rita says.

“Being I’m a vegetarian I see we have a nice assortment of veggies for dinner.” Rita concluded.

John couldn’t believe how hungry he was. The potatoes tasted extra good. When a person lives alone potatoes are too much work to cook.

“Please pass the gravy and dressing.” John asked.

He was hoping there would be left over’s.

“What did you do last night that you didn’t get to bed till 4 o clock?” John asks Rita.

“We called some friends and talked for hours. We made brownies and sloppy Joes with a lot of chips, and dip. We did each other’s hair, and had a contest to who had the ugliest hair due.

“Rita do you want a brother in law?” Father asks.

“What brother in law?” Rita says.

“Think a little it’ll come to you, as to what we are talking about.” Father says.

Rita thought about it and came up with the right answer. She screams.

“YOU MEAN JOHN AND CATHERINE ARE GETTING MARRIED? DO I GET TO BE IN THE WEDDING?”

“Rita and Catherine let’s go for a walk after we get everything cleaned up.” John says.

“I’ll put the leftover food in the refrigerator.” Catherine said.

There wasn’t any room for the food when she got there. Nobody had eaten the dessert. Maybe they would have some before they went to bed. Mother and Rita had the dish washer running with goblets cups and plates.

“I will put the pans in the next load, why don’t you go for your walk?” Mother asked.

John, Rita, and Catherine put on light jackets and park their car by the walking trail. They would be walking about 2 miles there and back. The squirrels were busy putting away acorns for winter. The chipmunks were just as busy. Catherine liked the way the chipmunks put the acorns in their cheeks. They looked so cute.

“When we’re finished walking I would like to go to the movies. The Widow Brown is playing at the state theatre. It’s a comedy; does it sound okay with you two?” Rita asked.

“We would have to call mother and tell her what our plans are. See if she needs any help.” Catherine said.

Catherine uses John’s cell phone to call her mother. She asks if she needs any help, she says no but asks for her to pack the dry dishes when they come home.

“Its okay were going to a early movie, when we get home we will put the dishes and pans away. What’s father doing?” Catherine asks.

“He’s sawing wood he has quite a pile of wood on the living room floor. I’m going to go to my bed room and relax and read “The crickets Cried” We will see you when you get back.” Mother said.

John, Catherine, and Rita went to the movies. No one got popcorn or pop. They had eaten too much turkey. The name of the movie is ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’. The movie was about a family of the old south and how they lived. One of the characters opened up a restaurant and her specialty was fried green tomatoes and ribs. When John kissed Catherine, Rita giggled at them. When the movies were done they walked back to the car and drove home. When they arrived home Father was awake, and making a turkey sandwich.

“Anybody want one?” Father asked.

“I want a sandwich please.” John said.

“The movies were good.” Catherine said.

“I’m going to check on mother.” Catherine left the room.

Mother was still awake. She said the book was good and she didn’t want to put it down.

“I’m going to sleep on the couch.” Rita said.

“Mother we never finished our conversation about John’s religion. He’s Lutheran and I am Catholic. It’s something we are working out.” Catherine said.

“As long as you put your differences aside and are happy, I know things will work out.” Mother said.

Catherine kissed mother good night and said thanks for understanding.

John awoke from a sound sleep and didn’t know where he was. It took a few minutes for him to realize he was at Catherine’s parent’s home. He gets out of the bed and goes to the bathroom. He turns on the shower and looks in the mirror. He thinks to himself, I’ve looked better.

He took a shower and brushed his teeth and air. He got dressed and took all of his belongings, and packed his duffle bag and went down stairs to the kitchen and found Catherine ready to go home.

Good bye’s are said they get into car and head home.